Alcea has made quite an impressive showing against the Phantom, but will it be enough? Or will the Phantom be able to defeat the queen of queens? We'll have to see for ourselves, the quarter-finals continue! Remember to review!
Hellraiserphoenix: It's definitely going to be an interesting matchup.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Interesting. But what about Blake x Sango, I wonder? That ship was quite popular back in the day.
Void eyes prominence dragon: Definitely more to come.
Aquahaze675: Pretty strong, I would imagine. They are gym leaders, after all.
KedharS: She really is quite a strong trainer, that's for sure. She's going to give it her all, because she's that badass.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 538
"Thinking rather highly of yourself for managing to defeat a single Shadow Pokemon," Valon spat. "Lamp, go!"
Valon sent out his next pokemon, a Chandelure. The same Chandelure he had loaned to Caelia, in fact, something that Lila picked up on.
"A Chandelure! The Phantom has used a Chandelure! I wonder if it's the same Shadow Chandelure that Caelia was using in the Winter Tag Team Tournament?" Lila wondered.
Alcea narrowed her eyes. This was a rather bad matchup.
"This is the risk of using sunny day," Akira noted. "It can definitely benefit your Grass types and their abilities, but it powers up Fire type moves, which can be very dangerous. So to use a Fire type against Alcea, it really hinders her fighting style."
"Right, but she isn't an idiot, right?" Dakota asked. "So I mean, she would definitely know all about that risk and already have strategies to fight back against it, right?"
Indeed, Alcea had expected the Phantom to rely on a Fire type at some point in the match, and she had even guessed what Fire type it would be. The problem was, Anastacia was one of her worst pokemon for this matchup. Fire types, she could handle. Ghost types, she could handle. She had moves to deal with both. But a Fire/Ghost type? That was another matter altogether. Anastacia could do barely anything against the Chandelure, even if it wasn't a Shadow Pokemon.
"Anastacia, return!" Alcea declared, raising her pokeball to recall her Tsareena.
"Leaving so soon?" Valon snarled. "Lamp! Use shadow hold!"
"Chandelure!" Lamp bobbed up and down, shadows shooting up from the flowerbed around Anastacia's feet, wrapping around her arms and her long legs and holding her in place, preventing Alcea from recalling her.
"Anastacia!" Alcea cried.
"I told you already, this won't go as you want," Valon calmly replied. "Trying to switch your pokemon out for a better matchup? I won't allow that. I'll use my pokemon to completely tear yours apart and there's nothing you can do with it. But go ahead, keep struggling with that Tsareena of yours against my Shadow Pokemon. Lamp! Use heat wave!"
"Rather than relying on Shadow Moves, his Chandelure has decided to just use its ordinary fire attacks!" Lila reported, tugging on her collar as the air heated up. "That's a really good idea, if you ask me! Because now, she'll have to face powerful Fire moves which are super-effective anyway!"
"Tsar!" Anastacia cried out in pain as the blast of hot air hit her in the face, Anastacia stumbling back through the flowers as the shadows released her.
I can't return her to her pokeball… in that case, I will have to use whatever means necessary to disrupt him, is it? Alcea didn't like the directions her thoughts were headed. But Anastacia lacked methods of effectively combating the ghost pokemon. He just had the perfect type combination to negate her Normal and Fighting type moves, and weaken her other moves, like her Grass moves. Which left only a few tricks at her disposal, and not ones she was particularly looking forward to using.
"Anastacia, seed bomb," Alcea ordered. Anastacia shook her hair, large seeds firing out of it and flying towards the hovering Chandelure. The Phantom snorted in response.
"Take care of that," he sighed, Lamp releasing a blast of shadowy flames that hit the seeds, causing them to explode into a massive blast in the air, one that would have barely scratched the Chandelure even if he had been caught in it.
But that was fine with Alcea, she was only using the explosions for cover. Anastacia had charged forward after firing the seed bombs, chewing on some power herbs. She jumped into the air, bouncing up high, spinning through the sky and holding her leg out, bringing it down on the center of Lamp's body before he could dodge.
"Chandelure!" Lamp rumbled with a hollow echo, the force of the blow dealing a decent amount of damage, but still nothing that a Shadow Pokemon couldn't shake off. He responded by firing a flamethrower attack at Anastacia, hitting her before the leggy pokemon could dodge to the side.
"Anastacia, are you okay?" Alcea asked.
"Tsareena!" Anastacia nodded, not even bothering to look back. Her attention was squarely focused on the Chandelure ahead of her as she prepared to use her next attack.
If they were going to defeat this Shadow Pokemon, then the first step would be to weaken it. Bounce and acrobatics would deal some damage, but against a Shadow Pokemon it probably wouldn't be enough without STAB. So that left only one option, she just hoped that Anastacia was tough enough to withstand. Alcea closed her eyes, and nodded. Forgive me.
"Anastacia, use teeter dance!" Alcea ordered.
"Tsareena!" Anastacia nodded, beginning to sway back and forth in an alluring dance, catching Lamp's attention. Once she had it, she began moving in erratic ways, zigzagging in different, confusing directions that made the Chandelure have no idea what was going on as he floated forward, his mind completely disoriented.
"Teeter dance?!" Dakota sputtered.
"She's trying to confuse it!" Lila realized.
Alcea had seen what had happened to the Shadow Corviknight that Lana had used in her match against Ian in the first round. So she wasn't all that pleased that she would have to use this tactic. But if it worked, then it was the best course of action for her, so long as Anastacia could fight a Shadow Pokemon that had gone wild.
"CHANDELURE!" Lamp roared, the shadowy aura around him growing even wilder as he lost control of his thoughts and entered hyper mode, the shadows raging around the battlefield turning visible, the air choking as the pokemon flew into a confused rage.
"Oh no!" Lila wailed. "Whatever Alcea just did, now that Chandelure went even more berserk! Look at the aura!"
"It's like Lana's Corviknight," Akira remembered. "That could be a good thing or a bad thing, I imagine, depending on how she's able to address it."
Valon wasn't pleased by this turn of events, but there was certainly something to be gained from observing one of the Shadow Pokemon entering hyper mode as a result of confusion with his own eyes. It would definitely benefit his research. Hyper mode was probably a side effect of the transformation into a Shadow Pokemon, but it was something that he would very much like to get rid of to make Shadow Pokemon more efficient.
Confusing a Shadow Pokemon has now resulted in hyper mode, Valon observed, stroking his chin. In that case, it would be best to take precautions to prevent confusion in order to keep Shadow Pokemon from entering hyper mode.
"Lamp, use flamethrower," he ordered, to try and see if the Shadow Pokemon would listen to him, but Lamp ignored him completely, firing a blast of shadowy flames at Anastacia, who dodged to the side as the flames hit the bed of flowers, lighting them ablaze.
"Anastacia, while the Chandelure is confused, use acrobatics," Alcea ordered. Anastacia ran towards the confused pokemon and leapt into the air, bouncing up to Lance and lifting her leg, unleashing a series of powerful kicks against the Chandelure, knocking Lamp onto the ground. Lamp let out a cry, even though the attack didn't hurt very much, and struck Anastacia with a blast of shadowy flames in response, once again hitting Anastacia before she could jump out of the way.
Alcea bit her lip. She was landing some hits on the Chandelure, and it was no longer listening to the Phantom's orders, only striking out violently against whatever got close to it, but that didn't mean it was any easier to beat. Lamp was strong, a lot stronger than Anastacia, and it was clear that forcing the Shadow Pokemon into hyper mode wasn't going to get Anastacia any closer to winning.
At the same time, though, Alcea understood that if Anastacia couldn't overpower the Chandelure, and she couldn't get away, the best course of action was to weaken the Shadow Pokemon as best as she could.
"Anastacia, change of plans," Alcea called. "Brute strength probably will not be enough, is it?"
"Tsar," Anastacia tersely nodded, agreeing with that assessment. Even with her opponent confused and lashing out wildly, she wasn't getting anywhere. If she got close and took one of those Shadow Moves, it probably wouldn't go well for her.
"To start, use synthesis to restore some of your health," Alcea ordered. If this was going to be a battle of wearing down her opponent's health, it was important to start things off by fully restoring her own health. Not only that, the intense sunlight would help with the healing.
"Tsareena!" Anastacia held her arms out and began glowing green, restoring her health using energy from the sun. But as she paused to heal, Lamp's crazed state brought him a moment of clarity and he saw his enemy clearly, firing a blast of dark flames that engulfed Anastacia, the grass pokemon crying out in pain.
"Anastacia! Push through it!" Alcea ordered, knowing that the health she'd recovered from the synthesis would let her move through the intense fire. "Now, use toxic!"
"Tsareena!" Anastacia held her hand up, a ball of poison appearing, floating in the air. She flung the toxic sludge at Lamp, hitting the ghostly pokemon directly and infecting it with a dangerous, debilitating poison.
"Hmm, problematic…" Valon said, narrowing his eyes as he ignored the cries of pain from his poisoned Chandelure, focusing his energy on how to win. Lamp was nowhere near out of the fight, even confused and poisoned, because he could tell that Tsareena couldn't withstand much. While she could certainly restore her health, it wouldn't be enough to get her through a few good Shadow Moves from a pokemon in hyper mode.
"Milady?!" Kate sputtered, her jaw falling open in surprise. "Her highness… used toxic?"
Kate began to tear up, sniffling a little at the thought that Alcea had actually used one of her favorite moves to fight against her opponent.
"So Grass type moves weren't enough, so she decided to poison her opponent instead!" Dakota marveled.
"Shadow Pokemon are tough, but how easily can they withstand poison, I wonder?" Lila asked thoughtfully.
"Poison is quite a useful tool," Alcea simply answered, flicking her hair dismissively. "A simple trick I learned from a friend of mine, is it?"
Kate thought she was going to die. Yep, she was definitely dying, and that was heaven right before her eyes, in spite of her bad attitude.
"Haaaaah…" Kate moaned, clutching her hands together in prayer as she swooned, closing her eyes tightly. "Milady, your kindness and benevolence truly makes you deserving of the title 'queen of queens'…"
Ayame rolled her eyes.
"She might call herself that, but the boss is the Empress, she's above such things as 'queens' you got that?"
Kate snapped out of her delirium and shot a venomous glare at Ayame.
"You say that again!" She exclaimed, leaping up out of her seat and turning towards Ayame. "Her highness is the most wonderful and majestic woman on this island, far better than Olivia Himeko! All she has going for her is her looks, her highness is the pinnacle of class!"
Ayame wasn't that invested in the conflict between their leaders, but she would rather have her hand smashed with a hammer than put up with someone badmouthing her best friend.
"The boss has more class and elegance in her middle finger than your Rose Queen's entire garden, you got that?!" She growled, rising from her seat and towering over Kate, glaring at her and emanating an intimidating aura. But for once, Kate wasn't going to be intimidated.
"Haaaah!"
Their bickering was cut off by a pained wail that came from between them. Sitting between Ayame and Kate were Julia and Kitty, and Kitty had just fallen out of her seat, the strain of the battle too much for her.
"Kitty!" Julia cried, sliding out of her seat and catching Kitty before she could hit the ground.
"Is she okay?" Kate asked.
Kitty certainly didn't look okay. Her eyes were shut tight and her cheeks were flushed, and she was shivering. Ayame knelt down next to the two and placed her hand on Kitty's head, feeling her temperature.
"She's burning up," Ayame said.
"It's… that pokemon…" Kitty groaned, her eyes opening slightly as she squinted up at them. "That miasma… it's digusting…"
"She's not wrong," Cynthia agreed, staring at the dark aura pumping out of that Chandelure as it thrashed on the battlefield, spitting flames everywhere. It looked nothing like it did when Caelia used it. "That thing looks horrible, I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"See? I told you!" Julia hissed. "This is too much for you, you shouldn't be here to watch these Shadow Pokemon fight!"
"It… it's okay…" Kitty lied, pushing Julia away and standing up, even though she nearly fell over seconds later. "I… I can… keep going. Don't… don't worry. I'll watch… the rest…"
No one there thought that was a good idea, just one look at Kitty told everyone exactly the kind of condition she was in. But at the same time, the fire in her eyes was telling them that it would be a lot more trouble than it was worth to get her to leave.
Julia sighed. She didn't like it. But if that's what Kitty wanted, then that's what Julia was going to do. She was done trying to control her best friend.
"Okay then," she agreed, returning to her seat and patting Kitty on the hand. "But if it ever gets to be too much for you, just let me know. Ayame or I can help you leave, okay Kitty? You don't have to watch this horrible stuff."
"Thank you, Julia," Kitty said, smiling kindly at her friend. "That really means a lot to me." She turned her attention back to the battlefield, wincing as she laid eyes on the Shadow Pokemon again. Words couldn't describe the sight before her eyes, but she wasn't about to let it get the best of her, even if she could feel her stomach churning in disgust.
I am… stronger than this, she reminded herself. She was strong enough to overcome her harmonia driving her off the deep end, with the help of her friends. And as long as they were here, she was strong enough to beat this, too.
"Anastacia, acrobatics!" Alcea ordered. Anastacia leapt into the air and kicked, dancing around Lamp and attacking it from multiple directions with powerful blows.
"She might not be able to use any Grass moves, but Alcea's Tsareena is still really, really powerful!" Lila cheered.
"But that Chandelure is withstanding the attacks rather well," Akira noted, the worry clear in his voice. "After all, it is a Shadow Pokemon."
"True, she's in a rough spot," Dakota agreed. "But as long as her Tsareena can keep landing blows while remaining out of reach of the Chandelure…"
"CHANDELURE!" Lamp roared, the pain of the poison wearing him down even more as he fired a massive blast of shadowy flames that hit Anastacia before she could dodge, the Tsareena crying out in pain as the fire burned her. She fell to her knees, panting, unable to rise as the flames continued to burn her.
"Ah, it looks like Lamp has finally found where you are," the Phantom mused. "Better get away quickly, or else…"
"Chandelure!" Lamp could see the burning figure, Anastacia's cries alerting him to the pokemon's presence. He prepared more shadowy flames and began to attack Anastacia with them, unleashing a barrage of Shadow Moves while Anastacia struggled to keep standing, massive chunks burned away from her health.
"Anastacia, get back!" Alcea shouted. Anastacia leapt back, badly burned, panting. She was clearly on her last legs, and needed to keep her distance from the attacking Chandelure. The Shadow Pokemon was firing blasts of flame all over the place, randomly attacking now that he couldn't see where Anastacia was.
"Chandelure…" Lamp shook his head, his thoughts clearing for a moment even as the poison continued to sap his strength. His eyes landed on Anastacia once more, her synthesis beginning to restore her health. That was all he needed. He created a massive ball of fire the color of midnight in front of his mouth, filling it with more flames from the large burning protrusions of his body, firing the blast of flames at Anastacia and lighting her ablaze, Anastacia crying out as she fell to the burning ground, drained of the last of her health.
"Tsareena is unable to battle," Lila ruled, her face shifting into a frown. "Chandelure is the winner."
"She fought well, but the problem was she couldn't do enough damage with only those moves," Akira determined. "Not being able to switch out on top of a bad type combination is a really devious trap, the question now becomes what will Alcea do about it?"
Alcea considered her options as she recalled her Tsareena, turning the pokeball over in her hands. She was definitely in a rough spot.
Whichever pokemon she sent out to fight against the Phantom's Chandelure, he would counter with another Shadow Pokemon perfectly set to defeat it, and she wouldn't be able to switch out due to its shadow hold. This was a tricky situation to be in.
But… it's not as though I am out of options, is it? Alcea mused, taking out her next pokeball. "Rayne, you're the perfect choice to finish off this fire pokemon!"
Alcea's Ludicolo emerged in a swirl of bubbles, dancing joyfully as he prepared to attack the wild Shadow Pokemon.
"Alcea's next pokemon is her Ludicolo!" Lila cheered.
"A Water type is just what she needs to take down that Chandelure," Dakota agreed.
Akira was a lot more cautious, though. With her performance so far, it was rather amazing that Alcea was able to keep up with the Phantom's Shadow Pokemon. But he honestly couldn't be sure if she actually stood a chance of winning.
And that was a really unnerving thought, to say the least.
Alcea felt similarly. She reached up and flicked her hair to mask wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. She couldn't afford to not look like a flawless battler.
I feel quite on the defensive… a very unique feeling, is it? Alcea mused, smiling a little as she prepared to give it her all.
So Alcea's battle continues! Will she be able to overcome the Shadow Pokemon? Or will the Phantom wipe her out completely? We'll have to find out!