The battle between Alcea and the Phantom is really starting to heat up! Who will win? Will Alcea maintain her lead, or will the Phantom be able to defeat her? Both of them have made an impressive showing, but only one of them can win!
KedharS: That's a pretty good analogy.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Thank you for your thoughts! You shared so much, I'm having a hard time figuring out what to respond to! Though I think I have a guess who you're going to say at the end about who you think Elaina's mother is.
Aquahaze675: Alcea sure is desperate to catch up to him, that's for sure.
Hellraiserphoenix: Definitely got some good thoughts on the coming battles, that's for sure. I also wonder who will win the matches.
Rus4408: I got better at writing, don't worry, it isn't you.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 541
The Phantom watched the anchor sail through the sky, headed right towards his Cofagrigus. But neither he nor his pokemon were worried.
"Curse, use iron defense," the Phantom ordered.
"Cofagrigus!" Curse cackled, the golden sarcophagus making up his body snapping closed tightly and beginning to shine. The anchor bounced off its hard surface without making a scratch.
"Whoa! Look at how tough that pokemon's defenses are!" Lila marveled.
"That's going to be tough to break through," Dakota agreed.
Akira was more worried than the other two, because he had picked up on something that they hadn't yet, and it would be quite a problem for Alcea.
"So you've tightened your defenses, fine," Alcea said. "That just means there's nowhere for you to run if you're hiding in that coffin, is it?"
"Dhelmise!" Hollander rattled, shaking a little and sending some energy through the chains, the anchor shooting up from where it lay on the ground and wrapping tightly around Curse, locking it into the golden box.
"It's a sarcophagus, actually," Valon corrected her. "If you had any love of history then you would be aware of that."
Alcea didn't much care. "Hollander! If it won't come out, then beat on it as you wish with your anchor shot!"
"Dhelmise!" Hollander nodded, spinning in the air. The chain pulled taut and Curse was ripped from the ground, Hollander spinning him like a sling through the air and smashing him against the thick trees surrounding the swamp. But if the ghost pokemon cared about any of this, it was impossible to see behind the thick mask of the sarcophagus.
"That won't work," Akira said, shaking her head. "Alcea forgot one critical thing fighting against the Phantom."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Lila and Dakota asked, looking at him.
"Think about all the pokemon that the Phantom has used so far," Akira said. "Sableye, Chandelure, even that Dragapult. They've got incredible offensive power or speed, but in terms of defense, they aren't that notable. Instead, the Phantom has been using the fact that his pokemon are Shadow Pokemon with the extra resilience that comes with that to make up for their bad defensive ability."
"What about Spiritomb?" Lila asked.
"Spiritomb have acceptable defenses, sure," Akira agreed. "But not compared to a Cofagrigus, and certainly not one that just buffed its defenses by two stages!"
"So what are you saying?" Dakota asked, narrowing her eyes. This didn't sound like a good thing.
"Alcea has been facing offensive Shadow Pokemon whose entire strategy has been to barrage their opponents with powerful Shadow Moves," Akira explained. "But that isn't how Cofagrigus fight! A defensive Shadow Pokemon, that fights by buffing its defenses along with the natural resilience of Shadow Pokemon, isn't something Alcea has had to contend with in this battle!"
"That's not good!" Lila gasped.
"Those attacks are barely doing anything to that Cofagrigus," Akira said, shaking his head. "And that's not all. Take a look at that anchor."
Lila and Dakota both squinted their eyes to get a closer look. Then they both gasped.
"Is that…" Lila began.
"…Toilet paper?!" Dakota finished.
Lila looked at Dakota like she was an idiot. LILA.
"Hollander!" Alcea gasped, seeing what had happened. "Stop your attack!"
Hollander pulled on their chain and retracted their anchor, flinging Curse into the muck. As the anchor retreated, everyone could see that weathered bandages had begun to wrap around it, curling up the chain of the anchor even now and wrapped around the debris that made up Hollander's body, slowing their movements.
"It's Cofagrigus's mummy ability," Akira explained. "Any pokemon that makes contact with it becomes wrapped up in bandages and loses its ability, becoming a mummy instead."
"Hollander's ability is steelworker," Alcea said, narrowing her eyes. "It increases the power of their Steel type moves. With that…"
"Now, it can only use Steel moves like they're any other moves!" The Phantom cackled. "And you fell for it flawlessly! I've been luring you into thinking that Shadow Pokemon could be beaten with a little bit of effort, since the ones you fought were so fragile. Your Dhelmise specializes in physical attacks, but against our defenses you won't be able to do a thing!"
He didn't mention the thing outside of his calculations, the fact that Alcea had been taking advantage of his pokemon's hyper mode. That wouldn't be as impressive.
"Milady!" Kate cried.
"It seems he was planning this for quite some time then," Akira guessed.
"No matter," Alcea said. "A strategy like that will fail if your pokemon loses control! Hollander, return!" Alcea raised her pokeball to recall her Dhelmise, in order to swipe them out for her Ludicolo to try totter dance again.
"We won't let that happen! Shadow hold!" The Phantom ordered.
"Cofagrigus!" Curse's sarcophagus broke open from within the swamp and he began to cackle, shadows shooting out of the dark water and wrapping around the Dhelmise, holding it in place. Alcea was unable to recall her pokemon!
"Oh?" Kanou's eyes widened as she observed this, as everyone else watching the battle gasped in shock and disbelief.
"But… but it's a Ghost type!" Lila cried.
"How-?!" Dakota sputtered.
"That… impossible!" Alcea gasped. "Dhelmise is a Ghost type! You can't prevent a Ghost type from switching out!"
"'You can't prevent a Ghost type from switching out, is it?'" The Phantom mocked, his eyes glowing with a triumphant, demeaning look. "What do you think you know about Shadow Pokemon, little girl? You don't know a damn thing."
Akira frowned. He had suspected that might be a possibility. Ghost pokemon couldn't be trapped normally. But there was nothing "normal" about Shadow Pokemon. They had all been working under the assumption that this "shadow hold" wouldn't be able to trap a Ghost type.
And now they had been proven wrong.
"What's the matter?" The Phantom asked, his smirk widening. "No haughty quip? No talking down to me as a peasant, miss 'Queen of Queens'? You don't even realize how far out of your depth you are, little girl. You're a child playing princess in your garden with your girlfriends, but this is an actual battle. It's no place for some spoiled little rich girl like you."
"How dare you?!" Kate exclaimed, leaping to her feet, her face flushed with anger. "You don't know anything! Shut your fucking mouth!"
"Hey, Kate-" Sango reached over to try and stop her, but she caught Blake's eye and froze, he was shaking his head. The look on his face was just as enraged as Kate's was. Sango lowered her hand and shut her mouth, letting Kate continue to curse out the Phantom.
"…'Spoiled little rich girl' is it?" Alcea said quietly. The air around her had changed. "Someone like you, who can't see further than the surface, has no right to speak about anyone else."
"Oh… that's right…" Dakota gasped. The danger in Alcea's voice brought back an article she had read as a girl in Kalos, about the tragedy and rescue of Alcea Vermeil. She didn't think that much of it even now, but…"
For once, Dakota shut her mouth. She felt that if she said anything it would turn the redhead's ire towards her. Instead, she just silently hoped Alcea would drown the Phantom in the swamp. The look on her face said it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, her gorgeous features twisted with rage and her eyes burning with murderous intent.
"This is the problem with children like you," Valon smirked. "So easily turned to anger. A real queen wouldn't allow herself to lose control so easily."
"Lose control, is it?" Alcea asked. Contrary to the rage on her face, her voice still carried the calmed composure characteristic of her noble breeding. "You're mistaken. What I'm about to show you is how a queen destroys her adversaries. Fully in control. Hollander."
Alcea narrowed her eyes.
"Metal sound."
"Dhelmise," Hollander rumbled, twisting their wheel back and forth as well as they could, their anchor scraping against the chain and creating a grinding sonic wave that made the audience wince in pain to hear.
"Your Cofagrigus might be raising its physical defense, but its special defenses?" Alcea asked, raising her eyebrow. "It seems you aren't focusing on those, is it?"
"…Fair enough," Valon admitted. "But that won't be enough to get you anywhere. That Dhelmise of yours doesn't have the special attack to get through. So try your hardest. In the meantime… Curse, use your curse attack!"
"Cofagrigus!" Curse's dark shadowy arms stretched out, grabbing the banks of the swamp, pulling him free of the sticky bog with a slurp. Staring down at the Dhelmise, a dark aura began to glow around him, and he afflicted Hollander with a wicked curse.
"Now that you can't escape, that curse will quickly wear you away," the Phantom said. "And it won't end there! Curse, use will-o-wisp."
Curse opened his mouth, orbs of ghostly fire floating in the air around him. The fireballs flew towards Hollander, eager to light the ancient bandages wrapped around their body to ashes.
"Whirlpool," Alcea ordered. Hollander's wheel began to spin quickly, whipping up a current of water that spun out like a barrier, smothering the fireballs. When the water faded away, however, the Cofagrigus was gone.
"Cofagrigus disappeared!" Lila gasped.
"It must be hiding in the shadows," Akira noted. "Using phantom force."
Alcea predicted that as well. "Prepare yourself, Hollander."
"Dhelmise," Hollander nodded, floating out into the center of the bog, preparing for the Cofagrigus to reappear. The curse was quickly draining their health, though, and for a moment Alcea wondered if the plan was for the Shadow Pokemon to hide away in the bog until Hollander's health was drained away completely.
"Hollander, use synthesis," Alcea ordered. Hollander began to glow green, absorbing the sunlight to restore their health.
"Now," Valon ordered. Curse appeared behind the wrecked pokemon, hands raised, and struck the Dhelmise in the back with a powerful strike, their debris rattling in response.
"Power whip!" Alcea shouted. Hollander whirled around and flung their anchor, slamming into the side of Curse's sarcophagus, knocking him into the bog. The attack didn't do very much, though, the ghost pokemon's defenses were too powerful. "Now, solar beam!"
"Even her Dhelmise knows solar beam!" Lila marveled.
"That must be a powerful hit with that metal sound!" Dakota agreed.
From the center of Hollander's body, light gathered into their seaweed and they released the light in a powerful beam of light that illuminated the murky swamp, Curse crying out in pain as the destructive rays struck him.
"Quite powerful," the Phantom admitted. "Curse won't be able to withstand much more of this. Curse, use safeguard."
"Cofagrigus…" Curse groaned, nodding and creating a barrier around his body that did nothing to block the powerful solar beam.
"Why's he using solar beam?" Lila asked, confused. "I don't get it."
"It doesn't make sense," Dakota agreed. "It's not like it's light screen or something. "Aki?"
Akira didn't understand the idea behind it either.
"Now, memento," the Phantom ordered.
"Cofagrigus!" Curse shrunk away into his sarcophagus and began to glow with a shadowy aura that eclipsed the natural aura Shadow Pokemon emanated. The aura shot out and struck Hollander, the Dhelmise falling into the muck along with Curse.
"Memento!" Akira gasped.
"A modest sacrifice for greater victory," the Phantom smirked. "Return, Curse."
The Phantom recalled his unconscious Cofagrigus, switching to his next pokeball.
"He used memento…" Blake paled, frowning.
"Memento?" Kanou asked, knowing full well what the move did.
"It's like something Sylvia would do," Blake said darkly. The Sylvia inside of Kanou nodded in agreement, Blake knew her quite well.
"Shade, go," the Phantom declared, sending out his Gengar.
"And for his sixth pokemon, the Phantom has sent out his Gengar, Shade!" Lila announced. "Will Alcea be able to defeat it?"
"Things are looking up, right?" Dakota asked hopefully, turning to Akira. But Akira's expression was grave. He shook his head.
"The move memento… is an insidious and wicked move," Akira said. "The pokemon that uses it faints. And in exchange, they pass on a curse to their opponent. The attack and special attack of the opposing pokemon is reduced to as low as possible, they will barely be able to continue the battle. Certainly, this can be overcome easily by switching to another pokemon, but…"
"But Alcea can't switch her Dhelmise out!" Lila gasped. "That's really, really bad!"
"The Phantom has gained a valuable opening with this," Akira agreed.
"Now, little princess, let me show you what I can really accomplish when I'm putting some thought into a battle," the Phantom smirked. "Shade, start with using taunt."
"Gengar…" Shade began to cackle, the aura around him flaring up. He glared at Hollander, the Dhelmise beginning to shake, charging at the ghost.
"Hollander!" Alcea cried, realizing that it was futile. She sighed, knowing there was nothing that she could do. The Phantom had completely taken away any option from her. Attacking moves? Meaningless. She couldn't switch out. And now that Hollander had been taunted, she couldn't even weaken the Gengar with setup moves. She couldn't do anything but have Hollander futilely use shadow balls that barely did anything, as the curse slowly ate away at her pokemon.
Hollander fired a shadow ball that struck Shade, the pokemon cackling in response.
"This isn't fair!" Lila wailed. "There's nothing Alcea can DO!"
"That was the point," Akira bitterly replied. "He gave himself an opportunity and is going to take advantage of it."
"Insidious…" Dakota shivered, her face going pale as she saw the glimmer of the Phantom's green eyes.
"Milady!" Kate wailed, sinking back down into her seat, her face twisted into a look of despair. She didn't know what to do.
"Nasty plot," Valon smirked. Shade began to cackle, his special attack rising by two stages as he began to set up on the defenseless pokemon.
Soon enough, the end was ready.
"One shadow ball ought to do it," Valon said, feeling the wind blowing in his face beginning to die down. "Even your tailwind has forsaken you. And the sun as well. What a pity. Shade?"
"Gengar!" Shade held up his hands and fired a massive shadow ball that hit Hollander directly, knocking the pokemon out in a single blow.
"Return, Hollander," Alcea said, recalling her Dhelmise. She was down to two pokemon now.
"Alcea only has two pokemon left!" Lila cried. "Will she be able to turn things around?"
Akira couldn't answer her. Things were certainly not looking very good.
"Go, Rayne," Alcea cried. The fire had not left her eyes for even a moment. "Rayne, use totter dance!"
"Oh!" Valon smirked.
"Your pokemon may have massively boosted his power, but if it's in hyper mode then it won't make a difference!" Alcea shouted.
Rayne began to dance, trying to confuse and enrage Shade. But it had no effect.
"Wh-wha…"
"Did you forget my safeguard already?" Valon smirked. Alcea's eyes widened. She had missed it, completely. "I wasn't about to let you confuse my Gengar after all the trouble I spent boosting it. Shade! Finish that Ludicolo off with shadow bolt!"
"Gengar!" Shade cackled, holding up his hands, creating a massive current of shadowy lightning that he fired at the Ludicolo in a massive bolt of electricity.
"Rayne!" Alcea shouted. "Sunny day!"
It was her last chance. Rayne released his energy up into the air, illuminating the marsh with intense sunlight as the dark lightning struck, knocking the dancing pokemon unconscious.
"L-Ludicolo is unable to battle…" Lila stuttered. "Gengar is the winner… Alcea is down to her final pokemon."
"No!" Kate shouted, gripping the back of the seat of the person sitting in front of her. "No, milady! You can't lose! You're the strongest, please!"
"Is there anything she can do?" Sango asked, looking hopefully to Blake, and then to Cynthia.
"This situation… it's bad," Cynthia said, shaking her head. "Shadow Pokemon are strong… and Gengar are strong… and with all the boosts to that Gengar's special attack…"
"I don't see how it's possible," Blake said, shaking his head.
"It is!" Kate cried. "You-you just have to believe in her! She's the queen of queens, she won't lose to someone like that!"
Alcea said nothing as she recalled her Ludicolo. She had one pokemon remaining, her final pokemon, Venus. Very well. If that was how it must be, then the two of them would give it their all.
"Venus, laissez-nous danser," Alcea declared, her Venusaur emerging in a flurry of petals.
"This is Alcea's final pokemon," Lila said quietly. She could see that this wasn't a great battle.
"Venus!" Alcea shouted. "Earth power!"
"Venusaur!" Venus stomped on the ground, the stadium beginning to shake. The muddy ground around Shade began to erupt in powerful explosions, but the ghost pokemon's wicked smile never faded, even when the explosions hit him directly.
"A powerful move," the Phantom admitted. "And super-effective. But too little, far too late. Shade! Shadow fire!"
"Gengar!" Shade charged forward, the dark aura around him growing larger and larger as he approached the Venusaur.
"Venus, away," Alcea ordered. Venus took advantage of her heightened speed from chlorophyll to move far faster than she should, but Shade was more than ready for that. As fast as Venus might have been, the Gengar was still faster.
"This is the end," Valon stated calmly. Shade caught up to Venus, firing a massive wave of fire at the fleeing Venusaur, engulfing it in a torrent of black flames.
"Venus!" Alcea shouted.
"VENUSAUR!" Venus's pained voice could be heard coming from within the inferno, the flames fading away and leaving a badly burned Venusaur lying motionless in the charred muck.
"And so it ends," Valon smirked.
"No…" Kate said, trembling, shaking her head in denial. "No, please…"
Alcea could also see that the end was in sight. But her pride would not allow her to go down without a fight.
"Not… not yet!" Alcea shouted. "Venus!"
Venus's eyes shot opened and she struggled to her feet, glowing with a bright green light.
"So she still had the strength to stay standing?" Valon asked, marginally impressed. "Shade, finish it with another shadow fire."
"You won't have the chance!" Alcea roared. "Venus! Frenzy plant!"
Venus released her energy into the ground, massive roots shooting out from the mud and the grimy bog, hitting Shade from all sides and squeezing the pokemon tightly. Venus used all the strength she had to attack the Shadow Pokemon, but it wasn't enough. The plants squeezed tighter and tighter until the squeezing stopped, the attack finished. And Shade popped out, smile not having faded even a little, injured though he may have been.
"No way, even with that much power…" Lila gasped.
"There wasn't anything she could do," Akira said, shaking his head.
Dakota, for once, was speechless.
"Nothing left to say?" The Phantom asked. "Fine then. Shade, finish it."
"Gengar," Shade nodded, holding up his hands, shadowy flames burning around them as he prepared to attack. Venus, having used all her energy with her frenzy plant, didn't even have the strength left to dodge.
"No way!" Gasps of shock and murmurs of disbelief rose up across the crowd from members of the Gardening Club and other fans of Alcea. "Lady Alcea can't lose!"
"Please, no!" Kate wailed. "Please do something, queen of queens!"
Much like her beloved Venusaur, Alcea felt the strength leaving her body, her legs threatening to give out from under her. But she wouldn't give the Phantom the satisfaction of kneeling before him. Even if she were to lose, she would lose standing proud as someone of her reputation should.
The flames struck Venus and she wailed in pain, Alcea's face a calm look of composure. She didn't cry or wail, she stared with silent dissatisfaction as the last of her pokemon's health drained away from her, letting on no trace of the pain in her heart, as a queen would do.
"Venusaur is unable to battle," Lila quietly reported. "Gengar wins. The winner is Richard Valon, he will advance to the semi-finals."
"As expected," Valon scoffed, recalling Shade. "Holding yourself up so arrogantly, calling yourself a queen when you can only fight to this extent."
Alcea didn't reply to him. She recalled her Venus to her pokeball, and held the hem of her dress, curtsying for him as a gesture of respect he was completely undeserving of. As she did, people in the crowd began cheering her name.
"Oui, you may be stronger," Alcea admitted. "But what I have is not something I would ever want to trade for strength, is it?"
Without another word, she turned and walked off the battlefield with her head held high, the cheering of the crowd letting the world know who they thought should have won that battle.
So Alcea lost, in the end. But she never compromised herself, always holding herself with the dignity that a queen should possess. Next, the battle between Blake and Dokukage!