The battle is really heating up now! Misato is on her last pokemon… but what could it be? What trump card does she have in store to defeat the Commander? Will the Commander be able to fight back against it? These two are strong, but only one of them can win. The Commander's "Sense"? Or Misato's planning and strategies? Where and what could her secret weapon be?
KedharS: Yeah, that's quite a way to say it. "What the hell" indeed.
Pokemonking0924: Not another Rotom, nope. Not a Ghost type, either.
Thunder Fire: It's flavor. The abilities are functionally identical, but Libero is a flavored version specifically for Cinderace.
Aquahaze675: Why so serious?
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 531
Misato continued to shake, holding her face with her hands as her mouth twitched and cracked, throwing her head back and cackling, to the shock of the audience.
Alden, her opponent, had no idea what to do about the fact that this robot girl, who until now had been completely blank and emotionless, had broken out in mad laughter that sounded like the crackle of computer static.
"What the… what's going on?!" Dakota demanded, turning to Sylvia, the only person who might know something about what the hell was going on with Misato's transformation.
"…Whatever could you mean?" Sylvia coolly asked, leaning back in her seat.
"What happened to Misato Daisan?" Dakota asked. "She's acting so…"
"You're an investigative journalist, figure it out yourself," Sylvia replied.
"Zi…zizizizizizi!" Misato cackled, her body twitching and straightening up, and she leapt into the air, landing on the ground in front of Carin.
"Carin!" Alden shouted, realizing what was happening seconds too late, Misato laughing and bringing her fist up into Carin's jaw, knocking her back.
"Cari?!" Lucario sputtered, wiping her mouth, her eyes wide in surprise.
"Agility," Misato said, crackling static in the back of her throat as she ran, her speed increasing as she chased Carin.
"Lucario," Carin growled, quickly regaining her balance. She created another bone in her paws and swung it at Misato, who ducked beneath the swipe, holding up her hand. A beam of rainbow light shot out of her palm and hit Carin in the face, stunning her. Carin wiped her eyes, her vision blurred by the psybeam, as Misato continued to attack her. They were just punches so they did little damage to the Steel type Lucario, and a wild yet well-placed kick sent her flying backwards.
Carin stood up, panting, snapping out of confusion.
"What the hell is going on?!" Akira demanded, turning to Sylvia. "I don't know what's going on, but the trainers aren't allowed to participate in pokemon battles, only pokemon!"
A bunch of trainers in the stands were shouting in agreement, calling it an unfair situation, while the other half were cheering the fight on, interested in seeing the admittedly hot girl in sleeveless tank top beat up on a pokemon.
"Didn't you see the psybeam?" Sylvia replied. "She is a pokemon. You know. In a technical sense."
"What does that even mean?" Dakota protested.
"Explain now, or we're disqualifying her," Akira threatened.
Sylvia sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Fiiiiiine…"
She sat up straight and pointed to Misato, who dodged another swing from Carin, jumping up and landing a sizable distance away from her, holding her hand up and firing a thunderbolt at Carin, who deflected it the same way she deflected the one Sparky had launched at the beginning of the battle.
"There is a very rare pokemon out there," Sylvia said. "Its scarcity is because it is manmade. An artificial pokemon."
"An artificial pokemon?" Dakota gasped. "You can't be serious."
"Deadly," Sylvia confirmed. "In the pokedex and everything. There's only one problem, though. The pokemon in question lacks a… tangible body, per se."
"Huh?" Akira and Dakota glanced at each other, not sure what that meant. A pokemon without a body?
"What, like a Ghost type?" Dakota asked.
"No, like a computer code," Sylvia explained. "An artificial pokemon whose body is created entirely out of programming code, with no physical body of its own. It exists digitally, on a computer. Or in a cell phone. Or a Mechadoll."
"Wait, so…" Dakota put the pieces together a little faster than Akira. "So right now Misato…"
"Like when she fused with her Rotom, she has merged one of those pokemon into herself," Sylvia clarified. "The pokemon Porygon."
"I think I've heard of that," Akira said, nodding. "An artificial pokemon…"
"And not only is it artificial, but Silph Co. was the one who designed it," Sylvia continued. "And not only that… they upgraded it, as well. Porygon has multiple forms. Porygon, Porygon2… and a certain favorite of mine, Porygon-Z."
"Porygon-Z?" Dakota glanced at the battlefield.
"Zi!" Misato giggled, her voice making a distorted warble as her head shook, her golden eyes spinning. "Zizizizizizizi!"
"When Porygon2 was exposed to a corrupted data file of dubious origin, its programming code was completely altered, and its information became something beyond what it was supposed to. It's acting rather oddly… and now its code has merged with Misato."
"That… that sounds like a horrendous idea!" Dakota gasped. "That… I don't know anything about her, but her software has got to be unique, right?! Someone would risk corrupting a… what was it? A Mechadoll? Such an advancement in scientific engineering and computer programming, and you're putting it at risk by shoving some corrupted pokemon program code into it?!"
"It's the other way around," Sylvia smirked, knowing she would probably get in trouble for revealing this but not caring one whit for the Phantom or his secrets. This was far too much fun. "The Porygon Project was the prototype for the AI of the Misato Series. They are compatible programs. However, exposure to Misato's AI in the first place… that was the corruption that led to the development of Porygon-Z. So there's nothing to worry about! Misato won't have her data corrupted by letting her Porygon-Z, Discord, inhabit her body. If anything, you should be more concerned for the Porygon-Z!"
Akira glanced at the maniacal look painted across Misato's face and the twitching motions her body was going through. He wasn't so sure about that.
Misato dodged Carin's swing and leapt back, Carin changing up tactics.
"Aura sphere," Alden ordered. Carin dispelled her bone and held up her paws, creating a glowing sphere of light between them. She fired it at Misato, who stood there with her broken grin and allowed the attack to approach, not even bothering to dodge. The aura sphere struck the light screen in front of her, not managing to break through. Alden scowled. It would take more to get through those defenses. "Okay, Carin, new plan. We're going to have to break through those barriers, so use brick break!"
"Lucario!" Carin nodded, switching to an offensive stance and charged forward, raising her fist and preparing to strike.
Misato's smile widened. Carin struck the barrier… and passed right through it, not shattering it at all. Startled, the canine pokemon stumbled forward and passed through Misato as well, the Mechadoll turning and grabbing Carin by the back of the neck as the Lucario passed through her, Carin struggling and swinging her arms to hit her but they kept passing through.
"Thunderbolt," Misato said, raising her other hand, electricity coursing through it. She brought the bolt down on Carin's back, the Lucario crying out in pain.
"Carin, bone rush," Alden quickly ordered. Carin withstood the pain and raised her paws, creating a bone of energy, and swung it, hitting Carin in the stomach and knocking her backwards, the Mechadoll releasing the Lucario.
"Okay, what the hell was that?!" Dakota demanded as Carin picked herself up off the ground. "That Lucario just ran right through Misato like she was a Ghost type!"
"That was a move known as Conversion," Sylvia explained. "Well, Conversion 2, to be specific. It's one of the special programs of the Porygon line. It allows them to adapt to their opponents, turning their typing into a move that is resistant to the move last used by the opponent. So since Carin last used aura sphere, Conversion 2 transformed Misato into a Ghost type, allowing her to nullify the attack completely."
"That sounds like a really powerful move," Akira noted. "It allows her perfect adaptive power? Just turning into whatever move will resist the opponent's move?"
"Exactly," Sylvia proudly declared. "Misato and Discord are an amazing combination! The pinnacle of artificial intelligence! Adapting and transforming themselves into the perfect fighting machine, responding instantaneously to anything Misato's computer-fast processors can absorb! Right now if she were to use Conversion 2, she could then maybe turn into a Flying type to rise above the attack. She'll choose whatever works perfectly for victory. In spite of her… attitude, that computer brain of hers is still identifying the most probably path to victory."
"Carin!" Alden called out. "Are you okay?"
"Lucario!" Carin nodded, spitting some blood. Her eyes were fierce and she wasn't about to lose. She charged at Misato again, her paws covering in ghostly miasma as she used shadow claw to attack the now-Ghost type Misato.
Carin swung her claw and struck, hitting the reflective screen and not able to pierce through it. Misato's eyes widened and her eyes flashed, electricity crackling through her body.
"Discharge," she giggled, releasing a shockwave of electricity at struck Carin, knocking her back. Carin withstood the electricity and landed on her feet, growling angrily.
"Carin, life dew," Alden ordered. Carin raised her hands, water gathering in the air above her, glowing brightly with restorative light as it spread across her fur. She dodged a psybeam from Misato as her health recovered, and charged back in, preparing to attack. But first, she needed to be smart about this, since her other moves weren't working.
"Lucario," Carin said, stopping in front of Misato's barrier. She held her paws up and created another bone of energy, spinning it over her head as she used swords dance, boosting her attacking strength.
"Nicely done, Carin!" Alden nodded. "Now, with your attack boosted, you should be able to smash through that barrier easily!"
"Lucario!" Carin nodded in agreement. She raised her bone, and it dispersed, shadows gathering around in her claws as she prepared to strike. She swung, hitting the barrier with full force. The force field began to shake and crack, small fissures spreading out across it.
"Zizizi!" Misato giggled, not bothered in the least by what she was observing. Her eyes refocused and she locked on to Carin. "Target acquired. Escape impossible. Zizizi!"
"Lucario!" Carin finally smashed through the reflect, driving her claw into Misato's stomach. Misato continued to giggle even as the force of Carin's attack launched her across the battlefield, the Mechadoll rolling through the dirt.
"Zizizizizizi-zi-zizi-zizizi!" Misato's cackling was broken as she rose to her feet, cuts on her artificial skin revealing the machinery underneath, but leaving her otherwise undamaged. "Targeting complete."
Misato raised her hand, palm aimed at Carin. It broke into four pieces, each section sliding aside to reveal a large chamber built into her wrist. A black orb appeared in front of the extending muzzle, electricity crackling around it.
"Zap cannon!" Misato shouted, firing the orb at high speed, the sphere aiming right for Carin. She jumped out of the way, but she couldn't dodge the attack; it turned around and came right for her, hitting her in the back!
"LUCARIO!" Carin exclaimed, her body wracked by the devastating burst of electricity.
"That was zap cannon!" Akira cried. "One of the strongest electric moves there is! It almost never hits, but when it does, the pokemon is paralyzed completely!"
"Lu… cario…" Carin had been badly injured by the attack. She lay on the ground with electricity surging through her, her body twitching. She tried to pick herself up, but she was moving too slowly, fully paralyzed by the discharge.
"Carin, you need to heal yourself again!" Alden shouted. Life dew wasn't going to cover it this time. "Use rest!"
"Thunder!" Misato's hand returned to its original form, electricity crackling through it. She launched the build-up of electricity into the air with a flick of her wrist, the charge falling back down in a massive bolt that struck Carin before she could carry out Alden's orders to heal, the powerful bolt of lightning electrocuting the Lucario again, wiping out the rest of her health.
"Carin!" Alden cried.
"And the Commander has lost his first pokemon!" Sylvia cackled. "Lucario is unable to battle, so Misato… or, I guess, Discord, is the winner!"
"Zizizizi!" Misato buzzed cheerily, the Porygon-Z possessing her delighted by the news.
"Return, Carin," Alden said, recalling his Lucario. He was still smiling in spite of his lost pokemon. "That was a good battle."
Alden returned his attention to Misato, his smile widening.
"Before, I wasn't that invested in fighting you, since I thought you were just a robot, Misadoll. I couldn't feel any 'Sense' coming off of you at all. But now…" Alden stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Now, it feels like there is something there… though I'm not quite sure what. And right now, I'm enjoying this battle immensely!"
Alden sent his next pokemon out, his Espeon again.
"Eifa! You've only got one move to work with, so we're going to have to make it count!" He called.
"Espeon!" Eifa nodded.
"So that's why Misato put that choice band on his Espeon!" Akira realized.
"What do you mean, Aki?" Dakota asked. Sylvia gave him a knowing smirk. He'd finally figured it out.
"Thanks to the choice item, Espeon can only use one move," Akira explained. "And whatever that one move is, Misato, or rather, her Porygon-Z, will be able to use her Conversion 2 move to turn her typing into a move that's a perfect counter. Say, a Dark type if Espeon used a Psychic type move. And when that happens, there's nothing the Espeon will be able to do."
"No way!" Dakota gasped. "…I need to find a way to do that against you, Aki!"
"That's not fair!" Cynthia exclaimed from the stands, her face going pale.
"It's as fair as any of the tricks you've pulled," Blake reminded her, pulling her back down into her seat. "Isn't this your guy, Cynthia? Shouldn't you have a little bit of faith in him?"
Sango wondered what Maddi's reaction to this was. After what Maddi had told her about Silph Co. and the Misato from her past, she wondered just how connected they all were. There was more going on here, she just knew there was.
The mood in the Commander's box wasn't a good one. Maddi could feel tension piling up in the room like noxious gas, and similarly she was finding it hard to breathe. Vic was radiating irritation, seething in anger as she glared out the window, everyone keeping a healthy distance away from her, fully aware of how she got when she got mad.
Maddi herself was wondering what exactly the Commander would be able to do in this situation. From the way Sylvia had been describing Misato, she sounded nearly invincible. As a type specialist, Maddi knew how big of an advantage it was to be able to change typing on the fly, and adapt to whatever pokemon she was fighting.
While everyone else was concerned, though, the Commander himself wore a look of excitement, the fire in his eyes not dimming even an instant.
"Eifa, about that time?" Alden asked.
"Espeon," Eifa nodded. Her eyes flashed red and her ruby began to shine, and a blast of psychic energy struck Misato, knocking her backwards.
"Zi?!" Misato's electronics went wild for a second as she shook, tumbling to the ground.
"What was that?!" Sylvia demanded. "Was that his Espeon's move?"
"That," Alden called over to her, "was future sight."
Sylvia gasped in realization as Dakota cheered.
"Oh, yeah!" Dakota exclaimed. "I remember now!"
"I had Eifa prepare a future sight attack way back at the beginning of the match," Alden replied. "Sending her psychic power into the future to attack whatever pokemon was left. And now, she called it back, to strike Misato without forcing her to waste her move slot! And not only that, the move hits right through those barriers of hers! Now, Eifa, baton pass!"
"Espeon!" Eifa's eyes flashed again and she returned to her pokeball, replaced with Tracey. The Cinderace landed on the ground and took off running, charging right for Misato, who was still getting up off the ground. She didn't stop to consider why she was fighting against the person who she had seen using pokemon now, but she wasn't questioning the Commander's orders. The human was standing on the battlefield, and that made her a viable target.
"Tracey!" Alden shouted. "Flame charge!"
"Cinder!" Tracey charged forward, flames dancing around her as her speed increased. She kicked the large reflective barrier, shattering through the gaps that Carin had put in, hitting Misato in the stomach and knocking her off her feet again.
"With reflect gone, she has no defenses," Alden reminded Tracey. "Now, use pyro ball!"
Tracey began to dribble a massive fireball, pulling her leg back and kicking it straight at Misato as she stood up, Misato's head shooting up. She raised her hand, and a new reflect appeared in front of her, deflecting the pyro ball, the attack bouncing off harmlessly.
"Zizizi!" Misato giggled, straightening up. "I can also create reflect and light screen."
"That's four times now that pyro ball has completely failed," Sylvia smugly reminded everyone. Akira rolled his eyes.
"Well, it looks like it's going to be difficult to break through those barriers," Alden said, stroking his chin. "Especially without the use of brick break."
"Cinder," Tracey murmured, nodding her head. She only had one pyro ball left, and she had to make it count.
Misato's eyes widened and she smiled. She focused on Tracey, locking onto her as she raised her hand, which began to slide back into her zap cannon.
"Well, if it worked the first time," Sylvia smirked.
"Tracey, use agility!" Alden ordered. Tracey nodded her head and leaned forward, running at high speed around the battlefield as she kept her eyes on Misato, trying to throw the Mechadoll off-track. It might have worked on a normal opponent, but Misato wasn't normal.
Misato didn't let Tracey's zigzagging throw her off. She tracked the pokemon's movements with her precise vision, following her as she moved her hand to realign, locking down on the Cinderace and generating a zap cannon to fire again.
"You cannot run away," Misato said giddily, laughing wildly as she fired the blast of electricity, compressed so tightly it was pitch black. Tracey tried to dodge the attack, but it was following after her. She ducked to the side, shooting at a 90 degree angle, but the zap cannon shot after her, and she knew she couldn't avoid it. She would have to outrun it. But that wasn't working, either. She ran faster and faster, meeting the Commander's eyes as Misato cackled with madness, her body twitching as she lowered her hand.
"Cin," Tracey nodded, turning back to the approaching zap cannon, choosing not to run away as the attack hit, exploding in a powerful blast of lightning.
Oh no! Tracey has been hit by zap cannon! Will she be able to withstand it? The Commander was winning, but Misato's new transformation has managed to turn the tables. Will he be able to turn them back? Will the Commander win? Or is Sylvia right, that Misato is too powerful now to defeat since her body's programming has been amplified by Porygon-Z.