It's time for the showdown we've all been waiting for! Alden managed to squeak out a win in his rematch with Anabel, but now the time has come for something even more intense! Vic has challenged him to a fight next, and with her pokemon and her knowledge of double battles it's going to be a match that can't be missed! Will Alden be able to defeat and save his second in command? Or will Vic win and take what she's always wanted, Alden, as her prize?
KedharS: Well, he has no idea how Vic feels about him, so I think he's still pretty dense.
Hyphenman: Yeah, this battle is really the culmination of the relationship between Vic and Alden. What that means, well, you'll have to see.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1110
Rui couldn't help but admit that she felt worried. This was an important battle with her daughter's soul on the line, and she was trembling in fear at the thought of Alden losing. But it was too real of a possibility to dismiss. After all, Alden's pokemon had been healed by her, but who was to say if they were in any shape to battle? As for Vic, her daughter was a master of double battles, and had been taught by her husband, a master himself. Wes had defeated Alden before, and now Vic was fighting not just with her harmonia, but with everything she'd gained from Samarra as well.
Could the Commander hold a candle to that level of skill? Rui wanted to believe in him, but she found herself doubting. Regardless, as someone without a single pokemon to call her own, the only thing she could do at the moment was pray.
"We'll fight in a double battle, my specialty," Vic declared, in a tone that brooked no room for debate. "I'm sure that a trainer of your caliber won't be complaining about that being unfair, isn't that right, Alden?"
"I'll fight whatever sort of competition you want," Alden assured her. "You won't be able to defeat me no matter what kind of battle it is."
A shadow crossed Vic's face and she clenched her teeth. "Of course you would say that," she muttered under her breath. Oh well. She just had to show him what she was capable of, and then he'd understand.
"Ellie! Dash! Go!" Vic shouted, throwing two pokeballs into the air. The two pokemon that emerged couldn't be more different.
"Whimsicott!" Ellie cheered, floating gently down to battlefield on a cushion of air.
"Arcanine!" In contrast, Dash's roar shook the stadium as he leapt from the balcony and landed on the battlefield, his fur blazing.
"As expected, a strong lead from you," Alden smiled. "Eifa, Finn, go!"
"Espeon!" Eifa emerged from her pokeball, ruby shining brightly.
"Swampert!" Finn roared, beating his chest with anticipation.
Rui calmed down a little. It looked like Alden's pokemon were in peak condition. She'd never been more relieved to have her abilities, not since 25 years ago in the battle against Cipher. Maybe Alden could really do this.
"Don't relax now," Anabel gently warned her. Rui turned to them, stunned.
"Wh-What?" Rui asked, shaking a little.
"Alden's a good trainer, but so is Vic," Anabel said. Their face was serious. "You can feel her harmonia right now, can't you?"
Rui didn't want to admit it, but she could. Her daughter's harmonia was blazing with a dark fury Rui had never felt from her before. It was incredibly powerful. And the menacing smirk on her lips was almost as intimidating.
Then Vic's smirk shifted into a wide smile, and she swooned. "Yes… this is it. I've been waiting such a long time for the opportunity to fight you on my own terms!"
Her eyes were shining with harmonia, and her pokemon were bursting with energy.
"Vic… you know you won't be able to defeat me, right?" Alden asked again. He wasn't smiling, his eyes were as intense as those of his opponent.
"Arrogant as always!" Vic sneered. "Is that 'Sense' of yours telling you nothing? Fine. But don't worry, I'll be happy to show you just how powerful I really am! Ellie, use sunny day! Dash, use your solarbeam on Finn!"
"Whim!" Ellie raised her hands, and formed an orb of sunlight in her palms. She flung it up into the air, where its warm sunlight illuminated the battlefield in an even brighter spotlight. At the same time, Dash began to glow, drawing in energy from the newly-intensified sunlight.
"Oh no!" Rui gasped. It was one of her daughter's strongest combos. By using Ellie's Prankster ability she could guarantee that her Whimsicott moved faster than her Arcanine, and could use sunny day. That would allow Dash to fire off his solarbeam immediately, and it was certainly going to be a powerful one aimed at the Water/Ground Swampert!
"Arcanine!" Dash opened his mouth and fired a massive beam of sunlight right at Finn, his incredible speed making it nearly impossible for the bulky pokemon to dodge.
"Eifa, use light screen!" Alden ordered. Luckily, Dash wasn't the only fast pokemon on the battlefield. Eifa leapt forward, throwing herself between Finn and the Grass type attack, her ruby shining brightly in the sunlight. She created a red barrier in front of her to block the solarbeam.
"How obvious!" Vic laughed. "That won't be enough to stop us!" Dash's attack smashed into the light screen and exploded, breaking the barrier in a single shot. Eifa was thrown back from the shockwave, but remained uninjured. Her light screen had saved her, but it hadn't held out.
"There, you see?" Vic smirked. "What did I say? You light screen wasn't strong enough to withstand the force of my Dash's attacks! Not with the power of my harmonia, anyway!"
"You might want to look a little closer at that," Alden replied. "You may have been able to break through the barrier, but Eifa's light screen was still enough to prevent you from doing any damage. It was a draw, not a victory."
Vic didn't seem bothered by that distinction. "That's just fine with me!" She shouted. "We're just warming up."
Rui shivered. This wasn't good. In Alden's previous battles, Eifa's light screen and reflect attacks were strong enough to block a lot of powerful moves. His other opponents had needed to use brick break to bring them down, but Vic had smashed right through them without even blinking. Was she wrong? Were Alden's pokemon still weakened from his battle against Anabel?
"Don't worry." Anabel's hand on Rui's shoulder eased her tension slightly. She turned to give them a hopeful look.
"B-But… Victoria's pokemon are…"
"I won't say Alden's doing amazing right now, but it was just the first exchange," Anabel assured her. "He's just getting started. And it's not like Vic's the only side who has an advantage. Sure, the sunlight powers up Dash and weakens Finn, but it also gives Eifa's morning sun a boost, and not only that… there's Magic Bounce to consider."
Rui blinked. "Magic Bounce? That's… Eifa's ability, right?"
Anabel nodded. "Exactly. A pokemon with Magic Bounce can reflect all status moves used on them back at the pokemon who used them. And remind me, how do Whimsicott fight, again?" They flashed a knowing smile and realization dawned on Rui's face.
"That's right!" She gasped, turning her attention back to the battlefield. "With Magic Bounce, Ellie won't be able to use any status moves on Eifa! And if she tries any on Finn, Eifa can use her speed to get in the way! Ellie can't really do anything!"
Vic laughed at her mother's words. "Come on mom, you don't know a damn thing about pokemon battles! Let me show you exactly what Ellie can do! Tailwind!"
"Whimsicott!" Ellie raised her hands and a powerful gust of wind spread over the field, hitting Alden in the face. His pokemon winced at the powerful headwind, knowing exactly what it meant.
"Thanks to this tailwind, my pokemon are faster than ever!" Vic laughed. "Dash, would you do the honors of a demonstration? Flare blitz!"
"Arcanine!" Dash roared, charging forward. He was so fast he was practically a blur. His fur burned orange as sparks lit up around him, fanned into powerful flames by the tailwind until he was a blazing streak in the sky. He ran towards Eifa, circling around her to catch her from behind.
Vic smirked. If she wanted to claim an early lead in this battle, the best course of action was crippling that Espeon. Without Eifa around, Ellie could make full use of her Prankster ability, and really hurt Alden a lot.
But Alden already knew that Eifa would be the main target for Vic's attack, in spite of her early attempt at throwing him off with that solarbeam. Which is why he shouted to Eifa, and why the Psychic type pokemon immediately responded.
"Espeon!" Eifa whipped her head around, her eyes glowing red as another barrier appeared around her, this time using reflect. With a roar, Dash slammed headfirst into the barrier, sending a burst of flame in every direction.
The barrier was shattered immediately. But this time, Dash kept going. He slammed into Eifa and sent her flying, the Espeon landing on the ground with some serious injuries.
"Eifa!" Alden cried. Dash's flare blitz was nothing to scoff at, especially boosted from the sunlight. The Arcanine was an absolute beast! He'd pushed through the barrier like tissue paper, and even with the recoil he looked ready to go for another attempt.
Vic ignored the headache, high on the rush of harmonia. "There it is," she hissed triumphantly. "Just a little more…"
"Whimsicott!" Following Dash's lead, Ellie raised her hands, glowing white from the sunlight as she readied a solarbeam to fire at Eifa next.
"Swampert!"
Before she could release the attack, however, a beam of ice cut across the battlefield and hit her, breaking her concentration. The solarbeam flew off wildly, slamming harmlessly into the wall as Ellie fell from the sky.
"Rrrgh! Pesky thing!" Vic spat.
"Did you forget already that this is a double battle? How sad," Alden smiled. "Finn, use high horsepower!"
"Swampert!" Finn charged at high speed, tackling Dash from behind. But he never made contact. Dash disappeared in a flash, appearing again behind Finn with his mouth open wide, preparing another solarbeam for the Water type.
"Eifa, light screen again!" Alden ordered. It was the only thing they could do to stop the barrage of solarbeams from the Arcanine. Eifa's eyes flashed and she created a dome of light that encompassed both her and Finn, hoping it would be enough to withstand the attack.
Vic was having none of it. "That won't work a second time!" She shouted. She knew how much power she'd given to Dash previously; for the second solarbeam, she was going to double it!
"Arcanine!" Dash fired the light blast and it smashed through the barrier, slightly diminishing in size but remaining stable, hitting Finn from behind. The Swampert fell forward and let out an injured roar, badly damaged from the Grass type attack.
"Hah! Just as I thought!" Vic cackled. "You and your pokemon can't keep up with me! Whether it's speed or power, it's all you can do to struggle to defend yourself! But as for my pokemon… we're more than capable of tearing through your feeble defenses and showing you what real hurt is all about! Isn't that right you two?"
"Whimsicott!" Ellie chirped, standing back up after shrugging off the ice beam.
"Arcanine!" Dash howled in agreement.
Rui was pale. Alden had done so well against Anabel earlier, but Vic's brutal assault was making him look like an amateur! Was this really her daughter? She knew that Vic was a talented trainer when it came to double battles, but she never could have dreamed that she was this good. She could even give her father a run for his money!
"How's it feel?" Vic asked, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "To see your pokemon injured like that, because they just aren't strong enough? It must be hard for you."
"It's just a part of pokemon battles," Alden shrugged. "Finn, use protect!"
"Swampert!" Finn roared, standing up. He was injured from the solarbeam, but Eifa's light screen had been enough to keep the wounds from being critical. To prevent further attacks, he covered himself and Eifa in a blue barrier.
"Oh, good move!" Anabel gasped. "Because the two of them are so close together, when Finn used protect it caught Eifa in the shield as well! Usually protect isn't the best move to use for a double battle because it gives the opponent the opportunity to team up against the other pokemon, but now Vic's stuck, and she can't do anything! Which gives Alden an opening."
"Eifa, use morning sun," Alden ordered. He was going to take full advantage of the intense sunlight to heal his Espeon completely.
Vic smirked again. "Hiding behind your shield and healing yourself, what kind of strategy is that?" She asked, shaking her head. "And here I was hoping to see more of that amazing strategy of yours. So what's up? Are you already realizing that you can't beat me? You're free to surrender any time you want, you know."
"Not a chance," Alden replied, narrowing his eyes. "I already told you, there's no way you're winning this."
Rage streaked across Vic's face. "Shut up! Why do you keep saying that?!" She demanded. "Looking down on me, acting like I'm worthless, like there's no way I can win… haven't you been paying attention?! I've pushed your pokemon to the brink!"
"I know, nicely done," Alden nodded, catching Vic off-guard. She hadn't expected a compliment from her opponent. "But you see… that won't be enough. You just can't defeat me, Vic."
Grinding her teeth, Vic gripped the railing of the balcony and stomped her foot. "What do you know?!" She demanded. "Acting so tough, like you think you've got me all figured out?! Like you know what I'm capable of? How dare you?!"
Rui didn't know what to make of this. For as long as they'd known each other, Vic had nothing but great things to say about Alden. But now, she was spewing vitriol the likes of which Rui had never heard before. Where was this coming from?
"You act like you're so much better than everyone… the great Commander, the strong trainer who can't lose to anyone… but you don't know a damn thing about me, do you?!" Vic demanded. Rui gasped. She could make out the faintest bit of sparkle on her daughter's cheeks.
Victoria… is crying?
The tears were momentary, and Vic raised her head to scream in condemnation.
"You don't care about me at all, do you?" She accused the Commander furiously. "The only thing that matters to you is fighting! No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try to make you happy, it doesn't matter at all, does it? I've sacrificed YEARS of my life trying to please you, Alden, and for what?!"
Alden was unmoved by Vic's proclamations. He stared evenly at her, like she was accusing him of eating the last cookie in the refrigerator.
Vic slumped back onto her couch, defeated. "Even now… it's exactly the same, isn't it? I've fought and gotten stronger, so I could please you, and show you that I, more than anyone, deserve to stand at your side. But it doesn't matter to you, because you think I'm weaker than you, isn't that right?"
"Does Vic… really believe that?" Anabel was stunned. Rui was as shocked as they were, even moreso. She knew her daughter had issues with self-esteem, but something like this…
"Tell me, Alden… do you still remember the day we first met?" Vic asked quietly. "It was our first day at the Pokemon Academy. When the chancellor told us to partner up with the person beside us, and fight in a pokemon battle as an introduction."
Alden blinked, and touched a finger to his chin in contemplation. "…I can't really say. It was a long time ago, after all."
Vic's laugh was harsh and pained. "What a surprise. Of course you wouldn't remember. It was just another battle for you, wasn't it? And not a dreadfully exciting one, either. After all, I had only fought in double battles until then, so I made a complete fool of myself. But still…"
Vic reached up and clutched her hand over her chest. For a moment, Rui could swear that the girl she was looking at was her own daughter again, not someone twisted by Samarra's influence.
"Even though it was a style of battle I wasn't used to, I gave it my all. I felt like I needed to win, because that's how the Orre Region was. Weakness is a sin… I always hated those words, and yet I couldn't stop myself from becoming just another person fighting for victory…" Vic let out a sigh, and smiled gently at Alden.
"…And then you came. You defeated me so easily, without losing a single pokemon. I felt pathetic and worthless… but after the match, you reached out to me, and shook my hand. You said you had fun, and that you wanted to fight me again sometime. Fun. You'd actually had fun. Nobody had ever told me before, that they'd had fun in a pokemon battle with me. You can't imagine what that meant, to someone who'd grown up in the Orre Region," she sighed wistfully.
"Hmm… that does sound like me," Alden admitted, scratching his head. "But sorry, I just don't remember that."
"I know… and I wouldn't expect you to. So I suppose you don't remember suggesting that I try double battles, since I seemed to be so good at multitasking in battle, and my pokemon seemed like they were great for combinations… it was stunning. You'd only seen me fight once, and it was like you knew me perfectly. For the first time since my father, I met someone who I thought really understood what it meant to be a pokemon trainer."
Vic's smile turned sour and she squeezed her chest angrily. "And yet I can't believe someone so insightful can be so completely unable to see the obvious, even when it's right in front of him!" She shouted.
Alden blinked. "Oh? And what is it you think I'm failing to see?" He asked curiously.
Everything! Rui and Anabel thought simultaneously. Apparently, the idea that Vic had feelings for him was completely beyond the Commander's understanding.
But that wasn't what was driving Vic at the moment.
"You can't see that I've finally surpassed you," she spat. "That I'm not someone you can just ignore and take for granted. All this time, you've been treating me like I'm nothing, and it wasn't until I became friends with Samarra that she showed me just how wrong I was, to internalize your disregard for my abilities! I'm a powerful trainer, and I'm strong enough to defeat even you!"
Her harmonia surged, and her pokemon cried out, ready for the match to continue.
It seems that deep down, behind her loyalty and devotion to the Commander, Vic was harboring some deep resentment. I can't say I blame her, given the nature of their relationship and how little consideration Alden seems to show for her. Factor in the fact that he's not even aware of her feelings for him, and it's not a surprise that Vic's kind of losing it.