With everything going on between Olivia and Alcea, it's important that we take a break and give them some space. So for that reason, we're going to be shifting our focus somewhere else. We're going to follow the Commander, and see how he's handling the Battle Frontier! What is the condition of all of his teammates? What about Vic?
KedharS: Yeah, this is going to be interesting. Though I wouldn't exactly call it a relationship at this point, not yet.
Hyphenman: The sexual tension was palpable. And yes, it was a long time coming. Hopefully everything works out well.
Jjjdunk1: Yeah. Hopefully we can expect more honesty from Olivia going forth, now that she doesn't have to worry about this whole thing with Alcea.
Venom Cross 2: Yeah, seeing them get along would be great.
Guest: Don't worry, Olivia is still the same person, with all her pride and elegance. She's just going to be nicer. To Alcea, at least. Maybe to other people. We'll have to see how she develops.
Rowlets and Oshawotts: Yup. It was intended to be shocking.
Arbiter8991: Yeah, kidnapping an archaeologist in the movie was one thing, now they went after the daughter.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1100
Donoma raised her head and sniffed curiously at the air.
"What's up?" Ian asked, raising his eyebrow curiously. They'd been switching from bus to bus all night, and even though he'd gotten some sleep, he was still rather exhausted and bored. So if Donoma had something to take his mind off things, he was interested.
"…No… no, it's nothing," she said, sitting back down and shaking her head. "I just felt like there was something really, really interesting that I missed out on…"
Indeed, she had, because it was early in the morning, and right about this time Alcea and Olivia's… relationship was coming to light.
But there were other things to focus on right now. Mainly the fact that they were quickly approaching Phenac City, and the Battle Frontier beyond it. They'd changed from a bus to a jeep, and Rui was a surprisingly reckless driver given her status as a parent. The truck bounced over the dunes and Chloe winced behind her mask. Her butt was getting sore from sitting on these seats.
She wasn't just feeling uncomfortable physically. There were five people in the jeep. Rui was at the wheel and Alden was in the front seat, and both were focused on what was ahead. Alden in particular was brooding something fierce. Meanwhile, Donoma was sitting in the center of the back seat with Chloe on one side and Ian on the other. But Ian was the only one she was paying attention to, leading Chloe to feel rather isolated.
Chloe sighed, turned, and stared out over the sand. If she squinted, she could see the spire of the Realgam- no, the Battle Tower, on the horizon. Her heart began to pound in her chest. They were almost there.
The tower was a lot closer now. Alden looked at it in surprise. In the darkness of the setting sun, he could see that the lights were on. The Battle Tower was like a beacon in the desert, calling out to them. He swallowed. So that's what it was. They were almost upon it when Rui slammed on the brakes, nearly sending everyone flying.
"What the hell was that?!" Donoma demanded, scrambling back up. "You nearly killed me with that, you know!"
"I know!" Rui shouted. "But take a look."
She pointed at the air in front of her, which seemed totally normal at first. But upon looking closer, Donoma could see that the sand from the light sandstorm around them seemed to bouncing off some unseen force.
"What is it?" Ian asked as he got out of the jeep.
"It's Ross," Alden said, narrowing his eyes. He reached out and placed his hand over the barrier, which shimmered against his touch. "This is one of his barriers he set up. While it's in place, he controls the territory here."
"That's not good then, is it?" Donoma asked, frowning.
"We'll have to break through if we want to get inside," Alden said. "Corin, use brick break and smash through it."
He sent out his Lucario, who looked at him questioningly. She knew as well as he did that if she broke through the barrier, it would alert everyone there to their presence.
But Alden was insistent. She nodded, raised her fist, and punched the force field with everything she had, shattering the barrier into energy shards that quickly dispersed.
Immediately, a loud wail echoed across the desert. Knowing they'd be spotted soon, Alden recalled Corin to her pokeball and turned to the others.
"Quick, we've got to go!" He said. The five of them abandoned the jeep and ran into the perimeter of the Battle Frontier on foot.
"Hitmonchan!"
Alden leapt out of the way as a Hitmonchan came crashing in from above, his fist delivering a devastating punch. The sand where Alden had been standing exploded in a shockwave and the Fighting type pokemon straightened up, holding up his fists to prepare another punch.
"Ah, Ayame was right!" Tommy walked up with an unusually calm smile on his face. "She and Samarra said that you would come, Alden, and I'm happy that she wasn't mistaken."
"Hey, Tommy," Alden said, sighing. "So I'm guessing that you're under Samarra's control as well, then, is that it?"
Tommy's smile just grew wider and he shook his head. "Come on now," he said. "It's not something like mind control or brainwashing, Alden, we're just friends. You make it sound so suspicious! But I promise, you'll see how it is."
Alden didn't want to see how it was. He wanted to be outta here.
"Well? Come on then," Tommy goaded him. His Hitmonchan still hadn't made any follow-up moves on that sneak attack. "Send out a pokemon! Let's get this fight started!"
"Fine," Alden said, reaching for his pokeball. "I'll-"
"Achlys, go!" Donoma stepped forward and threw out a pokeball, to Alden's a surprise. A Dragalge emerged from it, digging his tail and fins into the sand and rearing up with his snout extended like a gun barrel.
Tommy brightened. "So you'll be challenging me first, then? Excellent!"
"Donoma!" Alden shouted. "What are you doing?!"
"What I came here to do," she said simply. A smirk crossed her face. "Achlys… use smokescreen!"
"Dragalge!" Achlys' snout flexed and he released a cloud of black smoke over the area in front of him, engulfing Tommy and his pokemon.
"Hey! *cough* What's the big *hack* idea?!" Tommy coughed out over the smoke.
"Quick, let's go!" Donoma snapped, recalling her pokemon. "That's only going to last for a second, we need to get out of here!"
She grabbed a stunned Alden by the wrist and dragged him through the sand. He realized a little too slowly what was going on and picked up the pace, with the others running after them.
When the smoke cleared and Tommy's eyes stopped stinging, the others were nowhere to be seen, much to his frustration.
"So that's your play," he grumbled. "Dirty trick…"
He connected to the others to relay what had happened. Samarra put him in contact with the rest of the people as they figured out what to do.
"Why are we running?!" Alden demanded. Had Donoma missed the whole point of why they'd come here?! "We need to go back and save Tommy! He's being controlled by Samarra, the entire reason we came was-"
"Was to free them, I know," Donoma cut him off with a stern look. "But we've got to be smart about this. We can't just charge in like a herd of Tauros and try to take everyone down with brute force! Guys like Tommy, they're the fodder. We need to figure out a strategy for thinning out their numbers, in the way that has the least amount of losses on our side."
Alden didn't say anything. While he wasn't a fan of the tactic Donoma was proposing, he couldn't deny that it sounded effective. If only-
Movement in over by one of the collapsed tower domes caught his eye, and he skidded to a stop, squinting at the wreckage.
"Hey! Over there!" He said, pointing at the stairs leading into the building. They were half-buried in the sand due to the halted construction, but there was someone crouched beside them, gesturing frantically over to him.
"It's Keya," Rui realized, recognizing the small boy. She could sense the harmonia coming off of him, and she couldn't feel anything was amiss.
"Be on your guard," Ian said, reaching for a pokeball as they approached him.
"Commander," Keya said, staring warily at the blonde. "Are you, um…"
He looked like he was having trouble asking the question.
"I'm not being controlled by Samarra, if that's what you mean," Alden assured him as he stepped closer. Keya just looked confused.
"Samarra? Who's that?" He asked.
"She's the lovely young lass who's making everyone go crazy," Donoma glibly responded, earning her a glare from Chloe.
"Keya, what happened when we were gone?" Alden asked.
Keya frowned. He glanced around warily. "Not here," he finally said, beckoning them to follow. "Come on, let's go inside, it's safer there."
Chloe hesitated, looking at the others. She didn't want to say anything, but… were they sure they could trust him?
"He might be leading us into a trap," Donoma warned, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Unlike Chloe, she had no qualms about upsetting people over a misunderstanding.
"There's no point in something like that," Ian said. "If that was the plan, then Samarra would have just sent everyone to attack us like Tommy did, right? Everyone in the tower would be out here, not just Keya."
"I trust him," Alden said, and Rui nodded in agreement.
"I can't feel anything off about him," she confirmed. "But then… I'm not Madison, so…"
Alden had already made up his mind, though. He followed Keya up the stairs. The other boy led him through a maze of hallways leading down to the lower levels of the building, to the parts of the tower hidden by sand.
As they walked, Keya explained what had happened. "It was… a girl. From our school. A blonde. She had really strong pokemon, and she was all by herself."
"Someone from the school? So not Samarra, then," Ian said thoughtfully.
Keya shook his head, still not sure who they were talking about. "She said she wanted a pokemon battle," he explained. "Anabel challenged her first, of course, although Vic wanted to as well. And after Anabel lost, well…"
"Anabel lost?" Alden gasped in surprise. How strong of a trainer was this girl, that not even Anabel could defeat her?
In spite of the situation, he felt his "Sense" surging in anticipation.
"After she beat Anabel, it was like… Anabel changed. They recovered their pokemon, and then suggested another battle. Vic stepped up to fight them, and the girl, she…" Keya began to shake. "It spread like a plague. Everyone was battling everyone else, and they were losing one by one. And by the end, it was like they were all… different somehow."
"It's Samarra," Alden said. Keya had explained things to him, now it was time to put HIS cards on the table. She's… well, we don't know just who or what she is. But since we've been gone, we've had a few incidents with her ourselves. She attacked us, you see, and tried to turn me, as well. It seems that when you lose a pokemon battle against her, then she controls your mind somehow."
"To be clear, it's not exactly brainwashing," Donoma cut in. "You're still you, it's just… it seems like you're also a part of her."
A shiver went down her spine. She wasn't used to stuff like this, and didn't know if she ever would be. She shook her head to clear the disturbed thoughts from her mind, she didn't like thinking about stuff like this, either.
"Um…" Chloe worked up the courage to ask her question. "If… If everyone was turned by Samarra… what about you, Keya? Why didn't she go after you?"
"Probably because I don't have any pokemon of my own," Keya said, frowning. "I fight pokemon battles by making friends with wild pokemon. But the Orre Region doesn't have any. So there was nothing I could do. A few people who were turned last like Tommy thought that if they beat the others then they'd go back to normal, but…"
"Yeah, we saw how that went," Donoma said grimly.
"I wanted to help," Keya looked down with a glum expression on his face. "But, well… without any pokemon…"
"You don't have to worry," Alden assured him, placing his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. He gave him a confident smile. "Because I'm here now."
Keya smiled a little and nodded, relieved at the Commander's confidence.
"Alright then," he agreed. "I'll trust in you, then, Alden."
"Well that's nice and all, but what are we going to do?" Rui asked. "I agree with Donoma that just throwing ourselves at everyone who wants to fight isn't the most effective way to do this. But what should we do then?"
"We're here," Keya said, ignoring Rui's question. He opened a door and stepped inside. Scott was there, with half a dozen construction workers. They all looked freaked out.
"Keya! Oh, and the Commander too," Scott said, looking relieved. He waddled over to them. "You're back! What took you all so long?!"
He squinted at the new faces from behind his sunglasses. "And… who are they? You all are normal, aren't you? You're not-"
"They're fine, Scott," Keya assured him. "They're here to help us."
He turned to Alden. "We've been hiding out in here for a while, since it's the only place that's safe for us," he explained. "None of us have any pokemon, so they couldn't change us, but we couldn't help anybody, either."
"So I'm guessing that means they've changed everyone else, huh?" Alden said, looking around at the unfamiliar faces. Tommy had been controlled, and Ross too, obviously. Mason as well, Anabel, and even Vic…"
"It's just the five of them, as far as I know," Scott said. "Oh, and that girl, the blonde one. So six people in all."
"Six of them, and only four of us," Donoma frowned. "And if we lose, then we join them… I can't say I like those odds."
"But if we beat them, then they'll join us," Ian reminded her. "So it's not that much of a problem."
"It's not just your group." An older man from the construction team approached. "A bunch of my boys had pokemon, too. They all got taken. About a dozen and a half in total."
"So we're dealing with over 20 people?" Rui groaned, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "That's just perfect…"
"That does change things," Ian frowned.
It didn't change anything for Alden. "Listen. However many people there are, that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that we have to save everyone."
"I think the numbers difference matters a little," Donoma scowled. She was done playing pleasant, even with Ian here. She was frustrated and wasn't about to follow the Commander into a twisted situation like this.
But Alden didn't care. He turned to Scott.
"Did you manage to get any of the underground tunnels working?" He asked. "The ones leading to the Battle Tower."
Scott was taken aback by the question. "Oh, uh… yeah I guess. We'll need to power 'em on, but that shouldn't be an issue from over here."
"Alden what are you thinking of?" Rui asked.
"What I'm thinking is that whoever turned our friends, they're waiting for us in the Battle Tower," Alden said.
"The Battle Tower? Are you sure?" Keya asked.
"The Battle Tower is lit up right now, we saw as we approached," Alden said. "The only reason that would be the case if is someone with a flair for the theatrical was in there. And if there's one thing I've noticed about Samarra… she's rather unsubtle."
That was a bit of an understatement.
"So you want to go into the tower to challenge everyone? That could work, but what if they find out what you're up to?" Donoma asked. "You could get swamped by people."
Chloe had a bad feeling about that question. But before she could confirm her suspicions, Alden did it for her.
"That's where you guys come in," he said, turning to Donoma and the others. "While I take the underground path to the Battle Tower, I want you three to be a distraction. Run around and get everyone's attention."
"Oh, sure, play decoy for over twenty brainwashed pokemon trainers. Why don't I just run into a zombie horde while I'm at it?" Donoma mocked the idea, but couldn't come up with a better one, either.
"You can use those tactics you used before, stuff like smokescreen," Alden pleaded. "We just need to keep them occupied."
"I'll do it," Ian nodded. Anything to help.
"M-Me too!" Chloe said, bobbing her head rapidly. She was scared, but if Ian was brave enough to fight, then she could be, too!
Everyone turned to Donoma, the only holdout.
"…Fine," she sighed, scratching her hair reluctantly. "If you two are brave enough to go through with it, then I'm not going to chicken out. Sounds like a plan."
"I'll come, too!" Keya said adamantly. "I might not be able to fight, but I can still sense when pokemon are close by! It's how we've been staying hidden for the last few days."
"We'll go with you," the foreman said, turning to Alden. "We can get that generator up and running so you can use the underground passageways."
"I'm going with you, too," Rui decided, staring adamantly at the Commander.
"Really?" Alden asked, surprised. He would rather she stay back here, where it was safe.
Rui nodded. "You're expecting that my daughter is in the tower, aren't you?" She asked, and Alden's reaction confirmed that she'd hit the nail on the head. "Then I'm definitely going. I need to help Victoria, even if it's just in some small way."
The look in her eye said it was pointless to argue with her. Alden nodded.
"Great, it's decided then," Scott said, clapping his hands. "And I'll coordinate from here!"
Scott had not pokemon to fight with, no electrical knowledge, and couldn't run worth a damn. So no one really argued that he would be the most help here in the safe room.
With their plans decided, the others set out to work.
The arc to reclaim the Battle Frontier has begun! How will the plan work out? Who's waiting for the Commander in the Battle Tower? Will Donoma, Ian, and Chloe be able to do their roles as distractions, and even help save the others? Or will they fall victim to Samarra as well? This nail-biting arc is getting off to a wild start!