The Phantom is clearly up to something, but we won't have the time to really dig deep into what he's planning, because we need to catch up with Wes. What's he up to, now that he knows what's going on from Hiromi and has gotten in contact with Rui? He's also got Rafe and Dokukage to deal with as well, which should be an interesting dynamic.
KedharS: Their names are really similar too, which is pretty amusing.
Gyvarius: They aren't plates. Plates are flat, the Oracles are round. Clearly they're entirely different things.
Arbiter8891: I see.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Quite a lot of theorizing, interesting. And don't worry, we'll eventually uncover the rest of the Oracles in time.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1084
Wes led the two students, Rafe and Dokukage, to an inn to stay the night. Had coordinated with Rui, and heard what she had to say- h conveyed the decision to them, and the kids agreed that there would be strength in numbers.
"We can wait here for a little," he said, checking his phone. Rui was on his way with a group of students herself. He was a little concerned that Vic wasn't in that group, but he was willing to trust his wife that she was safe. Rui wouldn't let anything happen to her precious Vic, after all. So she absolutely had to be safe.
But after what Rafe and Dokukage described, and after what Hiromi told him over the phone, he was reasonably concerned about what his daughter might be going through. Just the thought that she could be being controlled by some crazy woman right now, the idea was terrifying to him. But he suppressed his fear and pressed on, knowing that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe.
According to Rui, it is possible to break someone out of their brainwashing by defeating them in a pokemon battle, Wes recalled. That was a comforting thought. So, worst comes to worst, I can defeat Victoria and free her from this Samarra's control.
The biggest issue, though, was the fact that he had no idea what this Samarra woman looked like. He'd gotten a vague description from the boys, but that could look like anyone. If this Samarra could really brainwash with a touch, then she was NOT the kind of person that he wanted to pass on the street. She was a threat, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he was concerned about what she was capable of doing.
"Well, this is nice, but I'm going to go for a walk," Rafre said, standing up suddenly. The gesture shocked Alden, who turned to look incredulously at the boy.
"You CAN'T be serious," he said, shaking his head with disbelief. "You realize that this is a dangerous situation we have on our hands, don't you? There's a woman capable of controlling people with a touch, and she's wandering around the Orre Region. It's not safe to go out there by yourself." He looked out the window of the rest stop they were staying at, at the base of the mountain. The darkness looked even more foreboding than it usually did. He turned back to Rafe. "I won't allow you to go out alone," he said.
That should have been the end of things, but unfortunately, Rafe had disappeared in the time he had taken to look outside. Wes did a double-take, stunned.
"Shit," he cursed, leaping to his feet. He turned to Dokukage. "You, stay here," he ordered, grabbing his pokeballs. Dokukage just barely nodded in confirmation, and Wes was immediately out the door without a second thought.
As he ran out into the night, he put himself in Rafe's shoes. It wasn't like he couldn't understand. The other boy was in quite a situation here, having had most of his group possessed by a crazy woman. Rafe didn't seem like much fazed him, but it was entirely possible that his dispassionate act was just a big façade.
Plus, now he had to share a room with two dudes. Wanting some fresh air to clear his mind was understandable.
But Wes wasn't about to let him put himself at further risk.
Wes looked around, calling for the boy, and then nearly tripped over himself- no, he nearly tripped over Rafe! The boy was snoozing on the ground, without a care in the world!
Wes' eye twitched. This was unreal. He suppressed a scream and gently shook the other boy awake. Rafe gazed up at him through bleary eyes.
"Oh, Wes, what are you doing here?" He asked tiredly.
Wes was too exhausted and frustrated to answer that question. He just tugged Rafe to his feet and dragged him back to the rest stop.
He found himself missing his daughter. She had been a curious and explorative child, but never to this extent.
Early in the morning, Wes awoke to another call from his wife. She'd been traveling through the night, and would be at his location in a couple of hours. That left some time to go for a walk and clear his mind, if not for the fact that he was babysitting two students.
"Ah, Wes, I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Rafe said, greeting the older man as he walked outside.
"A favor? What is it?" Wes asked gruffly, not sure what the boy wanted.
"Well, I just heard that you're a very talented pokemon trainer, is that true?" Rafe asked curiously, smiling at him.
"I am, why?" Wes asked.
"I'm not one for battles myself, you see," Rafe quickly stated. "But my pokemon… I let them do as they please, most of the time. And right now, a couple of them would very much like to test their skills against you in battle. Would that be a possibility?"
Wes raised his eyebrow. A pokemon battle? Now? There were more important things to do in this situation, he believed. But then, Rui wouldn't be here for quite a while, so what was the issue? He could spare a little of his time.
"…Fine, but a quick one," he agreed. "Just a double battle, with two pokemon each."
"Perfect!" Rafe smiled.
Luckily, they were practically in the middle of nowhere, so there was a lot of room past the rest stop to have a pokemon battle.
Wes raised his eyebrow as he saw the way the other boy carried himself. He was so casual, like he fought trainers of Wes's caliber every day.
"You're quite calm," Wes noted. "Would it be wrong to say that you're one of the strongest trainers at the Pokemon Academy?" It was just a guess of course, but he suspected he was right. The pressure Rafe gave off was different from Alden's, but it was a powerful one.
Rafe raised his eyebrow, surprised. "Well, you're not wrong," he agreed. "I'm one of the Eight Leaders. That's a title that means I'm recognized as one of the strongest trainers in the school." His smile widened and he tilted his head to the side. Proudly, he added "and I also happen to be the student voted as the one that nobody wants to battle the most."
Now that was something interesting. Wes didn't feel that sort of vibe from the boy. But regardless, he would see just what Rafe had in store.
"I'll get it started," Wes said. He wasn't taking this lightly, starting off immediately with his Umbreon and Espeon. They might not be the strongest of his pokemon, but they were a very powerful and potent team. Solaris and Lunet stared warily at the boy, waiting for him to send out his pokemon.
"Elfuria, go," Rafe said, tossing out his first pokeball. A Delphox emerged from it, twirling a long stick like a magic wand. "And then… um… hm…"
He tapped his chin thoughtfully, a gesture that confused Wes. What was this guy doing? Didn't he already have planned who he was going to use?
"…Sorry, I just can't decide," Rafe admitted sheepishly, scratching his head. "I prefer to go at my own pace, so… you won't mind if I wait a little bit to decide on my other pokemon?"
"Bwuh?" It was the most absurd question Wes had ever heard in a pokemon battle. This Rafe kid was voluntarily taking part in a 2 on 1? It boggled the mind.
"I-I guess that's fine?" He mumbled, still not sure what he was hearing.
"Excellent!" Rafe said. "Now Elfuria… just do whatever."
Again, another statement that stunned Wes. But apparently, Elfuria was prepared. She spun her wand, summoning mystical fire into being, sending it for Solaris.
"Solaris, use light screen," Wes ordered. The ruby on Solaris' forehead began to glow, and a red barrier appeared around her and Lunet, blocking the flames.
Wes turned to Rafe to see what he was planning to do… and saw that the other boy was sitting in the grass. He was drinking tea from a thermos!
"Pay attention to the battle!" Wes snapped. He'd already been reluctant about this whole thing, but now it was like the kid wasn't even taking it seriously.
"I'm having tea," Rafe replied cheerily. "It's important to keep my body rhythm up this early in the day, you see."
Wes just shook his head incredulously.
In fairness, Rafe wasn't wrong. Elfuria was doing just fine even without her trainer's input. Wes had ordered Solaris to set up light screen because the Delphox was clearly a special attacker; and while that had been the right thing to do, to Wes's amazement, the Delphox was already barraging the barrier with powerful enough fire attacks it was already starting to give.
But Wes had two pokemon. And one of them was a Dark type.
"Lunet, faint attack," he ordered. Lunet disappeared while Elfuria was focusing on Solaris, and reappeared behind the pokemon, lunging at her.
Lunet's leg struck Elfuria in the back and she cried out in pain, dropping her wand and stumbling forward. Lunet hopped back and prepared another attack, as Solaris took the opportunity to prepare a shadow ball.
"ELFURIA! Use your fire spin!" Rafe shouted, startling Wes with the forcefulness of his voice. He turned to the boy, and saw one of the most intense expressions on Rafe's face that he'd ever seen.
"Delphox!" A tornado of flames roared up around Elfuria, blocking her from the two attacking pokemon for the moment, both relying on the light screen to shield themselves.
"I see, finally taking this seriously, are you?" Wes asked, narrowing his eyes. "Well, those flames are fine, but they won't beat us! Solaris-"
"Okay, Elfuria, you can handle the rest yourself," Rafe said, yawning. He sat back down and laid himself out in the dry grass. "It's nap time."
Wes was so shocked he forgot the orders he was about to give. Dokukage, who was watching from the sidelines, had no outward reaction to Rafe's statements, so he assumed that this must be a common occurrence.
Wes just shook his head. "…Whatever. Solaris, shadow ball. Lunet, faint attack."
"Espeon!" Solaris opened her mouth, forming an orb of dark energy. At the same time, Lunet disappeared from existence, preparing to strike from the shadows himself.
If Elfuria had any reaction to her trainer going to take a nap, she didn't show it. Flames burned around her and she charged at Solaris, startling the Espeon as she fired the shadow ball.
With the speed of flame charge, Elfuria managed to swiftly evade the ghostly attack, dodging down low and swinging her leg, knocking Solaris off her feet. The attack didn't do much damage, but it was certainly surprising.
Luckily, Lunet was there to strike. He appeared behind Elfuria, posed to attack- only to get a kick to his own legs for his trouble.
"Nice low kick, Elfuria," Rafe yawned, sitting up from his short nap and standing up, stretching a little. "My sister would be proud."
"Delphox," Elfuria said, rather proud of herself.
Wes wasn't sure what to make of his opponent, and neither were his pokemon. They both returned to his side and glanced at each other, considering the best strategy for taking this odd pokemon down.
Because of Lunet's high defenses and Elfuria's low physical attack, Lunet hadn't taken much damage. He was still the best option for fighting the Delphox. But Wes was cautious. Rafe was saving a pokemon in reserve, after all.
I have to say… being able to fight me with only one pokemon against my two… he may not be taking this match seriously, but he's certainly a skilled trainer regardless, I'll give him that. Wes was almost impressed.
"Solaris, use helping hand," he ordered his Espeon. "Lunet, use your crunch attack!"
"Espeon!" Solaris nodded, her body glowing. Light flew from her over to her mate, boosting his attacking stats. At the same time, Lunet snarled at Elfuria and charged right at her, opening his fangs wide for a powerful bite.
"Oh! How interesting! I'm surprised a pokemon with such a small mouth could use such a bold attack!" Rafe said, his eyes wide with astonishment.
He stepped right between Lunet and Elfuria, his face filled with curiosity.
"Umbreon!?" Lunet gasped in shock, nearly tripping over himself to keep from crashing into the trainer and biting him.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Wes exclaimed, his face turning white with horror.
"What? I just felt like getting involved," Rafe said, as if a trainer walking out into the middle of a battlefield was completely ordinary. Wes couldn't believe his ears.
"You could have gotten yourself killed!" He sputtered.
"I'd have been fine," Rafe laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "Elfuria would have protected me, right?" He turned to his Delphox and smiled.
"Del…" Elfuria sighed in exasperation, rubbing her forehead. Clearly, this was not the first time her trainer had done something this ridiculous.
Wes didn't know what to make of any of this. He was the same intense fighter of his youth, but even he had enough respect for pokemon battles to not act like this. Was this really a high-ranking student at the Pokemon Academy? What kind of place was that?
"Get out of the way," he growled. "Unless you want to end the battle here and now, of course."
"Or…" Rafe tapped his chin thoughtfully, and then took up a fighting pose. "I could just do like my little sister and battle as the second pokemon myself!"
It was like Rafe was trying to be the most confusing person in the world. "That's… no!" Wes exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"
"No, of course not!" Rafe smiled. "Charon, go."
Before Wes could respond, Rafe tossed out another pokeball, containing his second pokemon, a Medicham. The Medicham emerged already posed for attack and leapt into the air, hitting a stunned Lunet in the throat with a high jump kick.
"Lunet!" Wes shouted as his Umbreon tumbled across the ground, quickly regaining his balance. He snarled at the Medicham and Delphox.
"Nice work, Charon," Rafe said, patting his Medicham on the shoulder. "Callie would be proud." He turned to Wes. "Now then, I think I'll go with this one. You all have fun!"
Then he walked over to Dokukage and struck up a conversation with the ninja like he didn't have a care in the world.
Unbelievable… Wes shook his head incredulously.
No wonder Rafe was titled "student that people didn't want to fight the most" at the Pokemon Academy. This was just infuriating.
"Medicham!" Charon charged at Lunet, raising his fist and preparing to strike. Lunet used his quick attack to evade.
Wes refocused on the battle. It didn't help either that Rafe's pokemon were powerful. It was clear they'd been trained well, and knew how to fight, even without their trainer's orders. Rafe could afford to be so hands-off in this battle because his pokemon were just that competent when left to their own devices.
"Medicham…" Charon raised his fist once more… and then closed his eyes. Like his trainer, it looked like he was going to sleep.
Wes wasn't fooled.
"Focus punch, eh? Think we'd fall for that one? Solaris, use shadow ball, and Lunet, quick attack!" The attacks didn't need to be powerful. They just needed to be strong enough to break the other pokemon's focus. But a good shadow ball wouldn't tickle, either.
"Espeon!" Solaris created an orb of ghostly energy that she fired at the Medicham as he gathered his focus. At the same time, Lunet charged in with quick attack.
"Elfuria!" Rafe shouted, charging onto the battlefield from the sidelines, startling Wes and his pokemon. "Quickly, use your ally switch!"
"Delphox!" Elfuria nodded, raising her magic wand. Like a wizard casting a spell she twirled it and began to glow, and Charon traded places with her. Wes got a peek behind the stage as Elfuria reappeared, right in the path of the incoming attacks.
She leapt at Lunet, taking his quick attack head on. The Umbreon knocked her over, causing the shadow ball to fly safely off into the distance.
Elfuria then seized Lunet by his hind legs and flung him over to Charon, the startled pokemon scrambling through the air, caught off-guard by the show of brute force.
"Charon, right here!" Rafe called to his Medicham, directing him with his voice. Charon's eyes snapped open and he lunged forward, swinging his fist and hitting Lunet in the stomach with a powerful focus punch, sending the pokemon flying across the battlefield.
"Lunet!" Wes scowled.
"That's how we do things!" Rafe declared proudly. "Don't hold back, Elfuria! Continue pressing your advantage with mystical fire, now! Aim at the Espeon!"
Elfuria seized advantage of the confusion and conjured a wave of glowing flames, sending them flying towards Solaris. But the Espeon's barrier held strong and she leapt in front of her partner, protecting the injured Umbreon with her light screen.
"That's quite a move," Wes applauded Rafe as his Umbreon struggled to stand. "I didn't see it coming, honestly."
"Well, we do our best," Rafe shrugged, smiling. "By letting my pokemon fight to their fullest, the way they like to, they can bring out their full power, wouldn't you agree?"
Wes had to admit, the boy had a point. Maybe he was underestimating him, considering him just a fool. This wasn't a trainer to be taken lightly.
A smile crossed his face. "Well, I see you've decided to take this serious- seriously?!"
Rafe plopped down on the ground and took out a magazine, flipping through it absentmindedly.
Wes really should have seen it coming.
To take a break from the really intense battle we just got out of, I thought it would be for the best if we had a more comedic battle. And besides, we haven't really gotten a good look at what Rafe is capable of! He's quite a fascinating trainer with a unique style of pokemon battles, wouldn't you agree? I can see why Callie is perpetually annoyed by him.
