Alcea has seized a powerful lead over the Phantom, but will she be able to hold it? Or will the Phantom overwhelm her with his Shadow Pokemon? We'll have to find out! What other tricks does he have left up his sleeves? Remember to review!

Hellraiserphoenix: The Phantom is definitely not someone to be underestimated, that's for sure.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: No, I actually appreciate long reviews, it makes me happy that someone is thinking so deeply about my writing like this! If I didn't like reviews going in depth I wouldn't respond to them all. I missed them quite a bit since your absence honestly.

Aquahaze675: The Phantom definitely has final boss qualities. As for when that will be? Who can say?

Thunder Fire: Aww, you didn't like Ayame at the start? I thought their interactions together were cute, since she was the first girl Blake was actively flirting with even if he didn't quite realize why for like… two hundred chapters.

KyubiMaster9: It's a little trickier here.

KedharS: Yes he is, but I doubt it will be that simple. He's probably got something up his sleeve.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 540

"And now the Phantom has lost three pokemon!" Lila said, not trying to sound too happy about things. "What will he use as his next pokemon, I wonder?"

There was someone else who was wondering that too.

Murasaki Kanou sat in the stands, her face a blank, dismissive mask. Murasaki Kanou wouldn't have cared one whit for such an unnecessary battle, but there was someone else in her head that was overflowing with excitement.

To think the Phantom would be pressed to this extent… I can barely keep from shaking! Sylvia giggled to herself. Things were turning out to not be as boring and predictable as she had expected, and she couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

"Hey, Kitty, how are you doing?" Julia asked.

By this point in the match, Kitty could no longer maintain her façade of being okay. She was breathing hard and her face was flushed, her brow damp with sweat. It looked like she could barely sit upright, and she was clenching the arms of her seat so tightly that it looked like if she let go she would fall right out of it.

"It's… rough…" Kitty panted. She forced a shaky smile to her face as she turned to Julia and smiled. "But… I'm doing… the best I can…"

Julia could see the struggled in her eyes, and wanted to tell her to stop, but couldn't bring herself to let the words come out.

"You're really strong," Ayame said, putting her hand over Kitty's other hand. Kitty's eyes widened in surprise. She smiled a little and turned back to the battlefield, trying to keep her breathing calm as she watched the battle continue.

"Launcher, go," Valon said, sending out his next pokemon. From the pokeball, a large pokemon emerged, joining Kanna in the sky.

"Draaaaagaapultttt!" The pokemon roared. It was rather oddly shaped, slender with a tail as long as its body, its scales transitioning from black on its torso growing fainter and fainter until the tip of its tail was an ethereal shape, nearly spectral in nature to emphasize its Ghost typing. But the oddest thing about the draconic pokemon was its head, which was flat and wide with raised notches, and small things sticking out that looked like… little dragons? It was almost impossible to see the pokemon's golden eyes on its head, which Alcea realized looked rather like a stealth bomber.

"So that's your trump card, is it?" Alcea asked.

"Would you use a trump card so early?" Valon scoffed. "…Perhaps you would, using your Tsareena when you did. No, this is simply a strong pokemon, in no way is it my ace. Still… more than enough to defeat you, is it?" His tone was a mocking representation of Alcea's verbal tic, which made her eye twitch in irritation and Kate boo him even louder than she had been.

"So the Phantom has sent out a Dragapult," Lila said, shaking a little. She wished Darla was here, she might know what to do about a dragon like that. She knew everything about dragons. But Lila didn't know what she was supposed to say.

I assume that Dragapult is part dragon, Alcea rightly assumed. Which means my Grass type moves won't be as effective against it. We'll have to fight with some caution. And since Kanna lacks any ability to confuse, she'll have to fight this with the Phantom controlling his pokemon's actions, which could be a problem itself.

"Launcher, use shadow hold," Valon ordered.

"Drag!" Shadows launched out from the dragon and wrapped around Kanna's wings, holding her in place.

"Now Alcea can't switch her Tropius out!" Lila cried.

"I'll be doing this from now on," Valon informed her. "We can't have you switching around to that Ludicolo and confusing my Dragapult again. At least not before we get a chance to run wild a little bit, don't you think, Launcher?"

"Drag," Launcher nodded, a smile spreading across his wide face. Alcea wasn't going to let herself get unnerved, though.

"Kanna, air slash!" Alcea ordered.

"Tropius!" Kanna flapped her wings and sliced away the shadows, firing a blast of wind at the dragon pokemon.

"Draaaa!" Launcher shouted, shooting forward and dodging the air slash. He raised his tail and slammed into Kanna's neck, Kanna choking out in pain as she was knocked towards the ground.

"Sucker punch is quite a useful way to strike back against pokemon like yours that rely on their speed and attack," Valon said. "Now, we'll take care of your speed, as well. Launcher, use shadow sky to change things to our favor!"

"Dragapult!" Launcher nodded, the shadows beginning to spread out from his body. But Alcea wasn't about to let this go unchallenged.

"Quickly, Kanna! Before the sky changes, use growth!" She ordered.

"Tropius!" Kanna righted herself before hitting the ground, spreading her wings wide. She began to glow, sunlight gathering into her leafy wings as her attack and special attack increased by two stages each.

"Yeah, that's the way to do it!" Ayame said, pumping her fist in excitement. Alcea was using the same strategy she did!

"Before the sunlight went away, Alcea took advantage of her Tropius's speed to have her use growth and boost her attacking stats!" Lila marveled, remembering Ayame's showing from yesterday. "That could be really useful for fighting a Shadow Pokemon with their high resilience to normal damage, don't you guys think?"

"I think it will certainly help," Dakota agreed. "But…" She looked to Akira, whose expression was stony. That wasn't a very reassuring look.

"It's possible," he agreed. "The problem is… the weather is taking a turn for the worse."

The sky darkened as shadows danced overhead, swirling around in a choking fog. As the shadows gathered around Kanna, she found it harder to fly, slowing down and becoming the perfect target for the Dragapult.

"Now, it's a simple matter of hunting our prey," Valon smirked. "Launcher, use dragon darts!"

"Dragapult," Launcher cackled, blending into the shadows. Lowering his head, he fired the dragons from his head, hitting Kanna easily in the darkness. Both attacks were a direct hit.

"Kanna!" Alcea cried.

"That's really not good," Lila noted. "Look at that thing! It's blending in perfectly into the shadows! There's no way that Tropius can even see him!"

"That pokemon looks like a stealth bomber," Dakota noted. "I assume that's what the Phantom was planning in the first place, using a pokemon like that. Spreading the darkness and then targeting Alcea's pokemon with long-distance attacks, like a sniper."

"Exactly," Akira agreed. "That pokemon seems incredibly fast, and with that tactic, Alcea is basically being hunted."

Alcea could tell that, of course. One look at Kanna and she could see that her pokemon wasn't able to find her opponent, which would be a problem. But she wasn't about to let things get settled so easily, with no way to fight back.

"It won't go as you think," she sneered. "Kanna! Use defog!"

"Oh!" Dakota gasped, brightening. "Yeah, that's something she could do!"

"Tropius!" Kanna flapped her wings hard, sending out a massive gale that blew away the shadows around her, clearing up the air. As the dark winds around the battlefield were dispersed, Launcher's cover was quickly lost.

"There you are," Alcea snarled. "Kanna! Tailwind!"

With another flap of her wings, a powerful gust of air pushed back against the battlefield, boosting Kanna's speed even more and blowing the rest of the shadows away. Kanna picking up speed, she began to glow white.

"Now, sunny day," Alcea ordered.

"Did you think you could keep using these attacks with no consequence?" Valon asked. "Use shadow fire to burn her wings to ash!"

"Dragapult!" Launcher opened his mouth and the openings on his head, and dark flames of shadow shot out from them, hitting Kanna as she lit up the sky again, intensifying the sunlight.

"Tropius!" Kanna wailed in pain, the flames burning her hard, but she wasn't about to let them get the best of her, not while she had finally regained her speed. She pushed through the flames and shot forward, her speed doubling, flying through the sky as the flames extinguished.

"Now, use air slash again," Alcea ordered. Kanna flapped her wings again, preparing another air slash attack.

"Didn't you learn the first time?" Valon demanded. "Sucker punch!"

Launcher shot forward and swung his tail again, striking Kanna in the throat a second time as her wings dispersed the wind harmlessly. Kanna coughed out in pain, but didn't fall.

"As expected! Now, Kanna!" Alcea called.

"Tropius!" Kanna turned her head, her eyes burning angrily, and opened her mouth. Draconic energy was crackling in front of her and she fired a massive dragon pulse that hit Launcher in the face at point-blank range, the dragon pokemon falling backwards.

"DRAG!" Launcher cried in pain, shaking his thin head quickly to disperse the injury from the attack, which didn't hurt as much as it could have.

"A dragon pulse?" Akira asked, surprised.

"Yeah, but it doesn't look like it did much damage," Dakota scowled.

"…Quite a monster, is it?" Alcea said. "It looks like that dragon pulse did almost nothing."

"Surprising, I didn't expect that from you," the Phantom said. "To think your Tropius would have a dragon pulse of all things in preparation, tricky."

"Well, if it works, it works!" Lila nodded, happy that Alcea had done something in response. Even if the pokemon wasn't super injured, it was still something, right?

"There's a certain trainer that I want to defeat," Alcea replied, smiling a little. "The last time we fought… he completely destroyed me with a Dragon type of immense power. So now I'm preparing… for our next battle."

"That's smart of you," Valon nodded. "But those preparations won't be enough to defeat a Shadow Pokemon! Launcher, shadow fire!"

"Dragapult!" Launcher fired more flames at Kanna, the shadows burning towards her. But with a flap of her wings, Kanna evaded them.

Kanna's health is getting low, Alcea noted. Even with her speed, it wasn't a certainty that she could keep dodging forever. "Kanna, use synthesis!"

Kanna slowed down and began to glow green, her health restoring as she absorbed sunlight.

"Why's she stopping?!" Dakota protested. "She's leaving herself a sitting duck!"

"She probably realized it's worthwhile leaving herself vulnerable to recover her health," Akira explained. "If that Dragapult can't finish of her Tropius immediately with this next attack, then the amount of health she'll restore will be substantial."

"That's a nice trick," Valon agreed. "But it won't be enough! Launcher, use shadow down!"

"Dragapult!" Launcher began glowing with a shadowy aura, and released it from his body, striking Kanna with the shadows, drastically lowering her defense.

Alcea clicked her tongue in irritation, that wasn't good. With her defense lowered like that, it suddenly became a lot more risky for Kanna to attack, even with her health restored.

"You didn't think we'd just keep barraging you with weak attacks while you healed, did you?" Valon asked, his eyes shining. "If you're going to keep healing, then we'll have to reduce your defenses to nothing and then finish you off in one hit! Now, Launcher! Lock onto your target!"

"Drag!" Launcher nodded, narrowing his eyes. He began tracking Kanna's movements as she finished healing, flying fast through the sky. But no matter where Kanna moved, Launcher was ready for her, following her every motion.

"Now, dragon darts!"

Launcher fired two dragon bullets at Kanna, who flapped her wings hard, increasing her speed to try and dodge the darts. But it was ultimately useless. No matter how fast Kanna could fly, she couldn't outrun the dragons, which changed their direction to follow her, increasing in speed all the while.

"Kanna, there's no way to escape," Alcea called. "You'll have to endure the hit, and strike back with your dragon pulse!"

Kanna winced in anticipation and nodded, spreading her wings wide to brake her flight. She tilted her head up to stare at Launcher, opening her mouth wide and firing a swift dragon pulse just as the dragons dug into her back.

The dragon pulse exploded and Launcher cried out in pain while Kanna fell from the sky, both pokemon taking a serious blow.

"Oh, that was a dangerous exchange!" Lila gasped. "Both pokemon took serious hits from that!"

"Yeah, but the Dragapult is still flying," Dakota bitterly noted, narrowing her eyes.

"Kanna, use synthesis to restore your health," Alcea ordered as Kanna regained her balance before hitting the ground, glowing green as she began to restore her health.

"Quick attack," Valon ordered. Launcher narrowed his eyes and shot at a blinding speed, crashing into Kanna as she tried to heal herself.

"Look at how fast that pokemon is!" Lila gasped in surprise.

"Sometimes the simplest moves are the easiest," Valon explained. "But while you're busy healing, we need to finish this off decisively, don't you think? Launcher, finish things with shadow end!"

"DRAGAPULT!" Launcher roared, shadows burning around him. He lunged forward and slammed into Kanna while she was healing, the force of the shadows exploding in a massive shockwave that sent both pokemon flying back, Kanna rolling across the ground as Launcher hit hard, crying out in pain. But Launcher, still injured, managed to return to the sky, while Kanna remained motionless on the ground.

"Kanna!" Alcea cried.

"Tropius is unable to battle," Lila judged. "Dragapult is the winner! Since both trainers have lost three pokemon now, we shall be switching the battlefield they'll be fighting on!"

"Not that it will make a difference," Valon scoffed, recalling his Dragapult as Alcea glared at him and called back Kanna to her pokeball. This was fine. The wind was still working in her favor, after all, she could still win this.

The stadium began to rumble as the battlefield switched, the former flower bed in no state to be considered a grass field any longer.

Lila watched the wheel spin on the large screen with the rest of the audience, revealing a ghost. Alcea scowled at that while Valon simply smirked.

Lila sighed and turned back to the mic, not exactly enthused about announcing this new turn of events. "The rest of the match will be fought on Ghost Stage 4, Spooky Swamp Field!"

The rumbling of the battlefield continued, and from the center of the field a large, odious swamp emerged, dark in color and surrounded by trees and mossy protrusions, dark green covering the field. It stank in a way that repulsed Alcea, and around the trees ominous dark lights flickered like will-o-wisps haunting the eerie location as a dense fog began to spread.

"So this stage, is it?" Alcea scowled. "Rather unsuited."

"I think it's the perfect stage," Valon smirked. "Now, Curse, go!"

Valon sent out his next pokemon, which, to everyone's surprise, wasn't his Dragapult. Instead, a large and ornate gold and blue coffin emerged from the pokeball, touching down on the edge of the swamp water.

"It's not his Dragapult?" Lila gasped, surprised.

"Maybe it's not a good pokemon for this environment," Akira guessed. There were a lot of obstructions and potential hiding places within the bog, and it would be difficult for an airborne pokemon to maneuver around them.

"Launcher will be recuperating," the Phantom explained, his eyes flashing. "But don't worry, I may send him out again if needed. In the meantime, you can satisfy yourself with this!"

On his cue, the coffin began to rattle and shake. The head plate slid open and a dark aura oozed out of it, even denser than the darkness emanated by Shadow Pokemon normally. It wrapped around the coffin and extended out into four long hands of shadow, the face inside of the coffin pitch black. Then, wicked red eyes began to glow from within, and a flash of white from the pokemon's toothy grin became visible as well.

"Cofagrigus!" The pokemon rumbled, the shadows around his body beginning to blend with the shadows inherent to Shadow Pokemon.

Olivia Himeko watched from her box, and though she had no trace of harmonia herself still felt disgusted upon seeing the pokemon. While she had been rooting for the Phantom this entire match, she couldn't cheer for that… thing.

"Ridiculous. My Rooney is a far more appealing pokemon, I can't imagine why anyone would choose to have a Cofagrigus in comparison. Riches and gold aren't everything you know, there's a little something called 'taste'."

No one really wanted to comment on her pettiness, especially since she'd spent that entire round rooting for the objectively wrong person to win out of a petty rivalry in the first place. That was just the kind of woman the Empress was.

"The Phantom has chosen Cofagrigus for his first pokemon in the second half of this match!" Lila announced. "And as for Alcea…"

"Hollander!" Alcea declared, throwing her pokeball into the air. From within, her Dhelmise emerged, the pokemon made of wreckage and seaweed creaking and rattling as it hovered in the air ahead of her, their anchor swinging back and forth ominously like a pendulum.

"Alcea's chosen her Dhelmise! One of her stronger pokemon!" Dakota cheered.

"You aren't the only one who can make use of Ghost types," Alcea said, narrowing her eyes. "And as I'm sure you know, Ghost pokemon cannot be sealed, not even by that shadow hold of yours. So we'll switch out however we wish! But there's no need for that now. Not when we can easily overcome a ghost like that! Hollander, let's go!"

"Dhelmise!" Hollander rumbled, the seaweed of their body throbbing and shifting in response, as their wrecked body creaked. With a rumble, their anchor dropped, the long chain extending as it spun around them slowly, picking up speed.

"Start with anchor shot!" Alcea ordered, Hollander flinging the massive anchor at the cackling sarcophagus.

Valon smirked, his eyes flashing. Alcea had no idea what was in store for her.

Things are getting more intense! Don't worry, even though they said it was the halfway point in the battle, it's not, we're getting closer to the end, don't worry! But in the meantime, you can enjoy the epic confrontation between these two! Who will make it to the semi-finals?!