The Commander has taken an early lead in his match against the Phantom, but will it be enough? Can he keep the momentum going, or is this where the Phantom makes his counterattack? We're still in the early parts, it's going to be quite a struggle!
Aquahaze675: It's definitely a special skill of his. As for Maddi, well, we'll have to see, now won't we?
KedharS: That's a very good comparison, yes.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 589
"Launcher, go," Valon said.
"DRAGAPULT!" Launcher howled, soaring into the sky and floating above the battlefield, the dark winds swirling around him and hiding his body from the light. He practically disappeared into the shadows, his narrow, piercing gold eyes shining out.
"What has he done to that poor Dragon type?" Darla growled, clenching the edge of her skirt. The poor Dragapult! The Phantom had turned it into a Shadow Pokemon.
Alden knew that his Dragapult was a potential problem. It was one of the two pokemon that Alcea Vermeil had not been able to defeat. It was incredibly skilled at disappearing into the shadows and shooting down pokemon from the safety of the skies. But he wasn't going to let it get the better of him. He was quite good at handling issues like this.
"Finn, stealth rock!" Alden ordered.
"Swampert!" Finn roared, raising his arms. Large rocks formed in the air around him, and with a fling of his arms he sent the stones flying through the dark sky, hovering in the air around the Phantom's side of the field.
"…Ho, stealth rock, not bad," Valon mused. "But that won't be enough. Launcher, we'll need to boost your attacking power to break through that reflect. Use dragon dance!"
"Dragapult!" Normally, the fire and lightning of dragon dance was a deep reddish-violet, but with the influence of the miasma, the Shadow Pokemon danced through the sky as black lightning and dark flames surged around him, boosting his attack and speed. The aura from the Shadow Pokemon blended with the dark fog, making it even harder to see the Dragapult through the shadow sky.
But Alden was fine with that.
"Finn, use yawn," he ordered.
"Swampert…" Finn let out a loud yawn that shook the entire battlefield, making Launcher have to yawn out in response too, inadvertently.
"Sleepy…" Lila yawned, waving her hand in front of her mouth as she slumped over, nearly dropping her chin onto the table.
"It's Swampert's yawn attack," Darla yawned herself. "It makes the opponent's pokemon so sleepy that they can't help but yawn too, and eventually they drift off peacefully to sleep… but not immediately. It's a good move for forcing a pokemon to have to switch out, which means it works great… *yawn* with stealth rock… the Commander… uses this *yawn* strategy a lot…"
Darla was getting more and more tired as she explained things to Lila. She was already somewhat susceptible to the move, considering how she still hadn't fully regained her energy from her expended use of Dragon Force earlier in the week. So even though yawn didn't work on humans, it was still having an effect on her anyway.
Her, and a few other particularly tired people in the stands, and even Lila, who was feeling the exhaustion compounded over the past few stressful days of having to do her job as an announcer without Darla beginning to set in.
"Are you feeling the drowsiness characteristic of yawn? It is my understanding from assessing your vitals that your sleep schedule is irregular. That is something that you should take steps to correct." The person speaking was Misato, and she was addressing her… date, sitting beside her in the stands and watching the match.
Will was still not entirely sure about any of this himself. After all, it wasn't like he and Misato were really dating. She had basically made out with him until he nearly passed out from oxygen depletion (the downside of kissing a girl who didn't need to breathe) and apparently that had been enough to satisfy the Mechadoll, who agreed to end their date with that… on the condition that he then go out with her later that evening to watch the final match of the Phantom Cup.
Still confused and feeling a little guilty, Will had agreed. He'd expected that when he showed up at their meeting place, she'd be wearing some sort of "perfect girlfriend" persona per Sylvia's instructions, but no. She had just walked up to him and greeted him like normal.
…Well, normal for Misato, anyway.
"I'm fine," Will assured her. "Are you… okay?" Yes, he knew it was a dumb question. Misato was a Mechadoll, of course she wouldn't feel sleepy. But when Will had ignored standard niceties earlier that day out of consideration for her status as a Mechadoll, she had given him crap for it. (In her own way) So even if it was dumb, he was polite to her.
"Affirmative. I am a Mechadoll so I am not capable of drowsiness," Misato replied. Of course.
"Just thought I'd ask," Will muttered.
"Thank you," Misato thanked him. She turned her head to look into his eyes. He didn't really see anything in them, and for a moment wondered why she thanked him before deciding that it was another one of those politeness things.
"How, um… how do you feel?" Will asked, desperate to change the subject. "About the match, I mean, considering…"
"I do not have feelings of any sort," Misato replied. "It is the match between the Commander and the Phantom. I do not have an opinion on it."
"I mean, the Commander beat you, right? And that must have felt bad," Will said.
"Negative. I did not experience any of the errors in processing that you identified as 'feeling bad'," Misato replied. "Losing to the Commander had no impact on my functions to any degree of statistical significance."
"But still, you must be hoping that the Phantom will win, right?" Will tried again.
"Negative. I do not hold a position on victory or defeat for the Phantom," Misato replied. "It is a battle. My mission objective for the Phantom Cup has already been resolved, there is no longer any role in this tournament that requires my action."
"…So why did you even want to watch, then?" Will asked.
Misato stared at him.
"Is it wrong to want to observe this match?" She asked, and for a second Will almost thought he heart her voice take on a gentle tone.
Meanwhile, someone else was taking advantage of the yawn.
"Mmm, sleepy, good night~" Cynthia yawned, nestling her head down in Blake's lap and getting nice and cozy.
"…Cynthia, please stop," Blake requested.
"But I'm tired… yawn made me sleepy…" Cynthia said, opening one eye and faking a yawn.
"…Those moves don't work on humans," Ayame dryly replied.
"…And you climbed OVER Aya to get onto me," Blake added.
Cynthia rolled her eyes and then rolled off of Blake, begrudgingly returning to her seat.
"You guys are no fun," she said, shaking her head. Meanwhile, the battle was continuing, Launcher doing a good job at staying conscious as he continued to fly hidden in the darkness.
"Launcher, dragon dance again," the Phantom ordered. More black lightning and fire danced through the shadowy sky, increasing in power and speed as he boosted his stats even further. But he could still feel the sleep begin to take hold. Blinking, he had to turn to avoid smashing into one of the stealth rocks, and realized he had almost dozed off.
Odd… normally, the stimulation of a Shadow Pokemon would keep it awake, the Phantom mused. But then, I expected them to not be capable of falling into confusion, as well. But what happened was that it entered hyper mode instead…
Launcher's shadow aura began to throb, power spurting out of him. His aura was flaring wildly, and the Phantom wondered if its erratic movements were a signal it was about to enter hyper mode. That wouldn't be allowed to happen.
"Launcher, baton pass!" He ordered. He wasn't about to let his Dragapult go wild, it would make the perfect target for the Commander to wipe out, and that would make things even harder for the Phantom to win.
"Drag!" Launcher nodded, returning to his pokeball. Valon quickly replaced him with another pokemon, much to his chagrin. He didn't like that he was playing into the Commander's strategy, but he didn't really have a choice. He was already one pokemon lower than the Commander was, and he couldn't afford to lose more.
In spite of that, he still sent out his weakest pokemon to handle things.
"Sableye," Glint growled, emerging from his pokeball with a hiss. He let out a cry of pain as the sharp stones dug into him, but even with his prior injuries it wasn't enough to take him out. Unlike Launcher, he wasn't hidden in the shadow sky; his bright eyes were glistening like diamonds in the darkness, drawing a clear target.
But he wasn't about to give the Swampert the opportunity to take advantage of it. With boosts from dragon dances stacked on him by Launcher, Glint had some power ready to go. And he had another added bonus as well. The Phantom wasn't about to allow Finn to keep forcing out switches with yawn, and Glint was the perfect pokemon to take advantage of that.
"Glint, use taunt," Valon ordered.
"Sableye!" Glint cackled, the light in his eyes shining even brighter, drawing Finn closer. The Swampert growled, shrugging off his wounds, and stormed towards the Sableye, ready to blast Finn away with a powerful Water type move.
"It's fine, Finn! We don't need to use yawn right now," Alden assured him. "With the damage from earlier, a few good hits should be enough to take that Sableye down! Use muddy water!"
"Swampert!" Finn sent a tidal wave of bracken water towards Glint, but the Shadow Pokemon wasn't about to let that stop him.
"Glint, use shadow panic!" The Phantom ordered. Before the waters got close, Glint was already prepared, disappearing into the darkness. His Prankster ability made these kinds of setups perfect for taking out enemy pokemon.
"Swampert?!" Finn looked around frantically, having lost track of Glint in the darkness. Then, the shadows started drawing closer. Finn began to cough and choke, and he realized to his horror that what he was feeling right now was terror.
It didn't make sense to him. Finn wasn't the kind of pokemon that got afraid! If there was a terrifying opponent, then Finn would be ecstatic, and charge in ready to fight! So why was he feeling so wary? Why wasn't he feeling his desire to win?!
Finn stumbled back in panic, thrashing at the shadows coming closer, reaching towards him and scraping across the black arena, loud scrapes filling his ears.
"Finn!" Alden shouted. "You're fine! You've still got your barrier!"
"We couldn't get through that barrier before due to your Espeon's Magic Bounce," the Phantom smirked. "But now that she's retreated into hiding, there's nothing stopping us from using this special move of ours. Shadow shed!"
"Sableye!" Glint's maniacal laughter echoed through the darkness, the winds picking up and smashing against the crimson barrier, which began to flash and glow bright as the shadows struck it, more and more of the barrier becoming visible as the cloud of darkness grew thicker around Finn, pressing in on the barrier from all sides…
And then the barrier simply melted away.
"What?!" Alden gasped.
"I knew that I would have to face you at some point, and then I would have to deal with those pesky barriers that you love setting up," the Phantom cackled. "And that's why I developed this technique. A move that can easily melt away any force field! I can imagine that isn't something to be happy about, isn't that right, Commander?! But there's worse still to come! Glint, use shadow mist!"
While the Phantom laughed nearly as madly as his Sableye, the shadows around Finn grew stronger, thicker, wrapping around the Swampert and holding him down, preventing him from escaping as he thrashed around.
"And now, you can't escape," the Phantom smirked.
"Whoa…" Lila gasped, stunned by the Sableye's performance. As weakened as he was, he had still pulled off a series of moves that had drastically reduced Finn's ability to fight back.
"That's the danger of a pokemon with Prankster," Darla said, frowning. "And now, we're going to be seeing even more, I'd reckon."
"Shadow down," the Phantom ordered.
"Sableye!" Glint growled, his aura flaring up. He sent a burst of power out, the shadows hitting Finn directly and causing him to groan in pain as they infected him, drastically lowering his defenses as he struggled against the shadows holding him in place.
"Finn!" The Commander shouted, knowing that this wasn't nearly enough to get through his Swampert. Finn just had to keep fighting back.
"Swampert!" Finn roared, tearing himself free of the shadows tugging at him and lurching forward, batting them away with his powerful arms as he tried to push his way out of the shadows and find his opponent.
But he was still confused. All he could see was darkness.
"Time to take care of this fool," the Phantom smirked. "Glint, use will-o-wisp!"
"Sableye!" Glint held his hands up, black flames dancing around him and blending into the shadows. With a fling of his arms, he burned Finn, the Swampert crying out in pain as he was badly burned by the attack.
"Finn!" Alden cried.
"Not good," Lila gasped.
"Darn right, that burn will really keep Swampert from using any physical moves," Darla agreed. "And not to mention wear away some of his health. But that won't be as much of a problem, considering how high his special attacking stat is. The problem is, he's still confused. And his defenses…"
"Glint, use shadow break!" The Phantom ordered.
"Sableye!" Glint emerged from the dark fog, raising his claw, shadows swirling around his body and focused into one hand. Leaping up, he pierced Finn in the chest, Finn letting out a cry of pain.
"SWAMPERT!" Finn roared, falling backwards as the shadows pierced him, dealing a severe amount of damage. Not only was the attack super-effective, but the boost to Glint's attack coupled with Finn's reduced defenses meant that the hit was a devastating one.
"That was a serious blow," Lila said, her face going pale. Even she recognized a powerful move when she saw one.
"Sableye aren't normally that powerful… but with the boost from those two dragon dances, and the strength of a Shadow Pokemon…" Darla shook her head. Things weren't looking good for Finn, that was for sure. That attack had hurt. A lot.
But it also happened to be a strong enough blow to snap him out of his confusion.
"SWAMPERT!" Finn roared, water wrapping over his body as he swung, hitting Glint with full power and knocking the Sableye back, Glint letting out a wail of pain.
"So that wasn't enough?!" The Phantom scowled.
"You might have weakened us with that will-o-wisp, but Finn's a fighter!" Alden reminded him "We won't go down that easily!"
"Swampert!" Finn charged forward, ignoring the pain in his chest and the burns across his body, water wrapping over him.
"We might be burned, but there's something that more than makes up for it, and that's our fighting spirit!" Alden grinned. "Isn't that right, Finn?"
"Swampert!" Finn roared, his body covered in a torrent of water.
"I see, so you're using your Torrent to turn your weakened state into an advantage," the Phantom smirked. "But that won't be enough to deal with our speed now! In fact, it's only going to make things worse for you. Your Swampert must be used to not taking damage from Electric type moves, isn't that right? But let's see what some real electricity can do!"
"What's he talking about?" Lila asked, confused. "Swampert's part Ground type, right? So electricity won't do anything."
"Normal electricity, maybe," Darla agreed.
"Glint, use shadow bolt!" Valon ordered. Glint dodged Finn's lunge, black lightning crackling over his small form as he disappeared into the dark sky, releasing the charge of electricity in a powerful bolt of shadows.
"SWAMPERT!" Finn roared in pain as the bolt struck him, electricity surging over the water covering him and shocking him with dark power, Finn stunned by the feeling of electricity that he was normally so resistant against.
"How's that?" Valon smirked, Glint cackling.
"Swampert!" Finn shrugged it off, turning and glaring in the direction that the lightning had come from. The attack had hurt, but it wasn't enough to finish.
"Stubborn pokemon, aren't you?" Valon scowled. "Glint! It looks like a special attacking move won't be enough. Let's confuse it again with some more shadow panic!"
"Sableye," Glint nodded, his shadow aura flaring up again, flying towards Finn and startling him, Finn letting out a roar as he thrashed against the darkness filling his eyes.
"It's fine, Finn! Ignore the darkness!" Alden called. "Just use earthquake! That will hit everything!"
"Swampert!" Finn nodded, raising his arms and slamming them into the ground, sending a shockwave out through his body, the ground starting to shake. Glint stumbled backwards, crying out in pain as the earthquake struck him. But because of Finn's burns, it wasn't enough to finish him off.
Glint roared, his shadows surging up again, charging at Finn even though the ground beneath his feet was shaking. He raised his claws, darkness surging through them as he attacked the confused and terrified pokemon.
That's right, Alden smiled, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He could barely make out the Sableye's approach, but it was enough. Finn might have been confused, but all he would have to do was follow Alden's orders. Just a little bit more… he's almost there… don't worry, Finn, I can handle this one just fine…
Finn was waiting for orders, too confused to know what to attack. But he trusted the Commander, he believed that his trainer would give him the right orders at the right time to win, and so he endured the choking shadows and the pain of his burns as he readied himself for his attack.
"Shadow break!" Valon ordered. Glint leapt up raising his claw, aiming at the back of Finn's neck to finish him off.
"Water pulse, Finn!" Alden called out.
"Swampert!" Finn began to glow blue, and released a shockwave of water from his body, the pulse slamming into Glint, knocking him backwards. Boosted by Finn's Torrent, the power of the Water type move was enough to disorient Glint completely, the Shadow Pokemon's senses shaken as the dark aura around him flared up.
"SABLEYE!" Glint howled, entering hyper mode. His aura burned around him as he screamed.
"Oh no!" Lila wailed, turning her eyes away, unable to stomach the sight of that Sableye now that his shadowy aura was burning as intensely as it was.
"Water pulse must have confused it!" Darla shouted. "And that forced it into hyper mode!"
"Damn," the Phantom cursed. That wasn't good. …Though if it had to happen, at least it's with a pokemon like Glint that doesn't have much fight left in it.
Alden was stunned momentarily. He'd been counting on water pulse, which attacked in every direction, to have the power to finish off the Shadow Pokemon, considering how much damage Glint had already sustained from prior attacks. But apparently, Shadow Pokemon were even more resilient than he expected.
Now that the Sableye was in hyper mode, Glint would be going wild and attacking at random, with no thought in his moves.
But it would prove to be a short-lived hyper mode indeed. Because Glint's blazing aura and loud shrieks were a big flaming beacon that drew Finn's attention, and even in his befuddled state he could still make out the crazed pokemon in the darkness, drawing attention to himself.
"Finn! Go!" Alden called, realizing that Finn had noticed Glint, and was now turning his head in that direction. "Finish it!"
"Swampert!" Finn opened his mouth wide and began to glow blue, his Torrent activating. He charged forward, water surging around him, and hit Glint head-on with a flip turn attack that even in his weakened state was still more than enough. The powerful shove with Finn's elbow sent Glint flying backwards as Finn turned, returning to his pokeball, Glint skidding across the field before coming to a stop at the Phantom's feet, unconscious.
"Sableye is unable to battle!" Darla declared, Lila too stunned to report at the moment. "Swampert is the winner! The Phantom has now lost two pokemon, and the Commander still hasn't lost any!"
"Go, Jaune," Alden said, continuing his combo by sending out his Vikavolt next.
"But… but why would he switch out his Swampert?" Lila finally asked. "I mean… with all those special attack buffs stacked on him…"
"He was confused and burned, and his defenses were lowered," Darla reminded her. "Certainly, a pokemon with high special attack like that could have done a lot of damage to the next pokemon that the Phantom sent out, but if he missed, or hurt himself in confusion, then he would be vulnerable to a counter that would have probably finished him off. Better to save him for a later point," Darla explained. Lila agreed with that, it made sense to her.
The Phantom didn't have any reaction when he recalled his Sableye.
"Come on, Valon!" Alden called out. "We both know you've got more! Those Shadow Pokemon are amazing! I can't wait to see what you try next!"
The Commander is still maintaining a healthy lead, even if his pokemon are starting to weaken. Will it be enough to defeat the Phantom? We'll have to find out!