We've reached the conclusion of the battle. Olivia has bet it all on her Garchomp, and will she be able to win? Will Cynthia defeat Venus and Alcea's remaining pokemon, and bring Alcea into the fold? Or will Alcea manage to win, and stop Samarra's influence from seizing her? The battle comes to a shocking conclusion in this chapter! Remember to review!
The Semi-Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! These are our semi-finalists! Make sure to get those votes in, and choose which of these girls you think should make it to the finals! So far, only three people have voted, we need more votes for the finals! You can only vote for 3, so make sure to pick your favorites!
Semi-Finalists: Ayame, Chloe, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Marion, Sango, Vic
Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Yep, she's definitely had a really tough life, that's for sure.
KedharS: Awkward is putting it mildly. Alcea really needs to work on her memory problem it's kind of getting out of hand.
Hyphenman: That was the intention. It was a very painful chapter.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1015
"Cynthia!" Olivia roared, her harmonia flaring. Her Garchomp roared with her, raising her claws up high and scraping them together.
Alcea shielded her face against the overwhelming power that was coming off of Olivia's Garchomp. If she had to guess, that move was…
"It's dragon dance," Erik said grimly.
"Watch out, Alcea! That's really strong!" Callie cried.
The sky around Cynthia crackled with energy as violet and blue flames burned in a tempest that swirled past her. With that, her physical strength and speed were increased, boosted even further by Olivia's harmonia.
"With this, we're more than a match for your speed!" Olivia shouted. "Use dragon claw!"
"Garchomp!" Cynthia shot towards Venus with her claws extended, more flames burning through her fins.
But to her shock, Venus was swift to evade the attack, moving even quicker than she had before.
"What the hell?!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Whoa, look at that speed! And I thought she was fast enough already due to her Chlorophyll ability!" Giselle gasped in amazement.
"Was that grassy glide?" Lukas guessed. "Oh, wait, no, it can't be."
The reason it was clear that Venus hadn't used grassy glide was because as she was preparing to move, her vines had already extended. She circled around Cynthia and struck her in the back with a power whip, sending the Garchomp careening into the rocks.
"You…" Olivia growled. "What move was that?! How did your speed increase so much?!" She stumbled forward, her back stinging from the whipping Cynthia had received. But with her anger that didn't even matter.
"It was… something special, is it?" Alcea said quietly, touching her finger to her lips. "A new herb I've been cultivating… I had intended to test it in less… difficult circumstances, but this appeared to be the perfect opportunity."
"A new herb?" Callie asked, intrigued.
"By consuming it, the pokemon gets a quick boost in their stats, to match the stat boost of another pokemon," Alcea explained. "Something like a stimulant, is it? So when your Garchomp used her dragon dance to boost her speed and strength… I had Venus take the herb, and increase her own abilities to the same degree."
"Something like that-!" Olivia sputtered in disbelief. "You would even do something like that!? Rrrrarargh! Cynthia!"
"Garchomp!" Cynthia roared, hopping to her feet and lunging at Venus. But Venus was quick to remain out of her reach, lashing out at the furious dragon with her power whips.
"I believe I'll call it… the mirror herb, is it?" Alcea mused. "Oui, that seems like an excellent name. Now, Venus, use grassy glide!"
With the speed boost she copied from Cynthia and her already high speed thanks to Chlorophyll, when Venus used grassy glide it was like she disappeared from sight. Cynthia looked around frantically for her foe to reappear, but saw nothing.
"Venusaur!" Then Venus slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground. This enraged Cynthia and Olivia of course, but to no end; Venus was just too hard to hit.
"Now, to slow you down for good, is it?" Alcea said. "Venus, use sleep powder!"
"Venusaur!" Venus skidded to a stop and tilted forward, flexing the flower on her back. She sprayed a blast of powder out at the stunned Garchomp, the sleep-inducing spores drifting towards her. It was exactly what Alcea would need to cinch her victory; Cynthia and Olivia were enraged right now, but if they could put Cynthia to sleep, then-
"Cynthia!" Olivia roared, and Cynthia leapt to her feet. She raised her fins high, and began to swing them at lightning-fast speed.
To Alcea's disbelief, the cloud of spores never reached their target. Cynthia moved far too quickly, her slashing fins picking up each and every one of them before she could inhale them. It was an amazing display of swordsmanship as Cynthia's swords dance rendered the attempt useless.
But that's not why Alcea was stunned.
"Those moves… they're…"
"That's right," Olivia said, a shaky smile crossing her face. "You recognize them, don't you, Alcea? This sword technique… it's from Kanone's Samurott. Sango used her in the Miss Pokemon Academy Competition, remember? Seeing that flawless footwork, that excellent use of the sword… I was inspired. And so, Cynthia and I trained as hard as we could… to master the same movements. To become just that much better!"
Alcea shook her head. "Olivia… you really are amazing."
Olivia blinked. "Hmm?"
"To see something like that, from a master like Kanone… and then to train your pokemon to mimic it perfectly… such skill is worthy of the title 'genius', there's no other way to think of it," Alcea admitted. "You train harder than everyone… work you and your pokemon to be the best… it's truly admirable, I can't deny."
A proud smile crossed Alcea's face. "That's why I'm so proud to be your friend, Olivia. And your rival. To have someone like you… you're amazing."
Olivia felt her face heat up. The way Alcea was talking, it practically sounded like a love confession, didn't it?!
…No, don't think about it that way. Those feelings… ignore them for now! The only thing that matters is defeating her, once and for all! She reminded herself quickly.
"Your sweet words won't sway me!" Olivia roared. "Cynthia, destroy that pesky Venusaur!"
"Garchomp!" Cynthia roared, and charged straight for Venus.
The light on Alcea's chest glowed brighter, and soon her entire body was covered in a viridian aura, her eyes shining with resolve.
"This dedication to victory is commendable, is it," Alcea breathed, "but it is still not enough to defeat me! Venus, us solarbeam!"
"Venusaur!" Venus tilted forward, gathering energy from the sunlight. She began to glow green, concentrating all the energy she gathered into a massive beam of light that she fired at the charging Garchomp.
Alcea sighed in relief. With this… it's finally over…
And then Cynthia disappeared.
Alcea snapped to attention, shocked by what she'd just seen. The solarbeam burned uselessly through the air.
"Venus! How?! That attack was-"
"Cynthia!"
There she was. Cynthia reappeared, hovering in the air above Venus's head. She raised her fin as she plummeted towards her, letting out a savage roar.
"Aerial ace!"
It was over in a single slash. As strong as Venus was, Cynthia's attacking strength had been boosted by three levels, and even further beyond that thanks to Olivia's harmonia. Venus tried her best to hold on, she really did, but she was overwhelmed by Olivia and Cynthia's rage.
"Venus… saur…" Venus rasped out, collapsing into unconsciousness.
"Oh, no! Venus!" Callie cried.
"No way! That's Alcea's best pokemon!" Donoma said, shocked. Even with how strong Olivia had gotten, she never expected that Alcea would actually lose.
"It-It's not over yet," Giselle said frantically. "She still has one more pokemon left after all, right? S-So it's not over!"
"Yeah, but… one more pokemon against that monstrosity of a Garchomp?" Allen winced, shaking his head. "I'm not sure about those odds."
The only person who didn't appear to be worried was Alcea herself. She wore a mournful expression as she recalled Venus to her pokeball, but not a defeated one. She raised her head and turned to Olivia, who was laughing madly.
"I did it! I actually did it!" Olivia cackled, throwing back her head and roaring with triumph. She was so lost in Samarra's harmonia she wasn't even thinking straight anymore. "All that time! All that training! And I finally, finally managed to defeat your Venusaur, Alcea!"
She snapped her head forward, a manic look in her eye. "Now will you finally acknowledge me?! Acknowledge me as your Empress! The one who's defeated you! The only one worthy! After all you've done to ignore me, after you forgot everything about me, I finally WON!"
"You haven't won yet," Alcea said simply.
Olivia took a moment to process what she'd just said. Then her shocked look twisted into a raging inferno. "Are you serious?! You can't be! How?! How can you still be looking down on me, after all this? After I even managed to defeat your strongest pokemon!?"
"I am not looking down on you," Alcea corrected. "And Olivia… it is true that I forgot about you. And I can't apologize enough for it. Perhaps… maybe if you had been there for my birthday… perhaps things would have gone differently. I may not have been stranded on that island… or perhaps, you and I would have been stranded together. And should that have happened… well, who's to say?"
"I don't care about any of that!" Olivia lied. "All that matters is that you finally acknowledge that I'm better than you! That I'm the one who deserves the attention! The adoration! The love! From the Pokemon Academy, from everybody, from my daddy, from YOU!"
"Adoration? Love? I can give you those things, if that's what you desire," Alcea said. She reached to her chest and brought out the pendant she wore, made from the Grass Oracle. "But on the matter of you defeating me… that I haven't given you yet, is it?"
Olivia shook her head, laughing in disbelief. "Unreal. Absolutely unreal! Are you that much of a sore loser?! I can't believe that the Queen of Queens would be in such denial about the fact that she's going to lose! You only have one pokemon left, you get that?! Your Tropius! And I know everything that she's capable of! You can't seriously think that she'll stand a chance against me, do you?! Well, fine! Send her out! And I'll crush her, along with that pesky arrogance of yours! And then finally, finally we can be together just like we were supposed to be!"
Alcea nodded. The green light emanating off of her was brighter than ever.
"Why's Alcea glowing like that?" Callie asked, confused. "What's going on?"
"That light… I see…" Marion was perhaps the only person here who really understood what was going on. Callie may have had an inkling due to past experiences, but Marion knew what the Oracles meant, and what that light around Alcea signified.
But not even she was able to guess what was coming next.
"You defeated Venus… Hollander as well, Anastacia, Rayne, Rosetta, five of my pokemon have fallen," Alcea admitted. "And while I can't say for certain whether Kanna would be able to defeat your Garchomp or not… that won't matter. Because there is one other pokemon friend I have fighting at my side!"
A massive gust of wind shot across the battlefield, whipping Alcea's skirt and hair and nearly blowing Olivia over.
"What's going on?!" Olivia demanded, shielding her eyes from the tempest. The light shining around Alcea was so bright it was blinding. And with it, another bright light shot up from the forest, arcing through the sky like a comet.
"What is that?!" Hiromi exclaimed.
Yellow gasped in realization.
The light touched down on the center of the battlefield with enough force to blow the grass, the shockwave nearly knocking Cynthia over. And when it cleared, a new pokemon was standing before her, ready to fight.
"Shaymin!" Shaymin cried, her ears spread wide like wings as a green aura matching Alcea's shown out around her body.
"What pokemon is that?!" Donoma's eyes bugged out of her skull in disbelief.
"I-I've never seen anything like it," Ian muttered, shaking his head.
"Shaymin…" Yellow breathed, taking a step forward in spite of herself.
Callie just stared in amazement. She'd heard about how Alcea had saved them all by relying on a powerful pokemon that had come to their aid. The pokemon living in Relic Cave. But she hadn't had a chance to meet it until now. This was Alcea's newest friend, the Mythical Pokemon Shaymin, who had once again come to save her.
Olivia couldn't believe her eyes.
"No! No, no, no!" She cried. "You… you can't do that! What pokemon even is that?! I've never even heard of something like that before!"
Even as she shouted about how unfair this was, Samarra couldn't help but stare curiously at the knew pokemon.
"This is Shaymin," Alcea said, smiling warmly. "She's my friend. I met her… when I was little. That accident, when I was shipwrecked… it was hard and painful. But because of it, I made new friends. And she's one of them."
Her eyes narrowed with resolve. "And she's come to save me, and help me stop whatever it is that's controlled you, Olivia!"
"Not a chance!" Olivia snarled. "That little puppy won't be able to defeat Cynthia and I! Not after everything I've done to get this far! To make you acknowledge me! Cynthia! Use your dragonbreath, now!"
"Garchomp!" Cynthia roared in agreement, opening her mouth wide and flooding the battlefield with violet flames.
"Shay!" Shaymin took to the sky, evading the fire, and whipped her head. A blade of wind came crashing down on Cynthia, which she shrugged off with a snarl.
"Oh, you think you're clever? Well, let's see how you like a taste of this!" Olivia shouted. "Aerial ace, now!"
"Gar!" Cynthia disappeared in a flash, reappearing above Shaymin. She swung her fin and brought the sharp blade down upon Shaymin's back, sending her flying into the ground. Shaymin coughed out in pain, rolling to the side as Cynthia landed with a rumble behind her.
Cynthia immediately charged forward, draconic energy surging through her claws. She was going to tear that pokemon apart before she had a chance to fight back!
Then Shaymin began to glow. The grass beneath her feet shifted, and long tendrils ripped up and shot forward, wrapping around Cynthia. She bound up the Garchomp's arms, legs, and tail with grass knot, immobilizing her.
"GAAAAAARR!" Cynthia roared, struggling against the tight bonds, but she couldn't pull herself free no matter how hard she tried. More blades of grass shot up, wrapping around her jaws and squeezing them tightly. She couldn't even cry for help.
"This is… stop it!" Olivia wailed, feeling her own body frozen in place. It was like she'd been trapped herself, she was too far gone in the harmonia to recognize that there was any difference between her and her pokemon.
"Shaymin's power gives her control over nature herself," Alcea said quietly. "She can control the plants with but a thought, and her amazing abilities can keep even you from harming nature."
"That's not possible!" Olivia shouted. "No pokemon could have that much power! It's not fair! You're just a cheater! You can't seriously intend to defeat all my hard work with… with something like this, can you?!"
Alcea gave her a sad smile. "You may say it's unfair… and oui, perhaps that is the case. But in the end… if I must do something underhanded to stop you… if there's even a chance that you could go back to how you were by me defeating you here… then I would do whatever it takes."
"I won't be satisfied with this!" Olivia screamed, thrashing against invisible vines. "You were supposed to fight me for real! This was the time when I finally got you to acknowledge me! Not… not like this! It can't go like this, it's not RIGHT!"
"I've always acknowledged your skill, Olivia," Alcea reminded her. "And maybe, after this… we can really become friends, the way we were meant to be. That's what I want. Is that… what you want?"
"I… I just…" Olivia wasn't even sure what she wanted at this point. Alcea's friendship? Her acknowledgment? Her heart was screaming at her that yes, these were the things that she'd been fighting so hard to obtain all this time.
But beating Alcea was supposed to be her key to obtaining them, right? She would finally win, and they would be together. So why was Alcea fighting it? Why wasn't she just giving in and letting Olivia finally bring them together like they were supposed to be?
And why wasn't Olivia more upset about that?
"It's not supposed to go like this!" She wailed pitifully. "I just… I wanted you to be with me! But then… but then you were gone… and when you finally came back…"
"I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you when you needed me to be," Alcea apologized. "And I'm sorry that I hurt you by forgetting the time we spent together."
More memories flooded into Alcea's mind. She remembered Olivia now. Not just from that night, but from after she'd returned. When the blonde had burst into her room, and a confused Alcea just said that she couldn't remember her at all.
How much would those words have hurt? Someone like her, with no friends, with no family to count on… someone for whom I was so important…
She remembered her own rejection at the hand of Kanone Harker, and how much that had broken her inside. But he had rejected her for her own sake, so she could move on and be happy. That was what had allowed her to stand tall and find a new love.
Olivia had gotten no such consideration from her.
Tears rolled down Alcea's cheeks as she stared at the pitiful form in front of her.
I see… so that's it. I understand now, the feelings you've been trying to convey to me all this time. Olivia, it isn't hatred… or friendship, either… about me, you really do…
She smiled.
"We'll start over from here," she promised her opponent. "Shaymin! Finish this with your seed flare!"
"Shaymin!" Shaymin cried, soaring up into the air. She began to glow even brighter and massive rays shot out from all around her, sewing fields of flowers wherever they struck. But the brightest and largest of the beams burned down upon Cynthia, hitting her with the overwhelming power of nature's many blessings.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!" Cynthia roared in pain, and Olivia screamed with her, collapsing to the ground. Both pokemon and trainer were knocked into unconsciousness by Shaymin's overwhelming power.
And with this, the battle has finally come to an end. But what about the aftermath? What state will Olivia be in when she regains consciousness… or will she even wake up at all, after this?