Time for the conclusion of the match between Ayame and Gerard! Who will win in the end? Will Ayame defeat him with her last pokemon? Or is Diancie too strong a foe, even injured as she is? Definitely a hard battle!
Also, I recently began another story, a romance in the Rune Factory games starring Carmen, one of the heroines, and the basis for Marion Rivers! So if you're interested in a romance about a girl who loves fishing, feel free to check it out!
KedharS: Definitely, hoping the ending will be, too.
Aquahaze675: Interesting, you want Gerard to win? Why?
JoshGamerV: It certainly doesn't look good for Ayame, that's for sure.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 523
"Aya!" Blake shouted. "Just a little bit more! You can do it!"
Ayame smiled, reinvigorated by Blake's support.
"Troops! It's up to you!" Ayame shouted, sending out her final pokemon, her Falinks.
"Falinks!" The small herd of round warriors cheered, gathering together and turning their horns towards Diana. Diana was injured, drained by leech seed, and stricken by poison, but she still glowed with a bright light, having more than enough strength to keep fighting.
"Ayame's last pokemon is her Falinks!" Lila announced. "Time for the final fight!"
"Troops, start it with first impression!" Ayame ordered. Troops shot forward, the brass at the front of a powerful wedge. They hit Diana before she was able to create a reflective barrier, Diana coughing out in pain as she was pushed back. The attack wasn't that effective due to Diana's high defense and resistance, but against poison and leech seed, any hit was worth something.
"Diana! Don't let them do that again!" Gerard shouted. "Use-!"
Gerard caught himself before ordering Diana to use reflect. Ayame's Golem knew it, so it was almost certain that her Falinks would know it, too. Come to think of it, wasn't one of the Pokeathlon Events focused on breaking tiles? Reflect would just be a waste.
"Use dazzling gleam!" Gerard ordered.
"Diancie!" Diana gathered light from the intense sun overhead and concentrated it in her diamonds, releasing it in wave of piercing light that shot at Troops.
"Troops!" Ayame shouted. "No retreat!"
"Falinks!" Her Falinks shouted as one, raising their shields in defiance of the light striking them. A bright aura began to glow around them, increasing all their stats at once.
"That's why Troops is such a tough pokemon!" Lila bragged. "Thanks to their move 'no retreat' all of their stats can be raised at the same time! It prevents them from being switched out, but since they're Aya's last pokemon that doesn't matter much!"
"It's a good strategy," Akira agreed.
"Makes sense that they're the anchor, then," Dakota agreed.
"Falinks!" Troops withstood the damage, and charged at Diana as one, raising their shields to protect themselves.
"Diana, ignore it," Gerard said, shaking his head. "We can't focus on being defensive. With your status afflictions, the longer this takes, the harder it's going to be. All our power needs to be on ending this fast!"
"Diancie," Diana nodded, ignoring the pain of the poison coursing through her system. She held up her hands and began swirling energy around into a massive ball of light that she fired at the approaching Falinks.
"Troops! Stand your ground!" Ayame shouted. "Single file!"
"Falinks!" The brass called, raising their shields as the other Falinks filed in behind them, forming a large line right in the center of the fire.
"Why's she not trying to dodge?" Dakota asked, shocked.
"Don't worry! I'm sure she's got a plan!" Lila said, shaking her head, not sure what it was.
"What a worthless test of power," Gerard snorted. "Diana, blow them away!"
The moonblast hit the first Falinks. But the brass wasn't knocked back. They hit the one behind them, who pushed their shield forward, the one behind them doing the same. All six Falinks braced themselves, pushing forward on the back of the one in front, and none of them moved.
"Whoa, awesome!" Lila cheered. "Using each other as a buffer, Troops withstood the attack and are now ready to strike back!"
"Smart strike!" Ayame ordered. The Falinks at the back of the line pushed forward, adding their strength to the push of the next one. Each Falinks continued to press forward until the brass at the head of the formation was launched forward, horn raised, flying through the sky. They struck Diana in the chest at high speed, the diamond-covered pokemon letting out a cry of pain and falling out of the sky, hitting the ground hard.
"Now, Troops!" Ayame shouted. "Use close combat!"
"Falinks!" The Troops charged forward, shields and horns raised, circling around Diana and preparing to beat on her.
"Protect!" Gerard shouted. A protective barrier of pink diamonds appeared around Diana, blocking the fighting pokemon's assault.
"Wow! Gerard is being pushed on the defensive!" Lila cheered.
"And with the poison, that's not a good place to be," Akira agreed.
"You can't hide behind that shield forever, Diancie!" Ayame called. "Even if we can't break through it, the poison will still get to you."
"Falinks!" Troops cheered in agreement, the pokemon continuing to pound at the barrier.
Gerard took a deep breath and tried to keep his cool. He wasn't about to let this overcome Diana. They had been in much tougher situations than this before, and they had overcome them.
"Diancie…" Diana coughed, focusing her power as best as she could. She glanced back at her trainer, looking at Gerard through the barrier of diamond with a sad look on her face. She sighed, and began gathering her strength again.
Her trainer was fighting. He was always fighting. He wanted to win, to be the strongest, and all Diana wanted for him was to be happy.
She believed that she could bring him happiness. No matter how much darkness was in his heart, she wasn't going to let that discourage her. She was the light that could pierce through it, bring back his smile, just like he had smiled when he was young.
She had been with him for so long. He had been such a sweet boy. She knew he could be again. He just… he was just lost right now.
"Diancie!" Diana cried, releasing the energy she'd been storing inside of her in a massive shockwave that pierced through the protective barrier around her, hitting the Falinks surrounding her with a blast of fairy energy.
"Falinks!" The Troops cried out in pain, getting knocked in all directions.
"Troops!" Ayame cried.
"Oof, that one looked like it hurt," Akira winced.
"Aya, don't worry!" Blake shouted. "You guys got this!"
Ayame was getting less sure by the second. "Troops! Regroup!" She called out. Troops began to gather together, running towards each other, but Diana wasn't going to allow that.
"Diancie!" Diana shouted, raising her hands and causing the ground around her to erupt with explosive earth power attacks, working to keep the pokemon separated.
"Oh, no, it looks like Diancie has got her second wind back!" Lila wailed.
"Diancie!" Diana cried, narrowing her eyes and gathering the light from the sun into her body again. The pain from the poison and the drain from the leech seed wasn't having any effect on her, she was going to win.
"Diana!" Gerard shouted. "Use psychic!"
"Diancie!" Diana nodded, her eyes glowing pink as a pink aura spread around her. She raised her arms, and pink aura began glowing around the Falinks, Diana crashing Troops together with her mind, squeezing them into a squirming ball.
"Fighting types are already vulnerable to psychic, this isn't good," Akira noted. "They put up a good fight, but it looks like a mythical pokemon is too strong."
"Now, moonblast!" Gerard shouted.
"Diancie!" Diana fired a blast of fairy light at the floating amalgam of Falinks, the fairy blast hitting the center of the crowd and exploding, sending the pokemon flying in different directions again.
"Troops!" Ayame shouted. Troops worked best when they were assembled, and Diana was making sure that wasn't going to happen. This wasn't the kind of situation she encountered in Pokeathlons, her mind was racing as she tried to think of something to do. "Troops, you've gotta get together! Otherwise we can't win!"
"Falinks!" Troops nodded, picking themselves up off the ground, beaten down and weary but still willing to keep fighting.
"Don't let that happen, Diana," Gerard ordered.
"Diancie!" Diana nodded in agreement, releasing more dazzling rays of light that struck the Falinks, Troops raising their shields to try and withstand them. But separated as they were, they couldn't endure it as well as before.
"Diancie should be weakening due to the poison and the leech seed," Akira noted. "But somehow it looks like she's getting even stronger. I wonder why…"
"Come on, Aya!" Lila cried. "Do your best!"
"This is why I'm going to win," Gerard calmly stated, narrowing his eyes into a glare at the flustered Ayame "As a Pokeathlete, you should know this. The will to win is a powerful driving force. And your and your pokemon's desire to win can't be compared to mine. You're an athlete, a caretaker, Ayame Toujou, but you aren't a battler. Not by nature, anyway. If you win, it's no big deal. So if you lose, it's no big deal either."
His voice grew even harsher, "so there's no way such a flimsy will can defeat me. Winning is everything, to me and Diana both. What are you fighting for? For the tournament? For Blake, maybe? To punish me in retribution for Elaina? None of that can compare to my desire for victory. Diana!"
"Diancie!" Diana nodded in agreement. She began glowing even brighter, and fired another moonblast that hit the brass Troops, the head of the party hit directly with the fairy blast and getting knocked backwards, skidding across the ground. He was down for the count, and the other Troops were weakening in response.
"Troops!" Ayame cried, the truth in Gerard's words biting her as she desperately pleaded for her pokemon to keep fighting.
"Aya!" Blake shouted. "Don't give up!"
"Yeah!" Cynthia agreed. "Don't take that crap! Sure, she's strong, but you can win!"
"Ayame, please, do your best!" Sango cried out, even though she knew it was futile. She didn't know much about battling, but even she could see that Ayame was going to lose.
"Come on, Aya! Don't give up!" Lila shouted as well. She was supposed to be impartial, but screw that, she wanted to cheer Ayame on, too.
Olivia knew her voice would go unheard, so she said nothing. Like Sango, she could see the situation for what it was. She closed her eyes and took a breath.
It's okay, Aya. You did your best. That's all anyone could ask for.
Ayame smiled a little.
"Yeah, you're right… maybe I don't have the resolve to beat you," Ayame admitted. "I'm not… someone who gets that invested in battles. But it doesn't matter…"
She closed her eyes, hearing the voices of her friends cheering for her. Even her friends on the track team were here, and all of them were cheering her on, too. Everyone she cared about was. Her smile widened.
"Even if we lose, they're all cheering for me, they all want me to win," Ayame said. "And that's enough for us. Who's cheering for you, Gerard?"
"Worthless, unneeded sentiment," Gerard spat. "Diana! Finish this with dazzling gleam!"
"Diancie…" Diana nodded sadly, understanding the words of her opponent and wishing they hadn't fallen on deaf ears. She raised her hands and released a wave of piercing light that struck the Troops still standing, all of them getting knocked unconscious by the force of the blast.
"No, Troops!" Lila cried.
"That's the end of it, then," Dakota sighed.
"She put up a good fight, and she was winning for a while there," Akira admitted. "But in the end, it just wasn't enough to overcome the strength of that mythical pokemon."
Lila nodded sadly.
"Falinks… is unable to battle. Diancie is the winner," she quietly declared, her voice stained with grief and reluctance. "That means Gerard Alkwest wins, and advances to the next round."
"You guys did good," Ayame smiled, recalling her Troops. As she did, she wondered why she had gotten so worked up and nervous before the round in the first place. After all, it was just a match. A battle that didn't matter. Beating Gerard wouldn't have accomplished anything. And she didn't lose anything by losing to him. So there wasn't any reason to be sad over it. She turned and looked at the stands, hearing the applause of the audience. Maybe they were cheering for Gerard's victory, but Ayame chose to think that they were applauding her giving her all.
There were only a few people there whose applause mattered to her, anyway, and she was certain that if they were cheering it was for her. And that was enough.
With a proud look on her face befitting the Prince of the Track Team, Ayame stood tall as she walked towards the door back into the halls.
"Don't worry, Aya! Blake's going to give you a consolation kiss!" Cynthia's voice echoed loudly from the stands.
Ayame's face turned bright red and she nearly stumbled over, her noble façade shattering in an instant. She quickly rushed off of the battlefield, wanting to sock Cynthia in the face for ruining her awesome exit.
Gerard recalled Diana, as well.
"Thank you, Diana," Gerard said softly, staring at the pink pokeball in his hand. "You fought well… you did your best… and we won. But you need to rest up… the battle is still going. This was only the first round, after all."
With that, Gerard turned and walked off the battlefield as well.
"Well, uh… that was… something," Lila said, breaking the tension as best she could. It wasn't helping. There was anxiety starting to well up inside of her. Gerard had defeated Ayame, even though Ayame had been trying her best. Lila had hoped that Ayame would win, but that hope was sadly dashed in the end.
The problem was, Ayame's match wasn't the one that Lila was most invested in.
Ayame's loss against Gerard was making Lila feel incredibly uneasy about Darla's match against Raizer… and that was coming up right now. Ayame was strong, a good battler. But she couldn't defeat a mythical pokemon. And while Darla was probably stronger… the mythical pokemon that SHE was going to fight was stronger than that Diancie, too.
Lila didn't want that to happen. She was afraid that… that Darla would…
Why, Darla? She asked herself. Why do you have to do this? Why do you need to battle? I don't understand…
"Lila?"
Akira's voice snapped Lila out of her thoughts. She looked at him in startled surprise.
"Y-yeah?" She asked. "What?"
"There are still two more matches to go, you know," Akira reminded her. He nodded his head towards the sun, the light starting to fade as sunny day wore off and it neared the horizon, beginning to set for the evening. "And it's getting late. Aren't you going to announce the next round?"
"R-Right!" Lila said, putting on a professional smile and nodding vigorously, trying to look eager. "I was just thinking about something."
How unprofessional of her. She'd been caught slacking off on the job, when she was supposed to be getting everyone pumped up! She never made mistakes like that. It just spoke to how out of sorts she was due to this whole mess with Darla.
"The next match will be Raizer Volt vs. Darla Drake!" Lila announced, trying to sound as enthusiastic as she could. "Competitors, please report to the battlefield!"
All I can do is hope for you, Darla… Lila silently prayed for her dear friend, the girl she loved. Please, please be okay, you don't have to fight this hard.
As preparations for the next round began, Ayame walked through the halls, feeling worn down from the stress of the match. Her heartbeat was slowing and it was all sinking in, and when all was said and done she knew she was right. She didn't feel bad about what had happened. She didn't mind her loss, she stayed happy and content. She had fought her hardest, and everyone had cheered her on.
A knock on the door drew her attention, her heart skipping a beat. She nearly ran to the door, hoping it was who she thought it was. She swung the door open and her face brightened at seeing Blake, throwing herself around him in a tight hug.
"Blake!" Ayame gushed, nearly lifting him off the ground. "Did you see me fight? I was fucking amazing, right?!"
"Of course I saw you fight," Blake laughed. He would have hugged her back, except Ayame had hugged him around his arms. "Didn't you hear me cheering for you?"
Ayame smiled bashfully and dropped her arms, chuckling.
"Yeah, that was kind of a dumb question," she admitted. She looked down the hall. "You're here alone? What about the others?"
"They, uh…" Now it was Blake's turned to look sheepish and bashful. "They said, well, Cynthia said that we should, um… have some privacy."
Ayame snickered, blushing a little as she remembered Cynthia's announcement about Blake giving her a consolation kiss. Apparently she wasn't joking around about it.
"Well, uh… I hear I have a kiss promised," Ayame smiled, stepping back into her room and glancing coyly over her shoulder. Blake smiled, and walked into the room after her, closing the door behind him. They sat down on the couch together and Ayame reached into her bag, taking out a stick of gum to clean her breath a little.
A few seconds later, they began making out again.
Oh, yeah, this was way better than her winning, Ayame was certain of that now. Even though she had wanted to smack Gerard a good one, she wasn't sure if it would have had any effect anyway.
"Sorry," Ayame whispered, pulling back. "I wanted to beat that jackass, but-"
"You said it yourself," Blake smiled, placing his finger over her lips to quiet her. "It didn't matter whether you won or lost, right? Because you tried your best, and what mattered to you was that we were all cheering you on."
Ayame smiled back, brushing the sweat off of her forehead.
"Come on, let's go back," Blake smiled, standing up and holding his hand out to her. "I saved a seat for you and everything so you could watch with us."
"Really? Awesome!" Ayame brightened. "Let's go!" She moved to get off the couch with him, and then paused.
"What's up?" Blake asked, glancing down at her.
"Uh…" Ayame glanced away for a second and then turned her eyes back to him, giving him a shy smile. "Could we maybe… make out a little more, first? I need a lot of comforting after my devastating loss, you know."
She batted her eyelashes at him and Blake suppressed a grin, getting back onto the couch.
Ayame may have lost, but she also got something maybe even better than winning. Meanwhile, what does Gerard, the winner, get?