The battle has reached the climax! Alden sacrificed Corin in order to get an advantage over Anabel and the result has pushed them into a difficult position! Will Alden be able to emerge victorious? Or will Anabel defeat him, thus forcing him to become part of Samarra's friend group? What will the result be? Remember to review!
KedharS: That would be a good thing, but who knows if it's even possible.
Hyphenman: It's possible. I guess we'll have to see.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1108
Mentally, Anabel was ripping out their hair trying to figure out what was going on. The overlap between what Samarra was telling them about Alden and what their own eyes were saying was getting more and more strained, and they were having trouble moving past the dissonance.
"I don't understand!" They pleaded with Samarra in their mind. "I thought you said that Alden was lying to me and trying to trick me in order to win, but that's not what he's doing! And he's… he's not wrong, before, I used to…"
"It's not what I expected," Samarra replied. "Perhaps you're right. Alden might not be malicious. But isn't that all the more reason why we should take steps to help him? By defeating him in battle, we can shot him how good it feels to be friends with me, and then we can work on making him happy, as well. I believe that's the best course of action, don't you?"
Anabel put up no resistance as their brain swiftly rewired itself to prioritize this. They nodded their head, realizing what Samarra was saying was true. "That's right," they whispered. "I almost forgot the most important thing."
Anabel recalled Casey to his pokeball, their face renewed with dedication.
"The point of this fight is to bring Alden around to our way of thinking and show him that we're the ones who are right!" They declared. "Let's go, Kyth!"
Anabel sent their Metagross back out. Metagross and Weavile, just how they'd begun the battle. Only this time, their pokemon were a lot more worn down.
"Eifa, go!" Alden said, sending Eifa back out. His Espeon growled at the two pokemon, and ran up next to Tracey. The two pokemon prepared to attack.
"Eava!" Anabel's harmonia surged, their eyes flashing. They needed to rely on their pokemon, and that meant a change of tactics. They couldn't be as reckless with Eava now that they only had two pokemon left, they would have to be more careful. At the same time, Eava would be a good weapon to use against Alden's Espeon.
Eava got the orders, turning to Eifa and raising her claws. She released a blast of ice shards in the Espeon's direction, and Eifa used her quick attack to dodge. That was fine with Anabel, because it opened up an opportunity for Eava to get in close.
"Weavile!" Eava dashed forward and swung her claw at the Espeon. Dark energy surged through it, and she struck the Espeon in the side with a powerful night slash.
"Eifa!" Alden cried. But his Espeon was tough. She leapt to her feet immediately and growled at Eava, but she didn't attack. She knew as well as Alden that she didn't have any moves that were good coverage for the Weavile; what she did have, however, was a partner.
Glowing, Eifa used helping hand to give a boost to Tracey's stats. The surge of energy pumped the Cinderace up, and she ran towards Eava, dribbling a pyro ball between her feet.
"You never learn!" Anabel shouted, sending their orders to Eava. Eava turned and shot towards Tracey, preparing a sucker punch to catch the pokemon off-guard. But Tracey took the sucker punch, and while she endured the hit, pulled back her leg and kicked the fireball, sending the attack flying through the air at Kyth, who wasn't expecting it.
"Metagross!" Kyth roared in pain. The flames engulfed them but they pushed through it, charging forward, enraged.
"Eifa, use reflect," Alden ordered. Eifa leapt in front of the charging Metagross. Her eyes glowed red and the jewel on her forehead flashed. A barrier appeared in front of her and she protected herself from the Metagross' rampage, blocking them.
"Kyth! Brick break!" Anabel ordered. Kyth raised their leg and smashed it through the barrier, but Eifa managed to avoid the actual strike, circling around the heavy pokemon.
"Shadow ball!" Alden countered.
"Espeon!" Eifa opened her mouth and created an orb of ghostly energy that hit Kyth in the back, exploding. Kyth whirled around and tried to strike them again, but once more Eifa proved too quick for them.
"You'll never catch her like that," Anabel warned their pokemon. "Agility! Then, follow it up with a bullet punch!"
"Metagross!" Kyth picked up speed, circling around Eifa and unleashing a barrage of punches that hit the Espeon hard, knocking her off her feet. But before they could continue the attack Tracey leapt into the fray, swinging a blazing leg right at the Metagross to counter their strike. Kyth darted back, putting some distance between the two of them.
While all this occurred, Rui watched warily from the sidelines, hoping Alden would win but also seeing how difficult of a situation he was in.
Alden and Anabel both had two pokemon left. Alden's were in slightly better shape than theirs, but at the same time Anabel had harmonia and he didn't. Not to mention whatever advantages came from Samarra as well. It was far from a certain victory. Both trainers and their pokemon were volleying over who would win, and it seemed like they were both a long way off from a definitive conclusion. This was looking to be a drawn-out slugfest and that just made her more frightened.
"Tracey, use pyro ball!" Alden ordered, nodding to the Metagross. He was going to make the first move. As Eava used her last sucker punch to try and stop Tracey's attack, Eifa countered it with a reflect that went unordered. She had sensed what he wanted, and performed the attack flawlessly to aid her partner.
Normally, Anabel's team would have been able to easily do the same. But because Anabel was being influenced by Samarra and that influence trickled down to their pokemon, it was hard for them to coordinate the same way that they used to. Oh, there was certainly coordination, but it came in the form of Anabel issuing orders and their pokemon following them. So to that end, the team worked like a well-oiled machine, but not due to the pokemon being on the same page.
It was the difference between a pair of teammates who had been working together for years, and a pair of robots. Yes, the robots had the edge, but Alden's pokemon carried a lot of heart with them. And when it came to a power like harmonia, that was dangerous.
"Kyth, brick break," Anabel ordered. Kyth charged across the battlefield and raised their foot, slamming it down on Eifa's barrier. But even as fast as they were, it wasn't quite fast enough.
"Tracey!" Alden shouted to his Cinderace. Tracey knew immediately what to do. She jumped ahead of Eifa and raised her paws. She sculpted a ball of ghostly energy and fired it at the Metagross, hitting the Psychic pokemon for critical damage. And in doing so, her Libero ability triggered, turning her into a Ghost type pokemon and causing Kyth's leg to fall right through the barrier without breaking it, now that there was no target.
Anabel could feel that they were being pressured. Losing Casey had changed the momentum of the battle and they were at a disadvantage. They were doing all they could to keep their pokemon in the fight, pushing through damage and boosting their strength to the limit. And it wasn't much help, unfortunately.
"Eava!" They shouted, and their Weavile leapt forward, claws raised. She couldn't use moves like taunt on the Espeon due to her Magic Bounce ability, but she could still take her down with a night slash, which was just what she tried to do. Her strike was critical, strong enough to smash through the reflect, but that wasn't enough.
"Cinderace!" Breaking the reflect was enough to blunt the force of the strike, which gave Tracey enough time to get ahead of it. She used ally switch, putting herself in Eifa's place, taking the full force of the night slash.
The results weren't pretty. Eava brought her claw down on Tracey's shoulder, drawing a deep gash of blood out of her fur. With a cry, Tracey took the hit and fell to her knees, looking like she was nearly at the end of her rope. It was super-effective after all.
"Tracey!" Alden shouted, proud of his pokemon for her noble sacrifice. "Use counter!"
Anabel gasped. Tracey hadn't fallen to her knees- she'd crouched down! Using the force of the night slash, she lowered her center of mass and sent the attack's momentum into the ground to minimize the damage. Then, pushing off against the ground, she leapt forward with her fist raised, and delivered a powerful punch to Eava's jaw.
"Weavile!" Eava fell backwards, clutching her cheek. She hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop against one of the chairs, unable to keep going. Tracey had taken a serious hit to end things, and she'd reached the end of her rope.
"Return," Anabel said quietly, recalling their Weavile. It was a hollow comfort that Tracey had lost consciousness as well.
Samarra, on the other hand, was pleased.
"That Cinderace was in much better shape than your Weavile," she reminded Anabel. "This is the best result you could hope for, using a weaker pokemon to take out a stronger one."
Hearing that, Anabel's confidence was reinvigorated. They only had one pokemon left to focus on, and that meant the full force of their harmonia could go to their Metagross. All they'd have to do was take down the Espeon!
"Now Kyth!" Anabel shouted, focusing their energy and directing their pokemon forward. Kyth charged across the room and raised their claw, swinging a powerful blow at Eifa who just barely managed to avoid the strike.
"Eifa!" Alden shouted.
"Espeon!" The loss of her teammate spurred Eifa on, and she focused her psychic powers, firing a shadow ball at Kyth from behind.
"Kyth, agility!" Anabel ordered, and added some of their own harmonia on top of it. This meant Kyth moved so fast that they evaded the shadow ball even from point-blank range, turning towards Eifa and unleashing a bullet punch.
"Es!" Eifa's eyes flashed red and she projected a barrier in front of her. The reflect attack blocked the barrage of punches, giving Eifa a brief respite as the Metagross switched to attacking with brick break instead.
Rui watched them, a worried look on their face. They both had one pokemon left, and both Eifa and Kyth were exhausted and injured. It wouldn't be long before a winner was decided; all she could do was hope that when the dust settled, it was the Commander that emerged victorious.
"Eifa, stay on your toes," Alden ordered as Kyth smashed through the reflect. Eifa was able to evade the blow, but she couldn't find an avenue for striking back. Kyth's attacks were too swift and too powerful, and if just one of them connected it might be the end of the fight.
Anabel knew that as well as Alden did, and that's why they were focusing on being careful. They would need precision to defeat a pokemon as agile as Eifa, not brute force.
"Anabel!" Alden's voice snapped Anabel out of their focus, and they turned to him, startled. Why was he calling out to them now, of all times?
"Listen, Anabel!" Alden continued. He had a broad smile on his face. "Aren't you having fun right now? Pushed to the edge like this?!"
"No!" Anabel shouted back. "This battle isn't about fun! It's about winning the battle! When I do, then you'll join me in friendship with Samarra!"
Alden sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, I'll have to pass on that. But I'm just saying, if you're not having fun, then why are you smiling right now?"
Anabel blinked. They were taken aback. "What? I'm not… smiling…"
Movement in the corner of their eye caught Anabel's attention, and they turned to see a cracked mirror. It was covered with dust, but still reflective enough for them to see their face in it.
They were smiling from ear to ear.
"I-I… what?" Anabel didn't know what to make of it. This wasn't a battle they were supposed to be enjoying, the only thing that mattered was winning. That was what Samarra told them, and Samarra wouldn't lie. But in spite of that they found themselves smiling anyway.
It didn't make sense for them. And just like that, Samarra stopped making sense anymore. They called out into the sea of darkness filling their heart, but got no response. Meanwhile, outside of their head, their body was twitching and shaking like a puppet with its strings tangled, and they couldn't even process their environment.
That was something Rui picked up on, much to her confusion.
"That… Anabel, they…" She mumbled, shaking her head.
"What?" Alden asked, turning sharply to Rui. "What is it?!"
"Just… Anabel, their harmonia… it's so strange. I can't understand it. It's like their will is being supplanted by the chorus of voices overwhelming them. I used to be able to feel that they were distinct from the swirling mass, but right now…"
Rui felt sick to her stomach.
"Anabel!" Alden shouted. "Samarra's trying to control you, you have to snap out of it!"
"Anabel's not here right now," a raspy voice replied. The jerking and shaking stopped, and Anabel's head rose up to stare blankly at Alden. A shadow crossed Alden's face.
"…I see," he said grimly. "So you're Samarra, then? Again?"
"Yes, that's true," Samarra said through Anabel's lips. "I must say, I'm impressed. You nearly got through to her with your words. Anabel was practically ready to reject me out of confusion, that's the first time this has happened."
"They," Alden sternly rebuked Samarra. "Anabel is a they. Not a 'her'. They're not a girl, they're a pokemon trainer."
Samarra blinked. "I'm confused. This body is biologically female, is it not?"
"So what if it is?" Alden replied. "Anabel doesn't care about that. Because to them, it's more important to be recognized as a pokemon trainer."
"What's most important is me," Samarra said. "They're my friend, after all."
"And that's just more proof that you don't really respect them," Alden said. "But it doesn't matter. Because once I beat you, then Anabel will be free!"
"They don't want freedom," Samarra said, shaking her head. "They want to be my friend. You might have gotten through slightly, but only slightly. It wasn't enough to sever our friendship. Just like how your pokemon won't be enough to defeat me! Kyth, meteor mash!"
"Metagross!" Kyth launched themselves across the battlefield and raised their claw. Their leg started to glow white with the power of space, and they prepared to deliver a devastating strike to Eifa that would knock her out for good. But Eifa easily blocked it with reflect.
"You won't beat us with raw power," Alden said. "Just because you're controlling Anabel, that doesn't mean you can use their harmonia! Anabel!"
Anabel flinched, and for a second they took control over their body again. They may have still been under Samarra's influence, but it was still them.
"Anabel, is that you?" Alden shouted.
"It is," Anabel said. But their voice was still cold. They weren't smiling.
"Then tell me, is this the freedom you were after, with Samarra? Can you really say that she respects you for who you are, if she's going to take over your body like that? Because to me, it looks like you're being controlled!"
"I'm not being controlled!" Anabel shouted. "I've accepted who I am, and Samarra accepts me as well! I've found real strength, that's the freedom I've been after! The freedom to defeat you! And with my harmonia, Kyth will allow me to do that!"
Alden shook his head. Anabel was too confused and lost. There was nothing he could say to get through to them.
"If I can't make you see reason with my words, then there's only one way left to do it!" He decided, turning to Espeon. "Come on, Eifa! This is the end! We've got to defeat them both, now! Use shadow ball!"
"Espeon!" Eifa's eyes glowed and she fired an orb of ghostly energy at Kyth, who easily evaded with their agility. They raised their claw to deliver a meteor mash, but before they could hit, Eifa was just gone.
"What?!" Anabel gasped in surprise.
"Meta?!" Kyth was just as confused as their trainer.
"Espeon!" Two sets of eyes shot upwards to see Eifa, standing on a platform of light hovering over the battlefield. The ruby on her forehead was shining.
"While I was trying to get through to you, Eifa used her powers to create a barrier above the battlefield," Alden said. "I was trying to help, but I doubted you would listen. And Eifa knew exactly what I wanted. Because even though I don't have harmonia, my pokemon and I have worked together for years, and we can sense EXACTLY what we're thinking! That's the bond of our 'Sense'. So before your Metagross could attack, Eifa was already using their telekinesis to lift them into the air, so they could take the advantage right here!"
"Espeon!" Eifa fired a shadow ball at Kyth, who tried to move out of the way. But they were trapped. Eifa hadn't just created reflect barriers in the sky, she had also created a series of barriers to box in the Metagross, and there was no time for them to break through it.
A full cage had been formed around Kyth, with trainer and pokemon none the wiser. There was only one panel open, and it wasn't an escape- it was a gun port, perfect for Eifa to attack through, and that's exactly what she did.
The shadow ball hit Kyth head-on in a massive explosion. The reflective screens hemmed in the explosion, causing Kyth to take even more damage. The entire room was shook by the blast, and smoke emerged from the hole in the top. The screens then cracked and shattered, falling away to reveal an unconscious Metagross.
Anabel clutched their head and screamed, blood trickling from their nostrils. They pitched over and lost consciousness as Samarra screamed with them, her voice growing fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely.
So it's finally over. Alden managed to win, and defeat Anabel. Now his friend is saved! But his party is decimated. Will he be able to face the challenges ahead, with just his Espeon? And what about Anabel? What condition are they in? Losing while possessed by Samarra and under the influence of harmonia can't be good for them.