With Alcea's loss to the Phantom, all eyes turn to Blake and his battle against Dokukage! Will Blake be overwhelmed by the older student's ninja tactics? Or will he be able to somehow sneak out a win? We'll have to see for ourselves just how crafty he can be! Let's find out!

Aquahaze675: You're a terrible person.

KedharS: She really is.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Hopefully the battle will be good. And I hope Alcea's gratuitous French isn't too massacred.

Tambry96bj: Well, you got your wish.

Hellraiserphoenix: Olivia is probably thrilled. And the Commander is actually facing Raizer next, Ian is facing Gerard.

Hpntheman: Maddi is cool and all, but she's not a viable target to be the main character.

Thunder Fire: We'll have to find out.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 542

"Lady Alcea…" Kate had sunken back into her seat, crying openly, making an already-tense situation even more awkward. While Blake was the only one there who could argue that he knew Kate relatively well, even the others knew that she wasn't the kind of girl to make such a direct display of sadness considering her abrasive personality and venomous tongue. So to see her sobbing like this made it hard to know what to say.

Which was why it came as a surprise to everyone when Sango reached over and patted Kate on the back sympathetically.

"S-Stop it, leave me alone," Kate spat, shaking Sango's hand free. She appreciated the gesture but she wasn't in any state of mind to be able to accept her kindness directly. So she responded as she always did, venomously. Sango sighed, but didn't hold it against her. That was just how Kate was, she could be… difficult.

She'd probably feel badly about it later and apologize.

"So Alcea really lost…" Blake finally said, stunned. He would be lying if he said that part of him hadn't been expecting that outcome, but that didn't mean he hadn't been hoping that she would find some way to win.

If Alcea couldn't defeat the Phantom, then Blake doubted he would be able to, either. He had fought against Alcea at the beginning of the year, and she had destroyed him. He had seen her fight against his brother, and he knew his brother's strength well. And even her fight against Gabrielle Breaux had demonstrated her strength.

Blake had improved this year, but he doubted he would be able to defeat Alcea in a head to head battle at his current level. And if he couldn't defeat her, there was no way he would be able to defeat the Phantom, who had defeated her so handily. Hell, Cynthia was probably right and he was going to be wiped out by Dokukage and his bugs. The man was a ninja after all and he was lower-ranked than Alcea, yet able to take out a whole team of Shadow Pokemon without losing a single pokemon on his team, there was no way Blake could-

Warm fingers on Blake's cheek caught his attention and he turned to Ayame, surprised.

"It's okay," she said. "Just so your best. You don't need to worry about anything, because you're going to go out there and do your best, and win or lose, it doesn't matter, right? Just do the best you can. That… that's what you always tell me, right?"

"…Yeah," Blake said, his panicked heart slowing back down to normal. "Thanks, Aya. I was kinda spiraling there."

"AWWWWWW! You two are adorable!" Andy cooed, Blake and Ayame shaking with a start, realizing where they were. This hadn't been some heartwarming exchange in the privacy of a waiting room, they had just done it in front of all their friends.

"Err… so, yeah! Do your best!" Ayame said a little too loudly, turning in her seat so she was facing forward and burying her hands in her lap.

"Y-Yeah, I will," Blake said, nodding, turning bright red.

Lila's announcement helped to clear the awkward tension in the air.

"The next round, Blake Harker vs. Dokukage! Competitors, please make your way to the battlefield!" She declared.

Blake sighed, still feeling a little tense, but no longer as anxious about the chance of losing as he had been. He rose from his seat as his friends around him said supportive encouragements to boost his spirits.

Most of them, anyway.

"Don't worry, Blake, it's just a ninja," Cynthia teased, winking at him. "So if you lose it'll be over in a flash!"

Blake shot her a look.

"I-I think you c-can win," Kanou said, peering up at him through her thick glasses. "So do the best you can, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Blake smiled, shuffling past her and Andy and walking out into the aisle.

"Blake!" Blake turned to see Ayame, wearing a broad smile on her face. She held up her hand and jauntily flipped him off. He grinned and returned the gesture.

Blake turned and headed towards the closest entrance into the stadium, making his way through the halls and out onto the battlefield. Aya had been helpful, her support calming him down quite a lot. But now that she wasn't here, he felt his nervousness welling up again. He… he could do this, right? It was fine, even if he lost, it was fine.

But he knew it wasn't fine, not really. As much as his brain could tell him that this was some nothing tournament that wasn't a big deal, win or lose, he couldn't bring himself to accept that, he wanted to win. He was quickly starting to realize the hypocrisy of his words to Aya the night before. Yeah, it didn't matter if they won or they lost. But that didn't mean that they should just feel nothing about the chance of losing, or not want to do their best to win.

Blake sighed as he stepped out into the bright lights of the stadium, the setting sun hitting his eyes. He still had a long way to go before he could compartmentalize like his brother seemed to be able to do so easily.

Maybe it helped that Kanone didn't really do the whole "losing" thing.

Blake stood across the battlefield from Dokukage, who had been waiting patiently for him to arrive. From behind his face mask, the young ninja opened his dark eyes, staring silently at Blake.

"H-Hi," Blake greeted him with a half-hearted wave.

"So you've come," Dokukage said, giving him a brief nod. "Then are you prepared to fight?"

Blake realized he was kind of slacking back, so he adjusted his posture and straightened himself up, so that he looked more ready to fight and less like a nervous kid.

"Alright, we're moving onto the second match of the quarter-finals and our last match for the evening!" Lila announced. "Blake Harker vs. Dokukage! They'll be fighting each other on…"

Lila turned and gestured to the screen, which began to flip through a series of symbols before stopping on a large gear. "Steel Stage 3, Tall Skyscraper Field!"

"Skyscrapers?" Blake said, surprised. The ground in front of him began to shake and he was caught off-guard, stumbling back a little as the battlefield shifted into a new terrain. Large metal spires emerged from the ground, shiny and bright like a real city. While not even close to the size of a real skyscraper, the buildings still towered over him and it was clear that there would be a lot of obstacles and hiding places. Unfortunately, it looked like a good battlefield for a ninja.

Blake quickly got his bearings again and refocused now that the battle was about to begin. He stared through the cluster of buildings at Dokukage, who was looking calmly back at him. Blake wondered for a moment if he should sent out his pokemon first… but no, that was probably what the ninja wanted him to do.

"We'll start," Dokukage said, holding up a pokeball. "Kagemusha."

Dokukage flung out his pokeball and sent out his Golisopod, the menacing bug pokemon stepping into the model city and raising his claws threateningly like one of those mutated pokemon from the movies preparing to knock it down.

"Dokukage sent out his Golisopod, the first pokemon he used in his last match," Lila noted. "That seems like a strong choice on his end, if you ask me!"

"I wonder what Blake's going to use against it?" Dakota mused.

"Blake certainly witnessed Dokukage's fighting style when he showed it off against Keahi Revanche," Akira reminded them. "So he must have been prepared for this. The question is all about what his strategy is for countering his opponent's tactics."

Blake did have a pretty good idea of what Dokukage's overall strategy was, not to mention a good sense of what he was planning to accomplish sending out his Golisopod first. Callie and Cynthia had both graciously (suspiciously so, in Cynthia's case) taken time out of their classes to help prepare him for his match this evening, so he had a good idea what to expect.

He'd even internalized Callie's information that Dokukage would often lead with his Golisopod, to take advantage of the pokemon's first impression move as quickly as possible. Considering that, Blake had known for hours what his first move was going to be. And he'd even gotten a present from Sango to make it effective.

And yet, somehow his hand was still not letting him throw that pokeball.

"What's he waiting on?" Dakota grumbled.

"Calm down," Akira said. "He's probably considering his options carefully. Against an opponent of that level, it's smart to prepare."

Dakota rolled her eyes but even she couldn't argue against Akira's point.

"Come on, Blake! You can do it, don't worry!" Aya's voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd, and Blake brightened, clutching the pokeball in his hand tightly, flinging it out. He knew that he had Aya's support, and that was enough for him.

"Tara, go!" Blake shouted, sending out his beloved Snivy.

"Snivy!" Tara landed on the battlefield, staring adamantly up at the large Golisopod, her eyes fierce and ready to fight.

"Blake's sent out his Snivy!" Lila said. "That's… an interesting choice, I guess?"

"Why's Blake using his Snivy?" Dakota asked, turning to Akira. "Is… is that a good idea?"

"Blake has a limited selection of pokemon," Akira said. "Still, he should have enough pokemon to not have to use his Snivy, right? He should know that using a Grass type against a team of Bug types would be a problem… Hmm… I wonder if he's got something planned."

Blake had something planned alright. The question was whether or not his plans would bear fruit, or if he would find himself completely out of his depth.

"Interesting," was all Dokukage had to say. "Kagemusha, first impression!"

"Gollll!" Kagemusha growled, shooting forward and raising his claw. He swiped at Tara, swinging his powerful claw at her as hard as he could. Tara barely had time to respond, nowhere near fast enough to dodge, the Golisopod knocking her off her feet and sending her flying into one of the skyscrapers, hitting it hard.

"Oh no!" Lila wailed.

"Just as I thought," Dakota sighed. "He's getting tossed around already."

"Snivy!" Tara's stubborn hiss rang across the battlefield. She leapt off the miniature building towards Kagemusha, her eyes shining fiercely.

"Tara, leaf tornado!" Blake ordered. Tara held up her hands and sent a powerful gust of wind at the bulky pokemon, razor-sharp leaves caught in the twister and cutting into the pokemon's armored hide as he withstood the attack.

"Your Snivy is quite resilient, enduring an attack like that so well," Dokukage noted.

Blake smirked. "Tara and I came prepared."

"Yeah, I can't believe it!" Lila agreed. "That Snivy looks really fragile, I'm surprised that she was able to withstand such a powerful Bug type move! Look, she's barely injured!"

Indeed, Tara's scales had some cuts and bruises from the slash, but not any damage as serious as the force of the attack earlier would suggest.

"Strange…" Dakota said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Akira was also suspicious, having fought that Snivy himself a few times. Tara may be stronger than the last time he'd seen her fight, but not THAT much stronger.

"How did he do that?" Reiner asked, confused.

"Oh, you want to know?" Cynthia asked, smirking. "Blake really used his brain on this one! After Callie explained to him how first impression worked this morning, he thought about how Golisopod could only use it the one time, and only as their first move. That's what got him to come up with the idea. And of course, I was the one who helped him the most, with my crafty little mind."

Cynthia cackled, while Sango rolled her eyes.

"I was the one who found the berry," she muttered.

"Berry? What berry?" Nikita asked, adjusting her glasses. She had vague memories of Sango using berries before in their classes, and she'd used them on occasion herself. "Like a sitrus berry, to restore her health?"

"That wouldn't have been enough," Sango said, shaking her head. "He was just lucky I had one on hand from back when I went berry collecting in Hoenn! No, it was a tanga berry."

"…OOooooh!" Ayame gasped in realization, having done some research on berries and their health benefits for pokemon herself. She was the only one who understood what it meant, though, everyone else looking at Sango with confused expressions on their faces.

"What's a tanga berry?" Julia asked.

"It's one of a special breed of berries," Sango explained. "When a pokemon eats one, they reduce the damage from super-effective attacks inflicted on them. Tanga berries protect the eater from the next super-effective Bug type move!"

"Oh! So Blake gave Tara a tanga berry to hold, knowing that Dokukage would almost-certainly use his Golisopod first, and that when he did, he would have it use first impression! That way, Tara could withstand the first attack easily and make Dokukage waste his use first impression!" Nick put the pieces together, Callie nodding in agreement, her eyes shining.

"Now, it's more of an even fight," Callie smiled. "That was the strategy we helped him come up with, to keep from losing the initiative against Dokukage at the beginning of the fight. And that's not all we came up with, either."

"Tara, use taunt!" Blake ordered.

"Snivy," Tara nodded. She narrowed her eyes and stood defiantly, waving her leafy hand in a challenging gesture towards the hulking bug pokemon.

"Golisopod!" Kagemusha bellowed, stomping towards Tara, claws raised.

"With taunt, you won't be able to use substitution or swords dance or any of your other buffing moves!" Blake called out to Dokukage.

"Whoa! That's great!" Lila cheered, applauding.

"Nicely done," Dakota nodded, genuinely surprised by Blake's bold play.

Akira agreed as well, but he was a little more cautious. It was a smart move on Blake's part, certainly, but a lot of it depended on Tara's ability to stand up against the bug pokemon head to head. And Tara was strong, but that Golisopod was clearly stronger, and had the super-effective moves to back it up. If not for his Water typing, Tara wouldn't have a prayer.

"…Fair enough," Dokukage said, nodding. "But stopping that won't be enough for your Snivy to defeat Kagemusha. Go."

"Golisopod," Kagemusha nodded back, scuttling forth. He raised his claws, preparing a slash at the small Snivy.

"Tara, jump back to dodge!" Blake cried. Tara leapt out of the way, her speed letting her keep her distance from the bulky pokemon. She dashed away, ducking for cover behind one of the buildings as Kagemusha advanced.

"Clever tactic," Akira admitted. "He's using Dokukage's own trick against him. Dokukage beat Keahi by taking advantage of his pokemon's speed to keep the Shadow Pokemon's powerful moves from landing the whole fight. But now, Tara is dodging the bulky, slow Golisopod and keeping it from getting close to her."

"You've got a good eye," Dokukage admitted. "But you're mistaken if you think that we're unable to respond in this instance. Use aqua jet."

"Gol!" Kagemusha nodded, raising his claws. Water shot out from his armor and wrapped around him in a strong veil, Kagemusha charging forward and darting quickly around the corner Tara had hidden behind. Indeed, Tara had been lying in wait, preparing to strike with a leaf blade attack, but Kagemusha had expected as much.

In spite of the Golisopod's low speed, the extra boost from aqua jet gave him the initiative to let him jump over the slash, raising his claw and slicing into Tara's back as he passed her, sending her flying with a swing of his wrist.

Tara rolled across the ground, but she wasn't even close to being done. She landed on her feet and rose with a glare, sending a piercing gaze in Kagemusha's direction, the Bug type freezing up in surprise as she leered at him.

"Snivy's glare attack has paralyzed the Golisopod!" Lila said. "It can't really move anymore!"

"Without its initiative moves, Golisopod are naturally very slow," Akira explained. "They benefit the most from sneak attacks upon switching in, and then retreating. In a one-on-one exchange their low speed can be a hindrance, as bulky as they might be. And now that it's paralyzed, it will be even slower. So it looks like Blake's strategy is to slowly wear down the Golisopod with tricks like this, not giving it any opening to land a good hit."

Dokukage nodded in acknowledgment of Blake's attempt. Kagemusha had been quite handily crippled by his Snivy's tricks. But that was no real problem.

"You can have the first exchange," Dokukage said. "Kagemusha, return."

Dokukage raised his pokeball to recall his paralyzed Golisopod, but Tara and Blake both had other ideas, this was their opportunity, after all.

"Tara, use grass knot to bind that Golisopod in place!" Blake ordered.

"Snivy!" Tara nodded. She knelt down and placed her hands on the ground, and the battlefield began to shake. From under the paved stage, thick tendrils of grassy vines erupted, squeezing Kagemusha tightly and holding the bug pokemon in place, preventing Dokukage from being able to call him back. This was Tara's best chance to do serious damage to one of Dokukage's pokemon, and she was going to make the most of it.

"Dokukage isn't able to recall his Golisopod!" Lila gasped.

"That means that Snivy will be able to attack as much as she wants!" Dakota cheered, knowing how slow that Golisopod was.

Akira was cautious though. He was aware of Golisopod's ability, and past that point, the pokemon had more than a few moves to turn the tables.

Blake frowned. Dokukage didn't seem fazed by his play, which was worrying. But then again, he was a ninja. Maybe part of his training was enduring situations like this?

"Tara, use gastro acid," Blake ordered.

Tara glared at him and made a grossed-out face before sighing and nodding her head. She turned, puffing her cheeks up, before spraying a clear greenish liquid all over Kagemusha.

"Eww, that's disgusting!" Lila gagged, holding her hand over her mouth. "What the hell was that?"

"Whatever it was, it was gross as hell," Dakota said, shaking her head.

"Gastro acid," Akira explained. "It's a move that nullifies the ability of the opposing pokemon who is drenched in it. A good move if he wants to keep that Golisopod in the battle."

"Huh?" Dakota asked, confused.

"Golisopod have an ability called emergency exit," Akira said. "Once their health drops past a certain point, they forcibly escape, switching out to make another sneak attack later on. But by negating that ability, Tara will be able to keep his Golisopod right where it is, and take advantage of her speed to take it down."

"Whoa, that's an amazing strategy!" Lila gasped. "That was really smart of him!"

"This is the strategy we came up with to take down your Golisopod," Blake declared, smiling triumphantly. The only thing unnerving him was the fact that Dokukage still didn't seem to have any response to it.

Blake is making a pretty good showing, actually! Will he be able to carry this momentum, winning through tricks like Cynthia does? We'll have to find out!