Gerard has lost his fourth pokemon! That means he's down to his last two, and with that, things are really heating up. With his team on their last legs, he'll have to devote everything to his final trump card, Diancie. But will Diana be enough to win against Alden? Or will the Commander pull out his own trump card in Corin and win easily? Remember to review!

KedharS: Well he's always been skilled, maybe he was just caught off-guard by his opponent's double battle tactics.

Guest: Everyone likes to see Gerard be humiliated, he's one of those guys who definitely deserves to b humiliated and shamed over and over.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1077

Gerard stumbled back, stunned.

"This… how is this possible?" He muttered. He couldn't accept the fact that Tank had fallen so easily, but he couldn't deny the evidence of his eyes. His Bastiodon was lying on the ground, unconscious, knocked out from Finn's devastating hydro pump.

"We beat your Bastiodon," Alden declared. "But that's not all you have, we both know that. So quit stalling already."

"…Rrgh…" Gerard ground his teeth together and recalled Tank to his pokeball, glancing at his Archeops. The fossil pokemon flapped his wings and flew in front of Gerard, hovering over him and glaring at Alden and his pokemon.

"I'm waiting," Alden said, narrowing his eyes.

"What's going on here?" Rui asked, glancing at Maddi cautiously. She'd been occupied with worry for the battle, and concern about all the things her husband had told her before, and it was all starting to bubble over now that the air had taken on a tense atmosphere. "Why's Alden gotten so serious? What's that other boy hiding?"

"Gerard's ace pokemon," Maddi said quietly. Her face was calm but she was filled with apprehension inside. "Diancie. She's coming."

"…Diancie?" Rui asked, blinking. She'd never heard of a pokemon by that name before, and wondered what sort it would be.

Maddi narrowed her eyes. "Just watch," she murmured.

Gerard was about to take this to the next level. He clutched the pink pokeball containing his strongest pokemon so tightly his fingers turned white.

"Diana! End this now! Destroy them!" He roared, throwing his pokeball into the air and calling his Diacie to help him.

"Diancie!" Diana chirped, emerging from the pokeball in a sparkle of pink stardust, a broad smile on her face.

Rui gasped in surprise. Diana was the most beautiful pokemon she had ever seen. She let out the breath she'd been holding and took a step forward, in awe of the sparkling pokemon. Her body looked like it was made of diamonds.

Diana was all smiles as usual. But her trainer was far from smiling. Gerard wouldn't even look her way. His gaze was focused entirely on his foe.

Diana glanced back at him, sighing slightly. She truly cared for her trainer, but sometimes he would act like-

"…Diancie?" She gasped. Diana clutched her head and nearly fell out of the sky, startling Alden. The Commander hadn't expected a reaction like that from a pokemon that hadn't even begun to fight yet. It was like she was sick.

"Diana? What's the matter?" Gerard demanded.

Maddi squinted, wondering if it was possible that Diana was sensing the same thing that she was. But no… that shouldn't be possible, right? After all, Gerard doesn't have harmonia… whatever this strange feeling is, she shouldn't be able to sense it, right…?

She followed that line of thinking briefly, but only briefly. After all, she wasn't one to talk, given how her own harmonia had developed under dubious circumstances. But this situation was a little different, and she was curious about what was happening.

Maddi wasn't far off the mark. While it was true that Gerard lacked harmonia and thus could not form a bond with his pokemon, Diana was a bit of a special case. She had been at Gerard's side all this time, and it could be argued that she knew his soul better than anyone else. She cared for him and tended to his needs, and knew when he wasn't being himself.

This was one of those times. She couldn't understand what was going on, but she could feel that Gerard was no longer her Gerard. It was like someone… or something else had seized him, and was controlling his thoughts.

"Diancie…" She winced, trying to push aside the feelings forcing their way inside of her. Samarra wasn't satisfied with just connecting to Gerard. She also needed to get her hooks into his pokemon, and that was precisely what was happening now.

"Diancie!" Diana wailed, her powers surging. The sky around her began to shine with diamond light and she began to glow pink with it.

"This isn't good," Alden winced, shielding his eyes. "Finn! She's still a Rock type, so she's still weak to Water type moves! Hit her you're your hydro pump!"

"Swampert!" Finn ignored the blinding light and opened his mouth wide, firing a massive blast of compressed water at Diana.

"Diancie!" Diana's eyes snapped open and she lifted her hands. A bright barrier of pink light that sparkled like diamonds appeared around her and Archer, blocking the power of the hydro pump completely.

"Diana's light screen is quite powerful, wouldn't you agree?" Gerard smirked. "With her defenses, your pathetic Swampert doesn't have a prayer of breaking through!"

"That's what you think," Alden scoffed. "Finn, hit her with your brick break!"

"Swampert!" Finn barreled forward, fist raised, poised to break through the shield.

"Archeops!" Archer intercepted Finn quickly. As Finn smashed through the barrier, he opened his talons, raking across the Swampert's face with a savage cutting, scraping at Finn's eyes.

"SWAMP!" Finn roared with pain, clutching his face and batting at the Archeops. But of course, he couldn't hope to his the agile bird pokemon with some worthless flailing. Archer circled around him, and prepared to attack him from behind.

"Cinderace!" Tracey charged forward, swinging a kick at Archer before he could hit Finn. Archer pulled back, turning away and screeching.

"Nice, Tracey!" Alden grinned at his Cinderace. "Keep Finn safe!"

Finn was in far worse shape between the two of them. It was for that reason that Alden recognized there was no point in holding back anymore. There was something he needed to do, and a pokemon that he needed to rely on.

"Tracey," he called. "I need you to go back. Use baton pass."

Tracey blinked, realizing what her trainer was aiming for. She nodded in agreement, returning to her pokeball and passing off the boosts to speed she'd accrued to the next pokemon to come out and join the fight.

Chloe smiled. The Commander only had one pokemon left.

"Corin!" Alden shouted. "It's all on you now!"

"Lucario!" Corin roared, emerging from her pokeball. Her aura flared as she entered the fray, thrilled to finally join the fight.

"There she is…" Gerard hissed, glowering at the Lucario. "Your trump card… Lucario…"

"Corin's my strongest partner," Alden said, smiling proudly. "You should know how that feels," he added, nodding to Diana. "…But unfortunately, you don't have those sorts of feelings, do you? Pride in your pokemon… faith in their abilities… respect and love… do those words mean anything to you? You demand respect from everyone, Gerard, yet you refuse to show it, even to those pokemon of yours who deserve it the most."

"SHUT UP!" Gerard roared, clenching his fists. The light around Diana increased in intensity in response to his emotions and she cried out as diamonds formed around her body.

"Diamond storm," Alden winced. "Corin!"

"Lucario!" Corin jumped forward and raised her paws, forming a staff of energy in the shape of a bone. With her elegant skill she deflected and shattered the rain of diamonds that fell down upon her and Finn, skillfully protecting them both.

"Archeops!" Archer sceeched, flying towards Corin just as she lowered staff, claws raised to strike the Lucario from behind.

"Swampert!" Finn roared, leaping in front of Corin with his arms raised. A barrier of blue light appeared around his body, protecting him from the attack. Archer's claws scraped off the barrier and he flew away, getting as far as he could from the duo lest he be attacked.

"Good, Archer, stay safe," Gerard nodded. "Diana! You need more power than that! We've got to defeat them both!"

"Di-Diancie!" Diana nodded, and began to glow even brighter. The circular diamond on her head began to shine, drawing in energy. She directed the light into a blast of fairy energy, firing off a moonblast at Corin.

Corin leapt back, taking cover behind the protective barrier that Finn had erected. As she did, she began to glow blue herself.

"Life dew," Alden ordered.

Corin began to sculpt glowing water in her paws, and directed the water through the barrier to wrap around Finn. As Finn was engulfed by the soothing water, his strength began to recover and his wounds began to heal, and soon he was out of the critical zone of damage.

"You… I see, planning to heal, are you?! Well, that won't work!" Gerard exclaimed. "Diana! You know what to do! Use earth power!"

"Diancie!" Diana shouted, holding out her hands. She directed energy into the ground, charging her strength and unleashing it in a powerful explosion beneath Corin's feet. The Lucario cried out in pain as the ground beneath her erupted, knocking her into the air.

"Now, Archer, while she's vulnerable, tear her apart!" Gerard ordered. "Use rock blast!"

"Arch!" Archer opened his mouth and fired a massive rock at Corin. It wouldn't be a very effective attack, but it would put the pressure on her, and keep her from gaining the momentum. That was what Gerard was aiming for, a constant barrage of attacks that wouldn't give his opponent any room to breathe.

And it would have worked, but his opponent was Corin.

Corin began to glow, and she sculpted her aura into a sphere of energy. Turning in the air she fired her aura sphere right at the rock blast, the two attacks colliding. The energy from the aura sphere caused a large explosion, and Corin withstood the force of the blast, turning her body quickly and landing on the ground.

"Lucario…" she panted, catching her breath. She turned her focus towards the Diancie, and her aura glowed even brighter.

"Corin, flash cannon!" Alden ordered.

Corin raised he paws and held them together, concentrating her power into her palms. She fired a bright beam of light right at the Diancie, hitting her in the chest.

"Diancie!" Diana wailed in pain, clutching the burning spot on her chest.

"Diana!" Gerard shouted.

"Oh?" Alden raised his eyebrow. "Well, so you can show concernyou're your pokemon. How interesting. And here I thought your pokemon were disposable tools, to help you grow stronger and earn the respect of others? Could it be that it's different when it comes to her, then?"

"You shut your mouth," Gerard seethed. "You don't know anything about me! Of course I would be concerned about my strongest pokemon getting injured! If she were to fall, then this entire battle would be over! And I'll never allow that to happen, never, you hear me?!"

"Oh, I hear you loud and clear," Alden assured Gerard. And what he could hear disgusted him. "Why don't you take a look at Finn?"

The barrier around his Swampert dropped and Finn lumbered forward, beating his chest. In the span of a few minutes, a pokemon who had barely been holding on to consciousness had gotten a new lease on life, his strength recovered from the life dew.

"That's…" Gerard didn't know how to respond to what he was looking at.

"I had Corin heal Finn," Alden said. "Not because Finn is a useful tool for helping me win. The reason I did it is because I trust Finn to have my back, and I want him to know he can count on me. I'm entrusting my victory to my pokemon, Gerard, and that's why I'm going to believe in them, and their ability to emerge victorious!"

Gerard couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You think… you think I don't-"

"You don't know the first thing about trusting your pokemon and counting on them," Alden cut him off. He was done trying to talk to someone who couldn't see reality. If Gerard didn't want to do what was necessary to bond with his pokemon, then that was none of his business. He would just defeat the other trainer.

"Corin, swords dance," he ordered, and Corin spun he energy staff, increasing her attacking strength to match her heightened speed.

Gerard was having none of it. "Diana!" He shouted. "Mystical fire!"

"Diancie!" Diana raised her hands and summoned several diamonds, which burst into flames. The pink fire danced through the sky and swirled around Corin, burning her with mystical power.

"Lucario!" Corin cried, withstanding the pain. Compared to what she'd endured in previous battles, this much was nothing to a pokemon of her caliber. She stepped forward and howled, charging through the flames and lunging at Diana.

"Archeops!" Archer flew forward to intercept though. As long as he was there, there was little hope of Corin scoring a direct hit on Diana.

"Swampert!" Finn raised his arms and created a massive tidal wave of muddy water. The waves ripped across the plaza, crashing towards the two Rock type pokemon.

"Diancie!" Diana reflected the water with a barrier of pink light, nullifying Finn's attack with ease. Her defensive powers weren't enough for him to overcome. Then, she began to glow with pink light, illuminating the entire battlefield.

Gerard smirked. "You remember what's coming, don't you, Commander?"

Alden scowled. He had a pretty good idea.

The light around Diana expanded outwards, and she created a dome of light. The barrier of diamonds appeared around the battlefield, cutting off the Commander from the rest of his group with a translucent field.

"What's going on?" Rui asked, confused by what was happening. She placed her hands on the hard barrier.

"Gerard had his Diancie use trick room," Maddi said. A shadow crossed over her face as she recognized what was happening.

"Trick room?" Rui asked.

"It's a move that changes the rules of the battle," Chloe said, feeling a little wary herself. "All the fast pokemon are slowed, and all the slow pokemon have their speed boosted."

"But… but Alden's Lucario received all of Cinderace's boosts…" Rui said, going pale. "Doesn't that mean she'd be incredibly slowed down?"

That was clear to anyone with eyes. Corin winced, feeling like a heavy weight was dragging down on her body. But she wasn't the only one who was hampered by the effects of the trick room.

"Archeops…" Archer winced, flapping his wings hard to stay in the air. He was one of the fastest pokemon in the battle, and the trick room had slowed him down just as much as it had Corin. Meanwhile, the naturally slow Finn and Diana received an exceptional boost to their speed, allowing them to take command of things.

But mostly Diana.

"Diana, use earth power!" Gerard ordered.

The ground beneath Corin's feet began to boil, and it erupted right under her. But to Gerard's amazement, Corin was able to quickly jump out of the way.

"You might have slowed us down, but you haven't stopped us," Alden said. "With Corin's extremespeed, she can move fast even in the face of your trick room."

"Fair enough," Gerard shrugged. "But you can't rely on that forever. Soon, extremespeed will run out of PP, and when that happens-"

"Corin!" Alden shouted, cutting him off. Corin charged forward, fist raised, moving at incredible speed as she closed the distance between herself and Diana with a handful of steps. She hit Diana in the stomach with a swift punch, knocking her backwards. Diana tumbled through the sky, clutching her stomach, barely injured but caught off-guard.

"When that happens," Alden continued Gerard's line of thinking, "we'll use our bullet punch. You won't beat Corin and I with trick room. And meanwhile…"

"Swampert!" Finn fired bursts of water at Diana, his speed adding to the force of his moves and forcing Diana to be vigilant of his assault.

"…With trick room, Finn becomes capable of fighting himself," Alden added. "So we'll thank you for that boost! Brick break!"

"Swampert!" Finn charged forward with his fist raised, aiming right at Diana and her barriers. If she tried to put up a reflect, it would be broken easily.

"Tch!" Gerard clicked his tongue in frustration. Archer was too far away, and due to the trick room he now wasn't fast enough to intercept. He would be completely helpless against the Swampert!

Diana wasn't, though. She raised her hands and a barrier of pink light appeared around her, Finn's fist bouncing off of it. At the same time, though, it did break through her light screen, so the attack wasn't for nothing.

"You messed up, setting up trick room," Alden said calmly. "You should have thought things out more, Gerard. If you understood better, you wouldn't have made that decision."

"Stop acting like you know everything about me!" Gerard exclaimed. "You don't know anything!"

"Fair enough, I don't," Alden admitted. "But even I can see that pokemon is just like you."

It wasn't Diana he was pointing at. His finger was aimed right at a confused Archer.

What does Alden mean by Archeops being just like Gerard? Well, putting that aside, right now he's doing quite well in the battle. They've both sent out their ace pokemon, but which one will prove to be the stronger? Will Alden's skill as a trainer prevail, or will it be Gerard's resolve and the support he gets for Samara? We'll have to find out!