Sorry it took so long to get this one out, life got in the way. But I'll try to get them out a lot faster now.
Darkhammer: I thought so as well.
Superblal: Probably because it's only really useful if you know your opponent's pokemon and strategies really, really well.
ZenoZen: Reasons remove the fun of it most of the time, honestly.
Jay Hayden: Yeah, Dakota is real easy to hate.
Duskzilla: Indeed, petty is Dakota's specialty.
Number13teen: Thanks for your continued support. And yes, Dakota's pettiness is admirable.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 50
"The battle continues!" Dakota declared. "Tsubame, go!" Dakota tossed out a pokeball which a Swellow emerged from, spreading her wings wide and taking to the sky.
"Kumari won't be much good asleep," Akira said, holding up Kumari's pokeball. "Return."
"Leaving so soon?" Dakota asked. "That just won't do! Tsubame, pursuit!"
As the red light moved toward Kumari, Tsubame shot down and drilled him in side with her beak, badly injuring the ice type before it could retreat to safety.
"Dakota's landed another good blow on Akira's pokemon," Darla announced.
"Setting up a scenario that would lead Akira to return his pokemon, and then striking him before he could retreat," Lila said, frowning. "I don't like how sneaky it is… but it's a good strategy, I guess…"
"As usual, you like hitting a guy when he's down, I see," Akira said, Dakota smirking in response.
"What's next for you, huh?" Dakota asked. Akira looked at his pokeball, and then at Tsubame, scouring his brain.
Knowing Dakota… she'll be expecting me to send out Nami, since she's my best pokemon for beating a flying type… or Lilia… but I'm not just going to sit here and do what that petty bitch wants.
"Go, Harris!" Akira shouted, throwing out a pokeball which his Heracross emerged from.
"Wha…" Darla gasped.
"Why would…" Lila asked, tilting her head to the side.
Dakota stared at the Heracross for a second, her mouth open in shock, before it curved into her usual smirk. "You know, Akira, if you want to give up, you just could. It would certainly be a lot more embarrassing than just throwing the match."
"You know damn well I'm not going to give up," Akira said.
"Well, dragging it out it is, then!" Dakota chuckled. "Tsubame, use aerial ace to him down!" Tsubame flapped her wings and flew backwards away from the Heracross, spreading her wings wide and then tucking them into her body as she increased speed, shooting towards the bug pokemon.
"Dakota's Swellow has moved so fast, she can't even be seen!" Darla exclaimed.
"That flying move should be especially powerful against a bug and fighting pokemon like Heracross," Lila added.
"Harris, is it a problem?" Akira asked.
"Hera!" Harris said, shaking his head, raising his arm. The Swellow increased speed and shot towards Harris, who stepped back, pulling his arm backwards, and lowering it in a swift chop, hitting Tsubame in the face. Tsubame turned beak over tail and tumbled through the sky, crashing to the ground, unconscious.
"No way!" Darla gasped.
"In one blow?!" Lila exclaimed.
"You might have the type advantage," Akira said, taking his turn to smirk, "but Harris and I have way more experience when it comes to combat. Tell me, Dakota, when you were doing all that image training against my pokemon, was that one of the scenarios you thought up?"
Dakota narrowed her eyes in irritation, returning Tsubame to her pokeball.
"Hmph," Dakota scoffed, holding up a pokeball. "About time I take thing serious, then! Bolt! This is what we've been practicing for!" Dakota threw out a pokeball, which a Manectric emerged from in a flash of lightning, howling up into the air, electricity coursing through his mane.
This is the matchup I was anticipating, Akira thought, frowning. Which means Dakota has run through this scenario dozens of times…
"This is quite a show!" Darla said, her eyes wide. "Akira's strongest battler against Dakota's strongest!"
"I'm shivering with excitement," Lila agreed.
"Bolt! Use discharge," Dakota ordered. A field of electricity manifested around Bolt, and with a howl he dug his claws into the stadium, releasing a shockwave of electricity across the battlefield.
"Harris, dodge it." Harris' shell opened and his wings emerged, fluttering up into the air to avoid the electrical current. He lowered his horn and shot toward Bolt, energy gathering into his horn.
"Evade him, Bolt," Dakota called out, Bolt leaping back and dodging the bug pokemon's thrust attacks. Electricity surged through the pokemon's fur and he galloped across the stadium, Harris charging after him.
She's trying to turn this into a contest of speed… Akira realized, narrowing his eyes. "Harris! Use megahorn on the ground!"
"Heracross!" Harris cried, swinging his horn down and striking the ground, carving a deep, wide trench across the battlefield as he flew. With a flick of his horn he flung debris at Bolt, who evaded the attacks, darting among the debris and charging at Harris.
"If you won't chase, then I guess we'll have to go forward!" Dakota shouted. "Bolt, use discharge!"
"Manectric!" Bolt howled, releasing the built up electrical current from his body in a shockwave of energy.
"Harris, use brick break on the ground!" Akira ordered. Harris raised his hand and struck the stadium, launching a wall of dirt and rock in front of him. The shockwave harmlessly dissipated when hitting the curtain of earth, leaving Harris unharmed.
"As we expected!" Dakota grinned. "Now, Bolt, wild charge!"
"Harris! Above!" Akira shouted. Harris's head shot up to see Bolt, having leapt from rock to rock over the wave of earth, charging down at him from above. Bolt was cloaked in a veil of electricity, claws extended menacingly.
"Rock blast!" Akira ordered. Harris lifted one of the chunks of rubble from the ground with his hands and flung it into the air, swinging his horn and sending it flying at Bolt with the force of a meteor, crashing into the electric pokemon. Bolt took the hit and began to skid across the ground, righting himself instantly and leaping back from the second and third boulders, putting distance between himself and the fighting type.
"What a fierce matchup!" Darla exclaimed. "We're barely finding the time to comment with all this fast action going on!"
"I guess this is what happens with two trainers that have known each other this long," Lila agreed. "They know all of their opponent's tricks!"
Even with all my practice, beating Harris with my current pokemon was never 100% certainty… Dakota thought, frowning. If I want to beat him, I need to use some trickery to get an edge…
"Bolt!" Dakota called out, her Manectric looking back at her. She smiled, and Bolt nodded, turning back toward Harris. Electricity began circulating through his fur, concentrating into his claws. Bolt raised his front claws and struck the ground, electricity surging across the stadium.
"Harris, fly into the air," Akira ordered. Harris spread his wings and flew up, dodging the electrical field that spread across the battlefield. In seconds the entire stadium was covered in a current of electricity.
"Is that…" Darla turned to Lila, who nodded.
"Electric terrain," Lila confirmed. "It's a technique for altering the battlefield itself. Manectric has turned the environment into one that favors electric types. Plus, since the ground has been electrified, Harris can't remain standing on the battlefield without taking damage."
"This seems pretty bad for Akira, then," Darla said, frowning.
"Now, use wild charge again," Dakota said. Bolt howled, drawing energy from the ground around him, coating himself in a massive wave of electricity. He leaned back on his hind legs and leapt forward, disappearing.
"Whoa!" Darla exclaimed.
"What?!" Lila cried.
So he can move that fast with the boost from the electric terrain… Akira thought, frowning. "Harris!" Harris nodded, and began gathering energy into his hand to prepare a counter attack.
Bolt reappeared in a flash of golden lightning, charging at high speed at Harris from behind. Harris whirled around and swung his hand, hitting Bolt squarely in the face… or not. Harris's fist past through the electricity, which dispersed, surging through Harris's body.
"HERA!" Harris cried out in pain as electricity passed through him, drawing up through the ground as well, pulling him out of the air and sending him crashing to the ground.
"She shed the attack like a second skin!" Akira shouted. "Harris! Behind you!"
"Hera!" Harris rose to his feet and turned around as the real Bolt appeared, the bug pokemon swinging a powerful fist at the Manectric.
"Flamethrower!" Dakota shouted, a triumphant smile on her face.
"What!?" Akira exclaimed, Bolt opening his maw, releasing a concentrated stream of flames that engulfed Harris.
"You might have been bracing for a powerful electric move, Akira," Dakota smirked, "but I went a step further. A close-range fire attack! We've been perfecting it in secret, so I knew you'd never see it coming! What do you think, huh?"
"I think you need to do better than that!" Akira exclaimed. Harris emerged from the flames, badly burned, and raised his horn, energy gathering around it as he pierced Bolt in the shoulder, flinging him into the air.
"So that wasn't enough, huh?" Dakota growled. "Bolt, we'll have to-" Dakota fell silent as she saw Harris struggle on his feet, trembling, before falling to the ground, unconscious.
"Heracross managed to score a final move against Manectric, but it wasn't enough!" Darla announced.
"Indeed," Lila agreed, "it seems like the point-blank flamethrower was too powerful to endure."
Phew, that was close. A little more, and Bolt would have been beaten too badly to keep fighting, Dakota sighed in relief. That flamethrower must have been a critical hit.
"Haha, Akira! It seems luck is on my side," Dakota said, smiling. "With Harris, so goes your last chance at victory! What do you think?"
"…We'll see," Akira said, frowning. "I'm not beaten just yet."
Knowing Akira, he'll use the same strategy he used to defeat Tsubame, Dakota thought, frowning. Which means instead of using Lilia, he'll use…
"…Nami, right?" Dakota asked, her eyes lighting up in triumph
Akira narrowed his eyes, and said nothing. He held up a pokeball and threw it into the air, a Vaporeon emerging and landing on the ground. Touching the ground, she received a strong electrical shock, the water pokemon crying out in pain.
"Hah! I knew it!" Dakota said, smiling. "You're so predictable, Akira! Once you knew that I had trained up my pokemon to be able to beat yours, you keep switching out to pokemon with major weaknesses to mine! But that won't help you win!"
"Oh, think so?" Akira asked. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I was planning on using Nami from the very beginning to take on Bolt!"
"So Akira is using a water type to take on an electric type?" Lila asked, frowning. "That doesn't make sense! Why would he do that, Darla? Vaporeon can't even really use any ground moves."
"I'm not sure," Darla said, shaking her head, "but knowing him, he's got something up his sleeve."
"Well, if that's what you wanted then I'm happy to help!" Dakota shouted. "Bolt, use discharge!"
Bolt howled into the air, drawing electricity from the terrain and charging it into his body. He leapt at Nami, releasing a surge of electrical energy across the battlefield.
"Nami, aqua ring," Akira ordered.
"Huh?!" Dakota gasped in shock. Nami opened her mouth, drawing water out of the air, curling it into rings that throbbed around her body. The electrical attack bent as it collided with the barriers of water, drawing in the current and twisting it around her body. Water mixed with electricity danced around Nami in a series of swirling rings, completely dispersing the attack.
"What bullshit is that?!" Dakota exclaimed. "You can't counter an electric attack with water!"
"Evidently, you can." Akira said, smirking, Dakota growling in response.
I knew aqua ring would be a problem since it restores Nami's help , but I didn't anticipate it being this much of a problem, Dakota thought, frowning. Okay, so long range electrical attacks won't work, and fire won't do anything. "We'll have to get in close, Bolt!"
"Man!" Bolt said, nodding, electricity surging through his fur. He lowered his head and charged at Nami.
"Nami, use muddy water!"
"Vaporeon!" Nami growled, flicking her tail, water swirling around it. The water skidded across the ground, drawing in dirt and debris to increase its volume, turning into a crashing wave of bracken water, which surged across the arena, slamming in Bolt and pushing him backwards.
"So not even long range works, huh?" Dakota frowned. I was counting on Bolt's speed and power to take out more of Akira's pokemon… but Nami's powerful elemental attacks can fill the whole battlefield, so his speed won't be of much use for this matchup… I guess I have no other choice.
"Bolt, return!" Dakota said, returning Bolt to his pokeball.
"It seems that Dakota realized that the matchup against Vaporeon would be too difficult for Manectric, and has decided to save him for later!" Lila announced.
"Smart thinking on her part," Darla agreed. "Let's see if she can get things back on track."
"Sparky! Go!" Dakota cheered, tossing out a bright blue dive ball, which a Chinchou emerged from. The small blue pokemon landed on the ground and gurgled out a cheer, raising his twin antennae into the air.
"…Or she'll use another electric type," Darla said, shrugging.
I didn't anticipate aqua ring being able to absorb electricity, but it doesn't affect my plans that much, Dakota smiled. Unlike with Bolt, Sparky should be well-prepared.
Dakota's Chinchou has volt absorb, not the much rarer water absorb, Akira thought. That means I can still take it down with water attacks. He might resist water, but he's also of a low level. Then again, Dakota isn't an idiot. She definitely sent out Sparky for a reason. So I should be cautious.
"Nami, use hydro pump!" Akira ordered. Nami opened her mouth, gathering a massive sphere of water in front of her, releasing it in a pressurized blast of water toward the small fish pokemon.
"Sparky! Use aqua ring!"
"Chin!" Spark cried, holding his flippers up, water swirling around his body. The hydro pump struck the aqua rings, which began absorbing the water, wearing the attack down into a light splash.
"How's it feel to have your own attack turned against you, Akira?" Dakota asked. "I know that when you use Nami, you use her aqua ring to set yourself up for a long, drawn out battle. I didn't know that it can absorb electricity, but what I did know is that it can also be used similarly to beat water moves. Bet you didn't know that, didja?"
Akira's eye twitched, Dakota smiling smugly.
"Of course you wouldn't, not with Nami's water absorb. With this, both of our pokemon's water moves can't be used."
"Hm, good strategy," Sango said. "Without water moves, Vaporeon's offensive capabilities are pretty low."
"Really?" Kitty asked, turning to look at her.
"Yeah, but it won't be that easy," Julia said, placing a hand on Kitty's shoulder, Kitty turning back to her. "I don't think Akira is the kind of person to let shutting off water moves so easily counter him. He must have something else planned."
"Nami, use quick attack," Akira ordered. Nami lowered her head and rushed toward Sparky, who leapt back.
"Sparky, use spark!" Dakota ordered. Sparky's antennae began glowing with energy and electricity surged through his body, Nami dodging back at the last second to avoid Sparky's lunge.
"Aqua ring is only going to protect you from range attacks, am I right?" Dakota asked. "But closer moves, like spark, your water rings won't protect you at all. Now, go, Sparky!"
"Nami!" Akira called out. "Don't dodge!"
Nami glanced back at him in confusion, but nodded.
Sparky collided with Nami, releasing electricity through her body.
"Now, use secret power," Akira ordered. Nami raised her paw, electricity crackling through it, striking Sparky in the face.
"Chiin!" Sparky cried, tumbling backwards, electrocuted.
"What the- what was that?!" Dakota exclaimed.
"Unbelievable!" Lila cried out, turning to her partner.
"Some unknown electric move just knocked out Chinchou!" Darla said, her eyes widening in surprise.
"That was Nami's secret power," Akira explained. "Thanks, Dakota. You were a lot of help."
"But that was an electric move! How did you-?!" Dakota said, confused.
"Secret power is a normal move," Akira corrected her. "That draws energy and variety from the environment it's used in."
"Environment? You mean…" Dakota's eyes widened in understanding.
"Thanks to that terrain that Bolt was so kind to create, secret power could draw on energy from the electricity and turn it against Sparky in a single strike. It was a good try, but instead of training Sparky to counter my moves, you should have worked on raising his level and taught him to take some hits. As he is right now, he's too weak to be used in battles."
Dakota grit her teeth, clenching her hand into a fist as she returned her Chinchou to his dive ball.
"Just… just shut up! Stupid Akira! All you do is talk down to me! But this is my time! It's my time to take a victory, you understand? I'm going to beat you and make you pay for what you did!"
"What I did?!" Akira exclaimed. Dakota, tears welling up in her eyes, leveled a hateful glare at him, throwing him off for a second.
"You keep saying that I was manipulating you… every time… every time! And yet… and yet I…" Dakota bit her lip and wiped her eyes, glaring at him again.
"I'm going to make you hurt the same way you hurt me, Akira." Dakota promised. "Just you watch. I'm going to defeat you, no matter what!"
Dang, it looks like Akira might have done something really bad to Dakota. I wonder what that could have been.