Let the matches continue! After a short break, I'm back and ready to keep going! Keep those reviews up!
Jay Hayden: Yeah, she's not as big an idiot as we thought. I'm surprised, too.
Darkhammer: Yeah, never underestimate Cynthia.
Duskzilla: We'll see.
ReallyRaichu: At some point, who knows?
JordanH803: I guess what works is focus on the best characters you get and their interactions. Characters drive the plot and make it engaging.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 35
"The battles in A Block are finished!" Darla announced.
"Blake Harker and Cynthia Fafnir have secured their spots in the Top 16 with their impressive battles!" Lila added. "Let's give them a round of applause!"
"The finalists of B Block are coming up next!" Darla continued. "Let's hope those battles will be just as exciting!"
"Blake!" Cynthia ran up to him as they stepped off the battlefield, clapping him on the back. "Nice win there!"
"Thanks, you too," Blake said, smiling. "That was really cool the way you made it hail on the battlefield."
"I know, right?" Cynthia said. "Looks like you have to take back everything you said about me being stupid, huh?"
"How did you know when the hail was going to fall, though?" Blake asked. "What if you were wrong?"
"…Then I would have just thought of something else," Cynthia said, shrugging. "Not a huge deal. But that'll show that Austin! Calling me an idiot, well, look who came up with such an awesome plan, huh? Also, way to knock that stuck up Kate down a few pegs, huh?"
"Yeah…" Blake said, nodding, a look of unease crossing his face.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Cynthia asked.
"That battle… I felt that Kate was struggling against something… she reminded me a lot of myself, actually," Blake explained.
"You? Why?" Cynthia gave him a confused look, but Blake shook his head.
"No, it's nothing, forget about it."
Meanwhile, Kate had locked herself in a bathroom stall, crying her eyes out.
"I lost… I tried my hardest… but I still couldn't do anything… I'm nothing like her…" She sobbed. "I'm a failure. A weird, gross failure…"
"Kate." A knock on the stall door caught Kate's eyes and her crying momentarily stopped. Alcea's silky voice rose came through the stall, and her face paled.
"Milady… I'm sorry for my pitiful display…" Kate tried to keep the tremble out of her voice as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, not wanting to embarrass herself further in front of her idol. "I tried to be just like you, but I couldn't win even against a freshman… I'm just a failure, a disappointment…"
"A failure, is it?" Alcea sighed, leaning her forehead against the stall door. "Kate… you are not… a disappointment."
"Wh-what?" Kate lifted her head to stare at the door, confused.
"Do you remember what you told me when we first met?" Alcea asked. "When you said that you'd been bullied at your previous school because of your love of poison types… that you'd always thought you were weird and a freak… but when you saw my victory…"
"When I saw you win the Kalos Cup…" Kate began to repeat the story herself, a smile slowly coming to her face as she remembered the joy she'd felt those years ago. "I thought 'wow… this girl is amazing… I can't believe she's only a year older than me…' seeing you… it made me want to be like you… an elegant lady adored by everyone…"
"I was flattered… to hear those words," Alcea said, smiling. "But… then you began to put me on a pedestal. You convinced yourself that I was better than you in every way, and tried to be just like me… and even though I knew what you were doing was wrong, no matter what I said, I couldn't convince you to stop. It's not something I could ever find a way to do, is it?"
"I just… I just wanted to be like you! I thought that if I could be like you, if I could be a master of grass types… if I could be as amazing as you are… then, maybe… maybe people wouldn't think that I was a freak…" Kate sniffed. She resisted the urge to start crying again, her hands trembling.
"I didn't know how to tell you to be yourself…" Alcea said, looking down. "So I just let you continue to place this endless pressure upon yourself… pressure to be just like me… but in your match today… Blake said something. It was like… he could see the real you. The words I never told you… the words I needed to say… he said them to you."
Kate didn't reply to this, wincing.
"Kate… I would never think less of you for your love of poison types," Alcea reassured her. "When I was starting out… I would lose quite a lot, actually. It is difficult to win through only a single type, particularly grass types. I wondered if I should abandon my dream to be the strongest pokemon trainer… but then a trainer told me these words. 'It doesn't matter what kind of pokemon you like. If you like a pokemon, then that's enough. Nothing else matters, that pokemon is the best one for you'."
"You… but that's…" Kate's mouth opened wide.
"The man who told me that was Kanone Harker, Blake's brother, is it?" Alcea clarified. "Those words convinced me to keep going, to truly become a master of the grass type… and those were the words you needed to hear. Blake Harker… he said the same thing, didn't he? You must realize now… that you should not try to be like me. You should be yourself."
"I'm sorry, milady, but I… I just… I didn't want to be weird… I wanted to be cool just like you…"
"Kate… you can't just be like me. You have to be yourself, not hide from yourself."
"Then… is it okay?" Kate asked. "You won't… think I'm weird… because I like poison types?"
"Kate… that's who you are. Even if people might think you're weird for liking them… I never would. But more importantly… your opinion of yourself is the only thing that matters. If you truly thought it was wrong to like poison types… then there's no way you could love them the way that you do. That's right, is it?"
The tears Kate had fought back for so long came spilling out with Alcea's words, and she didn't answer for a long time. When she finally spoke again, her voice was choked and stilted, but hopeful.
"Is it alright? Really? Can I… can I really just be myself?"
"Kate… when I first met you… I admired your conviction. But I felt powerless to keep you from losing yourself in trying to be like me. Rather than putting me on a pedestal and treating me like a queen… I wish I could get to know you as an equal. As a friend."
The stall door swung open to reveal a sniffling Kate, who looked at Alcea's smiling face with a smile of her own, unhindered by tears.
"Milady!" Kate cried, wrapping her arms around Alcea and hugging her tightly, Alcea comfortingly patting her on the back.
"That's a start, anyway."
"Well, you seem rather happy," Gerard noted, seeing the smile on Alcea's face as she returned to her seat. "Even though your protégé lost so spectacularly."
"Happy, is it?" Alcea said, her smile turning mysterious. "Perhaps."
"Shush, all of you!" Callie hissed. "Nick's match is about to start!"
"Alright all of you! Time for the final matches of E Block!" Darla announced.
"Can you feel the tension? I'm so excited!" Lila cheered.
"This next match is Nick Elwood vs. Richard Anders!" Darla declared.
"And their match will take place on…" The wheel spun, revealing a tear drop. "Water Stage 2, Large Lake Field!"
The battlefield shifted to reveal a large lake with several rocks breaking the surface, the edges also covered in rocks and lined with grass.
"What an excellent battlefield to showcase my magnificent pokemon," the blonde student across the battlefield said, smiling haughtily. "You're done, Nick! This is as far as you go! Revis, go!"
He tossed out a pokeball, which a Gorebyss emerged from, the elegant pink pokemon landing in the water with a splash.
"Mankey, go," Nick said, sending out his Mankey. The monkey pokemon landed on one of the large rocks, looking for the water pokemon.
"Hm, interesting," Darla said, frowning. "Richard has used a water type, a good choice for this battlefield, but Nick doesn't have a water type of his own!"
"Oh no, that's bad!" Lila gasped. "Trapped on those rocks, that Mankey won't be able to maneuver that well!"
"Mankey," Nick said, nodding to the fighting type pokemon.
"Man!" Mankey nodded.
"I don't know what you're planning, but it won't matter," Richard said, shaking his head. "On that rock, you're just a sitting duck! Revis, use psychic!"
Revis began glowing underwater as she gathered up psychic energy, releasing it in a blast towards Mankey.
"Mankey!" Nick ordered.
"Man!" Mankey jumped up into the air, dodging the psychic attack, landing on another rock quite a distance away.
"Whoa! What amazing jumping power!" Darla gasped.
"Hah! That's what I'm talking about!" Callie cheered.
"You think that will be enough?" Richard chuckled. "It seems that Callie was wrong to take you in! Revis, whirlpool!"
Water began swirling around the stone outcropping that Mankey was standing on, cutting off his route of escape.
"Callie? What does she have to do with this?" Nick asked, confused. Anger flashed over Richard's face, and he shook his head.
"Everything! I was the one who was supposed to train under her, but instead, she chose you! That's why I'm glad to face you… I'm going to defeat you!"
"Whoa… this is some pretty heavy stuff," Raizer said, laughing. "Dang, Callie, so that guy lost out to Nick in being your apprentice, huh?"
"Rivalry born of jealousy, is it?" Alcea asked.
"Another member of the Pokemon Fight Club, I would imagine," Gerard said.
"…Who is he?" Callie asked, turning back to them in confusion.
"Wait, you don't know?" Raizer asked. "Oh, that's hilarious!"
"It-it's not my fault! We get a lot of applicants to the club, and not all of them stick around!" Callie said, flustered. "Besides, I… I never gave the impression to anyone that they could be my apprentice! I-I only train Nick because… um…"
Her face turned bright red.
"Perhaps he's a stalker," Mirar suggested.
"I don't want to hear that coming from you," Callie growled.
"So, what now, Nick?" Richard laughed. "Your Mankey is trapped! There's nothing you can do! All those private lessons of yours can't get you out of this one! Revis, close the whirlpool in on him and wash him out!"
"Oh no!" Darla exclaimed.
"The whirlpool is moving closer! Soon, Mankey will be swallowed!" Lila gasped.
"Mankey, have you found it?" Nick shouted over the roaring water.
"Man!" Mankey shouted back.
"Then break through with power-up punch!"
"Mankey! Mankey!" Mankey's paws began glowing and he began punching the water at full force. With each strike against the water the spiral began to distort and bend backwards. He pulled his fist back, and opened it up into an open palm.
"Karate chop," Nick ordered, Mankey swinging his hand at lightning speed into the water and splitting the whirlpool in half.
"What the hell?!" Richard exclaimed as Mankey leapt through the gap in the waves. The whirlpool fell apart, Mankey looking across the lake and scanned for Revis.
"With an impressive blast of strong punches, Mankey's power has reached incredible levels, and he's broken through the whirlpool!"
"Now, seed bomb," Nick said, Mankey holding his paws in front of his mouth when he laid eyes on the pink fish pokemon. Several seeds shot from his mouth and struck the surface, exploding into blasts of water as Mankey bombed the Gorebyss.
"Revis, avoid the attacks, pick up speed with agility!" Richard ordered, Revis increasing her speed underwater and maneuvering across the stone floor. Soon enough, she was just a pink blur darting below the surface.
Mankey landed on another rock, trying to find the fish pokemon as his eyes darted around.
"Water pulse!" A shockwave of water erupted from the lake, forming a wave that pulsed towards Mankey.
"Ooh, that's not going to work against him…" Callie said, shaking her head, a smile on her face.
"Mankey!" Nick said, Mankey whirling around and pulling his arm back. He moved slowly and pressed his palm against the water pulse at the moment of impact. The pulse broke backwards and struck the water, creating a shockwave that sent water flying into the air.
"What the hell was that?!" Darla exclaimed, she and Lila ducking under the table as water splashed towards them.
"I-I guess the Mankey knocked it back somehow?" Lila guessed.
"I taught him that," Callie said, smiling proudly. "Just like Rio and Jania, by reading the resonance of the wavelength, you can launch it back!"
"And who was the one who taught you, little sister?"
"Rafe!" Callie said, her eyes widening.
"Rafe, just in time," Raizer said. "Your sister is talking nonsense, mind explaining it?"
"Of course," Rafe said, nodding, taking his seat between Gerard and Alcea. "You see, aura moves and pulse moves, such as aura sphere or water pulse, generate a wavelength of energy similar to a lightwave. That pulse travels across a medium, such as through the air, or water, or the ground, before releasing its energy into the intended target. But if someone is capable of determining the frequency and power of the pulse, and applying an appropriate amount of force in the opposite direction, they can reverse the pulse backwards."
"…Uh…" Raizer said, staring at Rafe with sparks crackling over his head while his brain short-circuited.
"Think of it like a pond," Gerard interjected. "If you throw a rock into the pond, it creates ripples. But if you throw a larger rock in, it creates stronger ripples, which cancel out and absorb the original ripples and push them backwards."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense!" Raizer said, nodding, Elle pressing her palm against her face and shaking her head.
"What the heck was that?" Richard demanded, glaring at Nick. "Oh, let me guess, that was some sort of special technique you learned from Callie, right?"
"So, what if it was?" Nick asked.
"Just makes sense," Richard said, shaking his head. "See, Callie just fawns all over you. Before you showed up, she used to train us all equally. But ever since you got here, all she does is spend time with you and teach you all these special techniques that none of us ever got to learn!"
"Wait, you're in the Pokemon Fight Club?" Nick asked, surprised.
"Are you serious?!" Richard exclaimed. "Yes! We are in the same club! I go there every day! I'm your upperclassman! You seriously have no idea who I am?"
"Callie…" Gerard said, "I thought you didn't know who that guy was? And now it turns out that he's a member of your club?"
"…Um, well," Callie said, turning back to the others, smiling nervously as she went pale. "I mean, there's a lot of club members, you know? I can't be expected to remember all of them…"
"Callie," Gerard said, "when you applied to become the Eighth Leader, you did so under the condition that your schoolwork would not suffer and you could maintain your duties as president of the Pokemon Fight Club, yes?"
"You should go easier on her," Alcea said. "As I've learned, even as president, sometimes you can't make all the members of your club happy. People can sometimes be inadequate to solve certain issues, is it?"
"Alcea…" Callie smiled gratefully.
"That being said," Alcea continued, "at least I know me club members when I see them."
"Urk…" Callie said, looking down guiltily. "I guess I have been spending a little too much time with Nick recently…"
"Your duties must come first," Gerard said, shrugging.
"Indeed," Alcea agreed.
"Or perhaps you could spend more time with everyone together?" Rafe suggested.
"Eh, do whatever you want," Raizer shrugged. "But a club like yours needs to have a president who is pumped up and excited about it! If that's not you, then just forget it!"
"You allowed your feelings for a boy to shadow your judgment," Elle said, shaking her head. "Pitiful."
"You must prioritize what is important," Dokukage said. "Dating. Club. Leader. Decide which is most important and budget accordingly."
"I won't say anything," Mirar frowned. "I know you well enough to know you wouldn't listen to what I have to say."
"…" Callie said, frowning, looking to each of her peers in turn. "…You all are just jealous because you don't have anyone willing to go out with any of you."
"…"
"…Th-that is beside the point!" Alcea exclaimed, her face turning bright red. "Besides, no one is good enough to date me at this school!"
"I-I am the First Leader, the most popular and famous of the third years," Gerard said shakily, adjusting his glasses with a shaky hand as he tried to maintain a look of superiority, "if-if I asked any of the students on a date, of course they would say yes… if, you know, I was interested, of course!"
"It's the ninja costume, isn't it…" Dokukage mumbled, sitting in the corner. "Women simply don't appreciate the coolness of ninjas…"
"Hey, Rafe, your sister is saying some really harsh things, you know!" Raizer exclaimed, crying tears of blood. "Even I have feelings too, damn it! Who the hell says something like that, huh?!"
"You guys are the best trainers in the first three years of the school," Callie said, shrugging, "but when it comes to love, I guess I'm ahead of you all."
"Damn… it…" Raizer cried, hitting the ground.
"I-I have no words…" Elle admitted, looking down in shame.
Callie turned back to watch Nick's match, smiling, a blush on her face.
"Come on, Nick, I know you can win!"
Can he? We'll have to see!