Anabel is making good use of their Snorlax and Mismagius, but Alden's also countering them well, using his Swampert and Vikavolt! But the battle is just getting started, and it's not a given that his powerful pokemon will be able to break through Anabel's combo. Their Snorlax is fast and powerful, after all, hopefully the Commander will be able to win!
KedharS: Darn right it's getting spicy! Just what we like to see, an intense exchange!
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1105
Finn barely had time to react when Norton came charging at him like a tank. He turned to see the hulking Normal type pokemon slam into him with his shoulder, knocking him off of his feet with a powerful blow.
"Swamp-!" Finn gasped in pain. He skidded across the ground and stopped himself before slamming into the wall, rising shakily to his feet. Norton was charging towards him again, and Margie was preparing another attack to finish him off as well.
That's when Rui saw the blue glow covering the Swampert's body.
"Oh!" She gasped. "That's…" She recognized that glow. She'd seen enough fights from the Commander to know a little of what his pokemon were capable of; in this case, his Swampert's ability was activating due to his low health!
"SWAMPERT!" Finn roared as his Torrent surged. He could feel himself growing reinvigorated with power as he got his second wind, and Norton stomped towards him. He turned to Alden, who nodded back.
Both trainer and pokemon were aware that they were in a tough situation. But they wouldn't hold anything back.
"Swampert!" Finn opened wide and fired a blast of water at Norton. He put everything he had into the attack, boosting himself with the power of Torrent. The hydro pump was massive and would destroy almost anything it hit, but unfortunately none of those things were Norton.
The Snorlax was too fast. With trick room, he had agility that he never would have been able to get under normal circumstances. Taking full advantage of it, he dodged around the hydro pump with a quick sidestep, picking up speed as he closed the distance between him and Finn.
Anabel narrowed their eyes and focused their harmonia. There was no room for leniency with this; they would have to give it their all if they wanted to finish Finn off with this next attack. So that's what they did. They gathered every last ounce of their strength and gave it to Norton, boosting his attacking power as much as they could. With a bellow Norton picked up speed and his body started to glow, moving so fast he was blinding.
"Giga impact!" Anabel shouted.
Finn didn't know what hit him. Over a thousand pounds of Snorlax slammed head-on into his already-injured body, and the effect was instantaneous. The Swampert literally flew as he was knocked across the field, crashing down on one of the few tables in the lobby that was still intact, smashing it to pieces immediately.
He didn't rise to his feet this time. The Swampert twitched before succumbing to his injuries, leaving the Commander with no choice but to recall him to his pokeball.
"You did well, Finn," Alden said quietly.
"He really did," Anabel nodded, wiping sweat from their forehead. "Finn is really well-trained. We had to give it everything we had to win, and I'm still exhausted!"
Anabel's words weren't just empty praise. They were clearly exhausted from that last move, and Norton was completely stunned, barely breathing. In spite of his performance thus far with the aid of trick room, he had returned to a common stance for Snorlax, lying back on the floor basically fast asleep from exhaustion.
Alden knew that it was now or never. "Eifa, go!" He shouted, sending out his Espeon.
"Espeon!" Eifa cried, landing gingerly on her feet. Immediately, she winced. The effects of trick room were hard on her, and she could barely withstand the strange feeling. But she pushed through it and prepared herself, knowing what needed to be done. Like Corin, Eifa's connection with the Commander was on another level. It wasn't quite harmonia, of course, but being a Psychic type meant that she was very sensitive to his emotions and desires. And right now, she knew just what he wanted from her in this battle.
"I remember that pokemon!" Anabel said, narrowing their eyes. Their smile widened. "She fought with Norton last time! What, would you like a repeat performance of the metronome game? Well, I'm sorry to say, but that won't be happening."
"Oh, really?" Alden asked. "And why might that be?"
"Because right now, we're fighting to win," Anabel explained, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Metronome is too random of a move to use against a trainer like you, Alden, we need to use the moves that are proven to work!"
Alden frowned. This was exactly what he'd feared.
"Just as I thought," he sighed, shaking his head. "No matter how much you might seem like yourself, you really have been twisted by Samarra, haven't you?"
Anabel blinked, and then a faint frown crossed their face. "What do you mean by that, Alden?" They asked.
"Normally, you would have used metronome without hesitation," Alden calmly replied. "Because it's fun. That's the important thing, right? Having fun and enjoying yourself? It's the reason you battle, isn't that what you say?"
"Yeah, so what's your point?" Anabel still couldn't understand, which was part of what Alden was getting at.
"That's exactly my point," he replied. "You may seem like yourself, and yeah, a lot of the things you're saying at the same. But at the same time, you're different! Your priorities are completely absorbed by what Samarra wants, don't you get it? Is that really the freedom you were after? You're not yourself, you're prioritizing the needs of someone else!"
"And you're not the same?" Anabel asked. "You normally focus on fun in a battle, but right now you're trying to win yourself, aren't you? Doesn't that make you a hypocrite?"
"I won't deny that," Alden said, shaking his head. "You're not wrong, I would like to battle with you just having fun. But right now, I have to win, in order to save you, and everyone else."
"And it's the same for me," Anabel said calmly. "But enough of that. It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is winning! Margie, use shadow ball!"
"Mismagius!" Much faster than Eifa under the trick room, Margie opened her mouth and fired an orb of ghostly energy at the Espeon. Eifa concentrated, focusing her power into the ruby on her forehead. She knew that there was no chance of dodging; she could have used quick attack, but at the moment, she was focusing her power for a different purpose. So she withstood the shadow ball, pushing through the pain as she directed her psychic powers at Norton.
The Snorlax couldn't resist the psychic aura that began to spread across his body. He was too weakened from the giga impact, so the psychic attack hit him directly. With a painful groan he succumbed to the psychic damage, feeling the rest of his strength slowly slipping away.
"Norton!" Anabel shouted, concentrating their power. They needed Norton to withstand the psychic attack until he could move again, then he could go back to sleep with rest. So they strengthened his special defense with their harmonia, giving him everything they could.
But even if that was enough to protect against Eifa, it wouldn't be enough for Jaune.
"Vikavolt!" With a flap of his wings, Jaune tore across the battlefield. Norton was too weakened to move at the moment, so Jaune with his speed stat of 43 was the fastest pokemon in the trick room. He spread his jaws wide and built up a current of electricity between his mandibles, but instead of directing it outward, he focused it inward, concentrating it into a single orb of black electricity.
"Zap cannon!" Alden ordered. It was a move that had very limited utility due to how slow it was. Under normal circumstances, any target would easily be able to dodge the attack. But this situation was far from normal. Norton was paralyzed from the giga impact; he couldn't move at all.
So even though the zap cannon was moving very slowly, it was still faster than Norton could respond to, and Anabel could only watch as the attack closed in on their pokemon. Before it could hit, they severed the connection, knowing that their harmonia wouldn't be enough to save the Snorlax. All that it would do was render them the victim of the attack themselves.
"Snorlax!" Norton roared in pain as the intense electricity from the zap cannon ripped through their fat body, filling him with more volts than he could withstand. With a desperate whimper he raised his hands, before succumbing.
"…Sorry, Norton," Anabel said, recalling their Snorlax. They'd risked it all to defeat Finn, but the price they'd paid was a serious one. They didn't let that fact discourage them, though, and reached for their next pokeball. "Kyth, come back out."
"Metagross!" Kyth roared, reemerging from their pokeball and stomping their feet on the floor.
"Kyth usually boosts their speed with agility," Anabel said proudly. "But normally, they aren't very fast. And you know what that means!"
"Meta!" Kyth shouted, charging across the battlefield at high speed. They raised their leg, and it began to glow with light as they prepared a meteor mash attack.
"Eifa!" Alden cried. Eifa's eyes flashed red and they focused their psychic powers to create a barrier, but Kyth was faster. They hit her directly in the face, knocking her across the battlefield as the reflect appeared around her.
"Vika!" Jaune wasn't going to take that lying down. He flapped his wings and flew towards Kyth, creating an electrical current that he launched at the Steel type pokemon.
Kyth took the thunderbolt without even flinching, turning towards Jaune and swinging their leg at the Bug type pokemon. Jaune easily evaded the blow, surprised that the attack hadn't been as effective on the Metagross as he'd expected.
"It's okay, Jaune," Alden assured his Vikavolt. "It's because of the wonder room. Metagross normally have very powerful physical defenses, so with wonder room active, now Kyth's special defense is the stronger one.
"Vika," Jaune nodded.
Anabel smiled. "You see quite well," they said, laughing. "That's right! You were using two special attackers? Well, it seems clear my best course of action is to use Metagross! So come on, what are you going to try next?"
"You forgot something," Alden reminded them. "Jaune can use physical attacks as well! Crunch, Jaune!" He ordered.
"Vika!" Jaune flew towards Kyth and spread his mandibles, clamping down hard on Kyth's leg. The pokemon grunted in pain from the super-effective attack, but shook it off, and also shook Jaune off as well.
"That won't be enough," Anabel smiled. "Remember, your Vikavolt is still burned! Physical attacks won't have much effect! Of course, you could always switch to a specialized physical attacker like Tracey, if you think that would help…"
The teasing tone of their voice spoke for itself. Anabel was baiting Alden to switch to a pokemon that would be better-suited for this exchange- but also one that would be a lot slower, due to the effect of the trick room.
Alden wasn't amused.
"Eifa!" He called to his Espeon. "Use calm mind!"
"Espeon," Eifa nodded. The ruby on her forehead began to glow, and she started boosting her special attack.
"True, that's a viable strategy," Anabel acknowledged. "Giving your Espeon enough special attack to smash through even Kyth's high defenses! But it won't be that simple. Margie, use shadow ball on her, now!"
"Mismagius!" Margie hissed, creating an orb of ghostly energy. She fired the orb at Eifa, who was still building her focus.
"Jaune!" Alden called to his Vikavolt. "Counter with electro ball!"
"Vika!" Jaune took advantage of his awesome speed, shooting across the battlefield to position himself in front of Eifa. He opened his mandibles and created an orb of lightning, then when he closed his jaws he fired the orb like a bullet down the barrel of a rail gun. The electro ball smashed into the shadow ball and the two attacks exploded in a flash of light.
Anabel shielded their eyes, but they didn't need them to see. Kyth could see things clearly, and they were already giving their pokemon the order to attack. With a roar, Kyth launched a wave of rocks towards the two pokemon. The boulders battered against the reflect barrier, threatening to break through it, but Eifa held it strong.
"I'm not surprised Eifa's reflect is standing firm," Anabel said. There was a tinge of respect and admiration in their voice. "After all, under wonder room, her defenses are flipped as well. And now that high special defense she's so proud of is being used to buff her physical defenses."
"That's right," Alden nodded. "And that's not all. She's building her focus with calm mind even further, right, Eifa?"
"Espeon," Eifa nodded. She added a layer of light screen to the reflect for additional protection, and as she did, she focused her energy on calming her mind and building up her special stats, in anticipation of what her trainer needed.
Alden squinted as the barrier was being hammered. Kyth assaulted it physically while Margie used special attacks, both pokemon trying to destroy it. But both barriers held. Yes, now was the time, he was sure of it.
"Baton pass, Eifa!" He ordered.
"Espeon!" Eifa nodded, her eyes flashing red. In a burst of light, she returned to her pokeball, and Alden sent out another pokemon in her place.
Anabel could feel the anticipation as he reached for the ball. This was what they'd been waiting for, the perfect challenge!
"Lucario!" Corin roared, emerging from her pokeball. She was glowing with a red aura, having received a great boon from her teammate. With two calm minds stacked up, she was prepared to unleash some devastating attacks against both pokemon.
"I considered your advice," Alden called over. "It sounded pretty good, all things considered."
"Happy to help!" Anabel chirped, smiling cheerfully. "Though I must say, Alden, you didn't listen closely enough. Remember what I told you about the speed?"
At 90 base speed, Corin wasn't the fastest pokemon on the field. But she was definitely slower than the Metagross, and that was a problem. And slower than she was used to moving, as well. She sighed, her aura sensors flaring up.
With all the time she'd spent under trick room in her battles, this feeling of slowness was starting to feel natural.
"You're not wrong, Corin's slower than normal," Alden admitted. "But that doesn't mean a lot! Corin, use bullet punch!"
"Lucario!" Corin shot towards Margie, raising her fist, and unleashed a barrage of quick strikes at the Ghost type that knocked her back. But Margie didn't take much damage.
"You won't be able to do anything with that," Anabel called. "Remember, Margie's defenses are flipped, so she's much bulkier on the physical side! Meanwhile, your Lucario has a 70 in each, so she can't take advantage of things! Now Margie, use mystical fire!"
"Mismagius!" Margie released a wave of glowing fire towards Corin, threatening to swallow the Steel type in the inferno.
Corin was prepared. She was still faster than Margie, and that gave her room to counter. Holding up her paws, she formed a staff of aura and spun it forward, sweeping up the flames and dispersing them easily.
Anabel wasn't even upset. They knew that an attack of that caliber wouldn't do much against Corin, it merely served as a good distraction. The actual skirmish was happening now.
"Kyth! Earthquake time!" They shouted.
"Metagross!" Kyth bellowed, stomping their feet on the floor. Tremors shook the room, threatening to send the whole tower crashing down. Corin braced herself against the quakes, but she needn't have bothered. Eifa's reflect was still holding strong in the face of the onslaught.
Anabel sighed. "Well, I was hoping to save this, but I suppose now is the time. Kyth, smash through those barriers with brick break!" They ordered.
"Metagross!" Kyth charged at Corin, smashing through both barriers with a single punch and delivering a devastating blow to the Lucario's chest. Corin was too slow to dodge, taking the attack head-on. She was flung across the battlefield, but still managed to land on her feet.
"Corin, are you okay?" Alden called to his Lucario. Panting, Corin turned to look at him, and nodded, a shaky smile crossing her face.
Anabel frowned. They expected more from that.
"Well, whatever, Kyth! She still can't keep up with you! Take her down with an earthquake attack that'll send the whole room shaking!" Anabel shouted.
"Metagross!" Kyth roared, stomping all four of their legs, causing the entire room to shake again. But Corin was prepared, and so was Alden.
"Jaune!" Alden called to his Vikavolt, the Bug type pokemon unaffected by the tremors. "Use thunder wave!"
"Thunder wave?!" Rui gasped. "Why would you use that?! That'll just slow their pokemon down even more, which under the trick room, will mean their speed will be even greater!" She couldn't understand what the Commander was aiming for.
But Alden was smiling. "Who said the goal was to use it on their pokemon?" He asked coolly, and Rui gasped in realization.
"Vika!" Jaune buzzed, building up a current of electricity in his jaws. He released it in a shockwave that didn't aim for either of Anabel's pokemon. Instead, the thunder wave had a single target.
"Lucario!" Corin winced, withstanding the electricity. She felt her body seize up, and her aura sensors rose. Then it was like movement anew blossomed within her. She shot like a bullet towards Kyth, leaping high into the air to avoid the earthquake.
Corin unleashed a devastating high jump kick that hit Kyth head-on, knocking the Metagross back. The room stopped shaking as they rolled across the battlefield, crashing into the far wall. The pokemon roared with pain as Corin landed on the ground. Her body was still crackling with electricity, but her eyes were glowing blue with anticipation.
Nice! Alden's played his trump card, and sent out Corin! His Lucario is just what he needs to overcome Anabel's team! Not only that, but he's taken advantage of the double battle to inflict Corin with paralysis, giving her the ability to fight at a speed even higher than normal! It's a risky play, could it potentially backfire on them?