Alden pulled off an amazing upset, by taking advantage of Jaune's thunder wave in order to paralyze his pokemon, letting Corin get the edge under the trick room with her speed! It's a strong technique, but it's also a really risky strategy with a big potential to backfire. But hopefully his skill will let him make the most of it.

KedharS: It might be a risky tactic, but the Commander is definitely prepared to make the most of it. Hopefully he'll win.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1106

Anabel was stunned by what they were seeing. Alden had really just told his Vikavolt to use thunder wave on his Lucario, in order to paralyze Corin and give her the advantage in the trick room. Now Corin was unquestionably the fastest pokemon in the room, a fact that Anabel was certain wouldn't go well for them.

"Corin, use bone rush," Alden ordered. Corin charged at Kyth and formed a bone staff out of her aura, spinning it in her paws. She slammed it into Kyth's leg and with a jerk of her arm sent them skidding back, knocked off their balance. She leapt up and brought it down on the underside of their body, striking at the Metagross' vulnerabilities.

"Margie!" Anabel called to their Mismagius. "Stop her with psychic!"

"Mismagius!" Margie's eyes flashed and she focused her psychic powers on Corin to try and stop her movement. But Corin wasn't the only pokemon fighting on Alden's side. Jaune was there too, and he was a lot faster and more powerful than the Mismagius.

"Jaune, use thunderbolt," Alden ordered. Jaune shot across the field and fired a bolt of lightning at Margie, hitting the Mismagius directly with a powerful shock. Margie cried out in pain, her concentration broken. She rounded on Jaune, her eyes glowing furiously.

Anabel knew how she felt. After all, Jaune was in pretty bad shape. His burn was still afflicting him severely, and if he took another hit he would probably be finished for good. The problem was, due to the trick room, that last hit would probably never come. Between the Vikavolt and the paralyzed Lucario, what had been Anabel's greatest advantage in this battle was very quickly becoming a major liability.

That made their decision a simple one.

Using their harmonia, Anabel connected directly with their Mismagius, and gave her an order that the pokemon found surprising. But she didn't question her trainer, focusing her psychic powers as Jaune prepared to attack her again, and Kyth tried to shield his body from Corin's repeated assault with bone rush.

"Mismagus!" Margie howled, releasing a shockwave from out of her body. Jaune, thinking it was an attack, quickly tried to evade, while Corin leapt out of the way as well, but both pokemon were completely off.

Margie wasn't attacking them. Rather, she was using her power to destroy a move that she'd already used herself. The shockwave slammed into the trick room and it shattered like glass, taking the wonder room down with it. The eerie glow that had surrounded the battlefield faded leaving just a wrecked lobby, and for a second all the pokemon in battle jerked as their bodies readapted to the normal environment.

Rui felt a little queasy as she felt them all readjust. But she shook that off and turned to Alden. "Anabel shut down the trick room," she said worriedly. The effect that had on the Commander's pokemon was obvious to see.

Corin winced, feeling the harmful effects of paralysis keeping her still. She could barely move with her muscles seizing, as what had been a great boon in the trick room was now filling her body with devastating consequences.

Jaune wasn't handling things much better himself. Without the trick room, the burns on his body forced him into a difficult situation. He was a lot slower now, and his body was in just as much pain as before. But before he could readjust to his newly-slowed speed, Margie was already preparing to attack with one of her strongest moves.

"Power gem," Anabel ordered. Margie's eyes were glowing red, and countless rubies hung in the air around her like a chandelier. The crystals flew across the battlefield and pummeled the Vikavolt, hitting him from every side even as he tried desperately to escape. But unfortunately, there was no escape for him.

"Jaune!" Alden cried. The Vikavolt plummeted out of the sky, burned and battered. He crashed hard on the ground and lay there unmoving. With a wince, Alden recalled his pokemon and turned to Anabel, who was smiling.

"So you shattered the trick room," he said calmly. Anabel shrugged.

"It was doing a lot more for you than it was for me," they replied. "It didn't seem like the smartest idea to keep it active, knowing how much you were benefitting from it. I hope you aren't disappointed, Alden."

"Not at all," Alden said, shaking his head. "You're right, it makes perfect sense. And with the wonder room gone as well, I'd say things are back to normal. Of course, now I can use some pokemon of my own to their fullest potential."

Anabel's eyes sparkled with harmonia and more than a little excitement. "I was hoping you would say that," they replied.

"Tracey, go!" Alden said, sending his Cinderace back out. Tracey definitely had the advantage here, more than Eifa did, anyway.

"Cinderace," Tracey growled, flames leaping up around her legs. She ran for Kyth immediately, preparing a powerful flame charge to hit the Steel type pokemon. Of course, Kyth was prepared for something like that.

"Metagross," Kyth bellowed, shooting across the battlefield. They raised their claws and unleashed a powerful barrage of bullet punches at Tracey, hitting her head-on in an attempt to slow her down. But Tracey refused to stop. She unleashed a devastating kick that hit Tracey in the face, knocking the Metagross backwards, and leapt up into the air to attack the Mismagius as well.

"Margie, use shadow ball," Anabel ordered. They didn't expect the attack to hit. But what they did expect was for Tracey to turn into a Normal type with her Libero ability to avoid it, which would work out nicely for them, because they could follow up with a powerful attack from Kyth.

Tracey didn't do either of those things, however. What she did do was smile, and begin to glow in midair.

"Ally swap," Alden ordered. Tracey disappeared and was replaced by Corin, whose fist was raised. And in the fraction of a second before Margie could unleash her shadow ball, Corin struck her with a powerful bullet punch that knocked her back, and knocked her out as well.

"Urgh!" Anabel clutched her nose, feeling the force of Corin's punch. It was stronger than normal. Their expression darkened. "So that's what you did. When the trick room dropped, you had Corin use swords dance!"

"You were focused on getting rid of Jaune," Alden shrugged. "Did you think that just because she was paralyzed, Corin wasn't a threat? I knew your Mismagius would be a problem, so I took steps to correct that problem."

"I get it," Anabel said, recalling their Mismagius to her pokeball. "But that won't get you very far, I promise you."

They weren't wrong. Corin might have taken down Margie, but it wasn't like she landed on her feet. Due to the paralysis, it was more like she plummeted from the sky. She could barely stay standing in her present condition.

Alden wasn't worried, though, not even when Anabel sent out Eava.

"Are you sure your Weavile is the best choice?" He warned. After all, Anabel was going up against a Fighting/Steel type pokemon, and a Fire type that could change their type to whatever they wished. Eava would be a better choice for going against Eifa, if Alden sent her out again.

But Anabel just smiled.

"Eava has some tricks up her sleeve," they promised. "Especially given how slow your Lucario is right now!"

Eava might have been weakened from the previous fights she'd been involved in, but she still had more than enough strength for a good fight. With a growl she ran towards Corin, claws raised.

"Not happening," Alden said. "Tracey, use flame charge!"

"Cinder!" Tracey kicked off the ground, flames lighting up over her legs as she charged at the Weavile, preparing to strike. But she received a strike to the face by Eava's claws for her troubles, and the Weavile smirked just like her trainer.

"You forgot about the benefits of sucker punch already?" Anabel smugly asked. "Well, it's not like your Lucario has to worry. We'd never use that move against her! Her ability is Justified, isn't that right? Powering up when she takes a Dark type attack? No, I think we're good. The right course of action is to use a move like this!"

"Weavile!" Eava raised her claw and hit Corin in the stomach with a powerful brick break. The Lucario doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. But she didn't have time to catch her breath. Kyth was already following Eava's brick break with one of their own, preparing to smash Corin into the ground hard.

"Corin!" Alden cried. Corin's aura sensors flared up and a blue glow covered her fur. She dodged Kyth's strike with astounding speed, practically disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the lobby in the blink of an eye.

"We can't forget your famous extremespeed," Anabel chuckled, their eyes twinkling. "But we've got a solution for that, as well. Eava! Use spite!"

"Weavile!" Eava cackled, and a ghostly aura began emanating from her body. The aura went into Corin and she doubled over, weakened.

"Lucario…" Corin panted, feeling the strength leave her. She looked desperately up at the Weavile, who wore a smug smile.

"Wh-What kind of move was that?!" Rui wailed in surprise. Alden scowled.

"That was spite," he answered. "Using that move, the power points of a move the opponent used are drained. The loss is usually only by a few points, but when it's a move with such low power points as extremespeed, all it takes is one hit."

"So Corin can't even use her extremespeed anymore?!" Rui gasped in shock.

"It'll be fine, she still has bullet punch after all," Alden assured her, though he didn't look so confident himself. "And that move is more powerful against an Ice type anyway."

"More powerful, maybe," Anabel admitted. "But is it faster? Eava, use ice shard!"

"Weavile!" Eava held up her claws, firing a wave of ice shards at the Lucario. They moved so fast it was all Corin could do to protect herself with bullet punch, striking at the ice chunks before they could hit her.

"Corin," Alden called to his Lucario. He'd had enough of this. "Use rest."

Rui gasped. Yes! That was exactly what Corin needed! By going to sleep, her health would be restored, and she would be able to shake off the paralysis that had been plaguing her!

And she didn't even know the half of it. Corin had been trained to fight with the use of her aura sensors, allowing her body to remain combat-ready even when she was fast asleep. It was a fighting style that had been a great boon to the Commander, and as his Lucario drifted off to sleep he knew he'd be making great use of it.

"I figured that's what you would do," Anabel said. "I haven't seen a lot of your fights, Alden, but thanks to Victoria, it feels like I know everything you can do."

They smiled.

"So I'll give you this," they said. "But that's as much as you'll get! Eava, use taunt on Corin so she's forced to attack!"

"Weavile!" Eava smirked, beckoning Corin to attack her. Corin's aura flared as she sensed the malevolent presence of the Weavile, and she growled. She ran towards the pokemon with her fist raised, unleashing a bullet punch that Eava just barely evaded.

"Nicely done!" Anabel applauded their pokemon. "Now Kyth, use brick break!"

"Metagross!" Kyth bellowed, swinging their leg like a hammer at Corin. Using her aura to see even while she slept, Corin was able to evade the swing and prepare for a counter strike, lifting her fist and hitting Kyth with a brick break of her own.

But the Metagross had their original defenses again, and were able to shrug off the attack easily with an iron defense. Lunging forward, their body began to glow with a blue aura, and they hit Corin with a zen headbutt that made the Lucario stagger.

"Tracey!" Alden called to his Cinderace, who dashed across the battlefield towards Kyth. As she ran, she dribbled a pyro ball between her feet, the fireball picking up power and size as she approached the pokemon. She pulled back her leg to deliver a powerful kick, only to receive another punch to the face for her trouble. The strike threw her off-balance and she stumbled back, startled, opening her up to a follow-up night slash from the Weavile.

"Hey!" Rui snapped, scowling. "That's not fair!"

Alden just sighed.

"You were throwing those sucker punches around with your Cinderace earlier," Anabel reminded Alden and Rui. "So I don't want to hear anything about dirty tricks! Now Eava, use another night slash on Tracey!"

"Weavile!" Eava raised her claw, and dark energy surged through it as she prepared a powerful strike on the injured rabbit.

Tracey grinned, and as Eava's claw fell she flashed, switching places with Corin again.

"Lucario!" Corin winced, taking the night slash brilliantly. It barely hurt, even though it was a critical, and reinvigorated her spirit of justice, boosting her attack stat even further. With a snarl, Corin rose to her feet, fists raised.

"Nice work, Tracey!" Alden congratulated his Cinderace, who had paused to take a breather. "Now, Corin, I suppose it's time to wake up!"

"Lucario!" Corin's eyes snapped open, and the first thing she saw was the Weavile standing in front of her. With a growl she raised her fist and it began to glow, preparing for a meteor mash that would absolutely finish off the injured speedster.

But Eava was fast, even without her sucker punches. Using her agility she quickly evaded the strike, focusing on putting distance between herself and Corin.

Alden frowned. Due to the trick room, he hadn't put the time in to boost Corin's speed. And now that she had fallen for the taunt, he had lost the opportunity. Oh, she could certainly keep the pace with her bullet punch, but that was far from a winning strategy, even with how high her attack stat now was thanks to the buffs she'd placed.

No, if they wanted to win this, then they would need to handle things smartly, and he could already think of a few ways they could try that.

"Corin," he called to his Lucario. "Forget about catching up to her! I think you know what's needed here, right?"

"Lucario," Corin nodded, hopping back to put even more distance between herself and the Weavile, much to Rui's confusion. But when she saw what the Lucario was going for it suddenly made perfect sense.

Corin raised her paws and began to sculpt her aura, forming a sphere of light in the palms of her hands. Focusing her power, she directed the aura sphere at the Weavile, and it didn't matter how fast Eava tried to run.

Corin's aura was boosted from the calm mind that Eifa had passed onto her. It would be more than enough to wipe out the Weavile, just as the meteor mash had been.

But it just wasn't meant to be. Because as the aura sphere collided with Eava, to Alden's shock it destroyed a perfect replica of the Weavile that had been carved with ice.

"Substitute!" He gasped in realization. At the last second, Eava had replaced herself with an ice copy, and that had taken the force of the aura sphere. Which meant that the real Eava was…

"Tracey! Behind you!" Alden shouted. Tracey didn't even bother turning. She dashed forward immediately, but it was too late. Eava had already struck her weak spot with a devastating night slash, inflicting a critical hit on the already-injured Cinderace. Tracey tumbled forward and rolled across the floor, leaping to her feet and turning on the Weavile, only to see a Metagross in front of her instead.

"Zen headbutt!" Anabel ordered. Tracey only had seconds to process what was going on before the bulky body of the Metagross slammed into her face like a tank, launching her into the wall. She managed to angle her powerful legs behind her and kick off, flinging herself forward at the Metagross, but it was clear the attacks had injured her.

"Blaze kick!" Alden ordered. Tracey spun in the air and dropped her foot down on Kyth's body, hitting them hard. They let out a roar of pain and stumbled back, but they still tanked the blow well. They glared angrily at he Cinderace and stomped their feet, causing the tower to start shaking.

"Oh, no!" Rui shouted, shielding her head. "Not earthquake again!"

"Yes, earthquake again," Anabel said. They should have been more fazed by the fact that this time the attack would hit their Weavile as well, but they weren't. Maybe it was due to Samarra's influence, or maybe they had faith in their harmonia to shield their pokemon from harm, or maybe it was just because Eava was simply capable enough to evade the tremors by jumping high into the air. But whatever the reason, Tracey and Corin were both hit hard by the tremors, the two pokemon being knocked off their feet.

It was just the opening Anabel had been waiting for.

"Perfect, Kyth!" They called to their Metagross. "Now, finish the job with a zen headbutt, one more time!"

"Meta!" Kyth roared, lowering their body and glowing blue. They charged at the injured Lucario, hoping to score a critical hit while the pokemon was still reeling from the earthquake. But they didn't have a chance.

"Cinder!" Tracey had regained her footing first, and leapt in front of Corin. She countered the Metagross' zen headbutt with a sucker punch that knocked bulky pokemon backwards, causing them serious injury.

"Ow!" Anabel held their cheek, glaring at Alden.

"What's the matter?" Alden asked. The tone of his voice sounded like he was goading them. "I thought you like challenging battles?"

Anabel didn't have a response. They were struggling to understand how they were so frustrated by being caught off-guard like that, when they'd never felt that way in any previous battles.

Well, Alden is starting to throw Anabel off slightly! Maybe they'll be able to realize just how much Samarra has really warped their thinking as they become aware of how much they've changed! But it won't matter if Alden can't pull off the victory. He still needs to defeat them, after all, and with both trainers only having three pokemon left, it's going to be a challenging fight.