Vic's gotten off to a strong start with the power of her pokemon! Getting lots of boosts from ancientpower is really putting the pressure on Alden! But our guy's gotta have something up his sleeve, there's no way he's going to just let Vic overcome him! He's in a pretty tough position, but nothing he hasn't been through before. And at the same time, Vic seems to be getting more and more unhinged as time goes on…

KedharS: He's probably got a plan to handle it, I would hope.

Hyphenman: They really do be going back forth. And there's more to Alden then what it appears, at least on a personal level.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1116


Anabel was starting to feel uncomfortable. They weren't fighting, and they could still feel the pressure bearing down on the Commander. It was easy to imagine why. After all, Vic had just gotten her second omni-boost from ancientpower, after dealing a powerful blow to one of Alden's pokemon. They each had four remaining, and it looked like Vic was in a commanding lead.

And yet, to their surprise, Alden didn't seem fazed. Oh, he was certainly worried about Jaune, but he wasn't reacting the way a normal trainer would react when pushed into this situation. Anabel had fought many trainers before, and when pushed like this, many would start to panic. But not the Commander.

Anabel couldn't be sure whether or not it was due to Alden's nature, or because he normally didn't concern himself with whether winning or losing was important, but then, neither did Anabel, and they still felt that this was a bad situation. After all, this was one of the few types of battles where losing wasn't an option.

So they hoped that Alden's confidence wasn't just for show.

"Vika…" Jaune buzzed, rising shakily to his feet. He took to the sky, but it was clear he'd been badly injured by the second ancientpower. The rain was doing a poor job of soothing his wounds, even as it washed away the blood.

Vic wore a triumphant smile. She was doing it. She was really doing it. She hadn't expected the second boost from ancientpower, but it was a wonderful surprise that she was thrilled to take full advantage of in order to win. She decided to look at it as a sign of providence. Fate itself was deciding that enough was enough. She'd been through so much hardship, that she was finally going to get the reward she so richly deserved.

"Your Vikavolt is in pretty bad shape," she said, and then turned her eyes to Tracey. "And your Cinderace is also pretty injured, too. And in this rain, she won't be able to make full use of her moves. I'd say you only have maybe three pokemon really in this fight."

"What's your point?" Alden asked.

"Oh, it's nothing serious," Vic laughed, shaking her head. "I'm just delighted to see how far you've been pushed, that's all! It's a rare occasion, seeing you with your back against the wall. And it's all because of me…"

"You think this is me with my back against the wall, is that it?" Alden asked, flashing a smile. But it wasn't a pleasant smile. "I already told you before. You're not going to win. You can't beat me, Vic, it's as simple as that."

Vic ground her teeth together in frustration. "Why don't you take a look at the situation?!" She spat. "I have two pokemon in good health! Theo has a boost from ancientpower, and Sunny has TWO boosts from it! Meanwhile, your pokemon are weakened, and they're only going to get weaker! This is the end of the line!"

"So you say," Alden shrugged. "But do you honestly think that someone like me would sweat over something like that?"

His question was punctuated with a piercing stare that sent a shiver down Vic's spine. She took a step back reflexively, knocking her knee against the couch and accidentally falling back into it. There was something about the look in his eye…

"Why are you shaking?" Samarra asked her, and she didn't know the answer. Not able to satisfy Samarra's inquiry, the woman saw fit to merely suppress those feelings, stoking Vic's courage the same way Vic did with her pokemon's stats.

"Alden, you don't-"

"You say you've watched my fights longer than anyone," Alden said. There wasn't any affability in his voice. "Then that means you've seen me pull myself out of far worse situations than this. And this time will be no different. Because I can't lose Victoria, not against you."

Vic's eye twitched. Samarra wouldn't need to suppress her doubts any further, because her frustration was doing that for her.

"What do you know?!" Vic shouted. She flooded her pokemon with harmonia. "Sunny! It's time to show him who he's mocking! Use dazzling gleam!"

"Togekiss!" Sunny shouted, releasing a burst of light as she soared up into the sky. Rays of piercing destruction rained down on the battlefield as her opponents were blinded, and she relied on the massive boost to her special attack to do some serious damage to her foes.

"Tracey!" Alden shouted. "Use baton pass!"

"Cinderace!" Tracey couldn't see a thing. But she could hear her trainer's orders, and returned to her pokeball, passing along the boost to her speed to the next pokemon Alden sent out. And there was only one pokemon worth sending into this situation.

The rays of light struck Jaune, doing even more damage to the Vikavolt, but he held strong and kept flying. At the same time, the pokemon that emerged to take Tracey's place was more than ready to withstand the attack.

"Lucario!"

Corin was back in action! She'd finally shaken off the effects of memento, and her stats were back up to full. And in terms of her speed, she was doing even better. She charged into the battle with her fist raised, ignoring the blinding light and the beams. She didn't need to see to find her target, and it didn't matter that Sunny was in the air, either.

With a bullet punch, Corin leapt higher than should have been possible, unleashing a barrage of swift strikes that broke through the dazzling gleam. Sunny winced. The bullet punch was super-effective, and even though her defenses were buffed, the attacks still hurt.

Corin landed back on the ground and her eyes snapped open. The second she did, the ground beneath her feet began rumbling.

"Earthquake, huh?" Alden said, and Corin turned her attention to Theo next. "Corin, use iron defense to strengthen yourself! And Jaune, counter with energy ball!"

"Lucario!"

"Vikavolt!"

Both his pokemon nodded, springing into action. Corin raised her arms and hardened her fur to be as strong as steel. At the same time, Jaune flew towards Theo and spread his mandibles, firing an energy ball at the Water type pokemon that hit him directly, doing more massive damage.

Vic clicked her tongue. That one DID sting a little. But she was fine with it. Because Sunny was back in action!

"Now, Sunny!" She shouted. "Use aura sphere!"

"Togekiss!" Sunny opened her mouth wide and fired an aura sphere at Corin that had all the boost from a double ancientpower. It was a massive orb of energy that was locked on perfectly to Corin, flying right for her. Even if Corin used an aura sphere of her own, it would be like trying to stop a cannonball by flinging pebbles at it.

Corin knew that too, of course, and had prepared a different tactic.

"Corin, meteor mash!" Alden ordered.

"Lucario!" Corin's fist began to shine and she swung it with everything she had, punching the aura sphere with a destructive strike. The aura sphere exploded on impact and the shockwave knocked Corin back, but it did significantly less damage than if she had taken the attack head-on.

"Nicely done, Corin," Alden applauded his pokemon. "Now, flash cannon!"

Corin wasn't too injured by the attack. She directed her energy into her paws, and clapped them together, aiming them up at the flying Sunny. She fired a compressed beam of light right at the Togekiss, trying to break through the pokemon's boosted defenses.

"That won't work on us!" Vic snapped. "Dodge with extremespeed, Sunny! In the meantime, Theo, hit her with your earth power!"

"Togekiss!" Sunny evaded the destructive beam, and the one Corin fired to follow it. The Lucario had no chance of hitting her at this speed, even with her natural ability to sense Sunny's position with extremespeed.

"Gastrodon!" Theo bellowed, sending energy into the stadium. The ground beneath Corin's feet began to erupt, distracting her from the attack as she had to switch her focus to evasive maneuvers.

Vic smiled. This was perfect! Alden had been so pressured, he was forced to send out his strongest pokemon for a second time! And now, she could make full use of Sunny's speed and Theo's moves to occupy and defeat the Lucario!

Through all her planning, however, Vic wasn't paying attention to the fight. She was making a critical mistake in the heat of the moment, and while no one could say whether or not it was a mistake she would have made if she weren't under Samarra's influence, it was a mistake nonetheless.

She was ignoring the half-dead Vikavolt, who was struggling to stay in the air. Of course, Corin was a much juicier target, and she wanted the Lucario finished for good. But Jaune could still fight, and he was going to prove that here and now.

"Jaune!" Alden suddenly shouted, catching Vic's attention. But it was too little, far too late. Jaune had been building up electricity, and directed it up into the rainclouds overhead. Vic knew exactly what move was coming next, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Sunny was fast. But she couldn't outspeed a thunder attack in the middle of a downpour. With Sunny's feathers soaked and her flying so close to the clouds, even if she attempted to use her last extremespeed, it would be pointless. The sky opened up and dropped a devastating bolt down upon her, frying her with an incredibly strong blast of electricity.

"TOGEKISS!" Sunny wailed, and Vic screamed as she felt the current run through her. It was fortunate that she was sitting on her couch, because while Sunny plummeted from the sky, Vic felt herself collapsing as well, losing all motor control in her body briefly.

It was agony. Even with Samarra suppressing her pain, she could still FEEL it, her body channeling all the power of the thunder.

But even through that pain, she held on. Vic wouldn't fall, not to something like this. And she refused to let her Togekiss fall either. With a howl she channeled her harmonia, forcing her pain down, and boosted the strength of Sunny to resist it.

And it worked. Sunny crashed to the ground and cried out in pain, but she was still conscious. She struggled to her feet, flapping her wings frantically to take to the sky.

But she never got a chance to leave the ground. Because Corin had finally caught up to her, and she was too injured to escape.

"Lucario!" Corin roared, raising her fist and unleashing a devastating meteor mash that hit Sunny in the back with the force of a missile, launching the Togekiss through the air, just not in the way that she'd wanted.

Vic could hear her bones cracking but she resisted the pain. Blood trickled down from her nose. It wasn't like the damage was real. The pain was all shared through Sunny- and Sunny was losing consciousness, making her feel a lot better.

Even if she felt worse.

"Nice work, Corin," Alden said, wiping the rain out of his eyes. It had been a brutal exchange, but Corin and Jaune had emerged the victors, and now there was only one pokemon to deal with. They had to strike fast, before-

"Return," Vic hissed, recalling Sunny to her pokeball. She didn't even have time to mourn her fallen partner. She was too focused on victory. Unlike Anabel, who had been forced into a mindset that didn't suit them, Samarra's desire to win was shared with Vic. They both wanted Alden to lose and become Samarra's friend.

If I win… when I win… then my dream will finally come true. That was the fire that spurred her forward, and drove her to victory by any means possible. Alden finally becoming hers. It had only seemed like a pipe dream before, but now it was REAL, and the possibility was right in front of her.

She just had to reach out and seize it.

But those eyes. Those damn eyes. Those eyes burned with pure fire right in front of her, staring up into her soul and condemning her. She had to ignore them. It was easier than she thought, because Alden's pure love of fighting also came with a dismissal of everything that Vic was.

It took a battle for Vic to finally catch Alden's attention. He didn't care for her at all, not unless she was right in front of him, with pokemon fighting against his. It wasn't like she loathed battling or anything like that, but was it honestly so wrong for her to want his appreciation for who she was, as well? Was that such a sin?

"You just have to take it," Samarra's hiss penetrated her very soul. She clenched her pokeball tightly and flung it into the air.

"Shimmer, go!" Vic shouted, sending out her Lanturn. Shimmer landed on the wet dirt, nestling down safely in a shallow part that had filled with water. Vic used two Water types now, and both were getting a massive boost from the rain.

"Theo, use recover," Vic ordered her Gastrodon, wanting him to focus on healing while Shimmer got to work. It was a difficult situation the doubles master found herself in. Both Theo and Shimmer were support-based pokemon in her strategies, like Ellie. Meanwhile, Dash, Sunny, and Valkyrie were the offensive half of her team.

She couldn't send Valkyrie out. The time wasn't right yet.

"Shimmer, use surf," she ordered.

"Lanturn!" Shimmer called, making great use of the rain. The intense downpour allowed her to summon a massive tidal wave, which she sent crashing down towards the other side of the battlefield, trying to swallow up Jaune and Corin in the waves.

"Vika!" Jaune flapped his wings, desperately trying to evade the wave. But there was nothing to be done. It was just too strong, and he was too injured. He was swallowed by the tidal waves just as Corin was, and when the waves settled, Jaune wasn't moving. Corin rose to her feet, her expression tightened in an angry snarl.

"Sorry, Jaune," Alden apologized to his Vikavolt, recalling him to his pokeball. The pokemon had put up a great fight, and now he was going to take a much-needed rest.

He had three pokemon left. And since Tracey wouldn't be of much use in this weather, that made his choice obvious.

"Mimi, go," Alden said, sending out his Mimikyu next.

"Mimikyu!" Mimi chirped, happy in spite of how the rain soaked her disguise. She scurried forward, the shadows slowly gathering around her.

"Mimi, swords dance," Alden ordered. He'd made no moves to stop Theo from healing; there wasn't any sense at this point. It was better to strengthen his own pokemon. He turned to Corin. On the other hand, Corin could…

"Bone rush," he ordered. It was one of her specialties, and she was ready to score a massive blow against the Lanturn! Corin raised her paws and conjured a bone staff made of raw energy, spinning the rain around as she ran towards the stationary Lanturn.

"Shimmer! Use confuse ray!" Vic ordered.

"Lanturn!" Shimmer opened her mouth and the lure on her forehead began to shine brightly. An eerie orb of energy floated out, zigzagging erratically across the battlefield. Corin stumbled forward, confused, and her bone nearly fell to the side.

Vic smirked. It was just the thing, to keep Corin off her balance for a second. She turned to Theo. "Now she should be more… compliant. Use earth power!"

"Gastrodon!" Theo bellowed, releasing energy into the ground. The battlefield began to heat up, in particular under Corin's feet. It opened up in a massive explosion, blasting her skyward and right into the path of Shimmer's attack.

But the Lanturn held off. Vic had learned her lesson from the last time she focused her attacks on Alden's Lucario. She couldn't just ignore the Mimikyu!

"Shimmer, use discharge!" She ordered. Shimmer built up electricity in her lure, and released it in a shockwave across the battlefield. It didn't affect Theo at all, the Ground type pokemon shrugging it off with his natural immunity. But it slammed into Corin and Mimi.

Corin fell out of the sky, injured, and rolled across the ground. She was too dazed to stand back up. Mimi, on the other hand, wasn't injured. Her Disguise broke, but she wasn't bothered by that. She'd built up enough power already.

"Mimi, go!" Alden shouted. "Shadow claw!"

"Mimikyu!" Mimi shot across the battlefield, and a claw of shadows gathered around her. She swung it at Shimmer and hit her hard, the Lanturn letting out a pained roar. But she had more than enough bulk to tank a few attacks like that.

"That won't be nearly enough!" Vic shouted. She focused her harmonia and directed it towards Theo, boosting his stats even more than the ancientpower had. "Theo!"

"Gastrodon!" Theo released a blast of muddy water, flooding the field once again. The bracken tidal waves washed towards Corin and Mimi, threatening to swallow them whole. It was even more powerful than the surf, and this time, Corin wasn't in any state to try and endure the attack.


The battle is getting intense! Both trainers have lost half their pokemon, but neither is willing to back down! Hopefully, Alden will be able to pull out the win and marshal his pokemon, but if he can't, then his pokemon will be on the receiving end of a major thrashing. Does he even have the strength left to defeat the double Water type assault with just his Lucario, Mimikyu, and Cinderace left?