Now that the fifth round is over, it's time for the sixth round to begin! But who could the next fighters be? And who is the mysterious Mary Su- I mean, Mariah Susan? Read on to find out!

Darkhammer: That's a good way to put a lot of stuff about Naya.

Duskzilla: Indeed, the more consistently you check for updates, the more likely you are to see a bunch of cool new stuff happening!

Superblal: Yup, not many people are prepared to fight a crazy person. Strange how that is.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 57

"Okay everyone, it's time for the sixth round!" Darla announced, spinning the wheels on the screen.

"And the participants for the next round are…" Lila said, watching excitedly as the wheels began to slow down.

"Come on, come on…" Cynthia whispered, crossing her fingers as she waited for her face to show up.

"Daryl Thorne… vs. Mariah Susan!" Darla and Lila declared, Cynthia slumping over in defeat.

Daryl and Mariah stood up, when a sudden commotion from the entranceway to the battlefield drew everyone's attention. Dressed in uniform, Andre Pollard walked out into the center of the stadium flanked by two other members of campus security, much to everyone's surprise.

"Andre?" Sango asked, her eyes widening. "What's he doing here?"

"Um, excuse me, what's going on here?" Darla demanded into her microphone. "We're in the middle of a school tournament here."

"I'm sorry to bring this to your attention now," Andre said, walking up the podium and staring down at her, "but this is a matter of utmost importance."

"…Fine, what is it?" Darla sighed.

Andre turned to glare at the remaining finalists.

"We have information from a reliable source that one of the competitors in this tournament isn't who they claim to be. They've faked their credentials to sneak into this tournament… they're an intruder into our school!"

"What?!" Darla exclaimed.

"No way…" Lila gasped. "Who is it?"

Andre pointed at…

"Mariah Susan."

"…Well, duh," the disguised woman chuckled. "What gave it away? Although I suppose I might as well give it a rest, then!" She reached up to grasp her long cape along with the scarf wrapped her face, and with a swift yank she threw them to the ground.

Beneath her dark disguise was a pretty young woman with a rather bright outfit wrapped around her voluptuous body, a light blue turtleneck and a scandalously short white miniskirt, though her modesty was covered by dark leggings underneath it, her feet covered in dark brown boots. She picked her white scarf off the ground and wrapped it around her neck, smiling cockily. She had light brown hair tied into curly pigtails that cascaded down her back, with a long bang on framing the right side of her face by hairclips, revealing bright green eyes that gleamed with a mischievous light.

"Claire…" Andre sighed, holding the palm of his hand to his face.

"No way…" Blake sighed, slumping down into her seat. The girl glanced at him and smirked, giving him a wave.

"Ahahaha!" The girl, Claire, laughed, curtsying with a flourish. "It is I, the great Claire Suzuki! Nice to see you again, Andre!"

"What are you doing here…?" Andre asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh, you know, this and that," Claire shrugged. "I just wanted to check out this 'special school' I'm transferring into, y'know?" She winked flirtatiously at Blake, smiling. "Plus, I just had to see how my dear Blake was doing."

"…Fine, whatever," Andre sighed, turning to the other campus safety members, "authorizing use of lethal force."

"Oh come on!"

"Okay, this is all very gripping, but can we get on with this already?!" Darla exclaimed. "Are these battles ever gone wrap up at this rate?! Our audience is probably bored out of their minds! They were probably getting tired of this like 3 chap- er, matches ago!"

"Darla, you're breaking character," Lila hissed.

"Okay, well, whatever. We're gonna throw his brat out now, so I guess just let her opponent get a bye?" Andre shrugged, clearly done with all this.

"What?! That's not fair!" Claire huffed. "I want to fight! I got this far fair and square, didn't I?! Besides, show me in the rules where it says you have to be a student to participate!"

The stadium went silent for a few moments at this childish declaration from the haughty girl, Darla pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, well, technically-"

"Ha! I thought so!" She tossed her head to look at her would-be opponent, smirking. "Besides, Daryl… whatever, you wouldn't be happy winning by default, am I right?"

Daryl looked down, scratching his neck sheepishly, nodding.

"See? So what's the problem, huh?!" Claire huffed. "Just let me fight! It's not that big a deal, right?"

"…" Darla and Lila gave each other pained, frustrated expressions, before finally sighing in defeat.

"…Fine."

"Yes!" Claire cheered, smiling.

"Geez," Cynthia huffed. "What's up with that obnoxious girl?"

"That's hilarious coming from you," Blake said, Cynthia glaring at him.

"…So, what's the big deal with her, anyway?" Cynthia asked, glancing back at him in mock-casualness. "Who is she?"

"…Just someone from my past," Blake sighed.

"Wait, she's that friend you told me about, isn't she?! The one with the big boo-" Blake clamped a hand over Cynthia's mouth as Claire walked past him on her way down to the battlefield, giving him a wink.

"…Sango, you have a scary look on your face…" Kitty said worriedly, giving the blonde a cautious look.

"Oh?" Sango asked, glancing at Kitty with narrowed eyes, the small girl freezing and cuddling up to Julia in fear.

"Okay, well, this is a little unusual…" Darla sighed, "but this is the start of round six!"

"Daryl Thorne vs. Claire… Suzuki, was it?" Lila announced. "Good luck!"

"So far, the students at this school haven't been very impressive," Claire said, smiling. "I hope you'll show me something interesting!"

"Well, I'm not a battler at heart, but I'll show you the best battle I can," Daryl said, grinning. "Go, Falco!" Daryl tossed a pokeball into the air, and from it emerged a large Braviary. The bird pokemon landed on the ground, yawning.

"Wh-wh-what?!" Claire gasped, backing up. "No fair! That's cheating!"

"…Cheating? What?" Daryl asked, confused.

"You can't use bird pokemon! That's no fair!" Claire exclaimed, trembling.

"Uh, yeah, whatever you say," Daryl said, rolling his eyes. "Just send out your pokemon already."

"Fine, I'll show you! Use a stupid scary bird pokemon against me, will you…" Claire huffed under her breath. "Yuu, fry that dumb bird!"

She threw out a pokeball, which a Luxray emerged from. The black feline glared at Falco menacingly.

"Electric type, huh?" Daryl said, pointing at Yuu. "Falco, use superpower!"

…

Falco yawned, turning away from Daryl, ignoring his orders.

"…" Daryl's cheeks flushed and his finger dropped awkwardly.

"Bwahaha!" Claire cackled, holding her sides. "You tried to look so cool, but your pokemon doesn't even listen to you! That's so pathetic!"

"Sh-shut up," Daryl said. "Come on, Falco, let's take this girl down!"

"Okay, Yuu, here's our opportunity!" Claire declared. "Use discharge!"

"Lux…" Yuu yawned, walking in a circle before lying down on the ground, taking a nap.

"…" Claire's face turned red in embarrassment, Daryl smirking.

"Well, it looks like your pokemon isn't all that well-behaved either, eh?"

"Yuu, you dummy!" Claire exclaimed, stomping her foot in frustration. "Don't take a nap, fight!"

"Lux," Yuu said, shaking his head.

"Rrrr!" Claire growled.

"…This is just sad," Darla said, shaking her head in embarrassment.

"Aw, I think it's cute, honestly," Lila said, smiling.

"Falco, come on, can you please attack?" Daryl asked.

"Brav," Falco sighed, flapping his wings and taking to the air, flying toward Yuu and Claire.

"Come on, Yuu, get up!" Claire urged. Falco spread his wings out and raised his talons, lunging toward Yuu with a powerful strike.

"Luxray!" Yuu leapt to his feet, electricity crackling through his fur. He raised his claw, swinging it toward Falco, who pulled away at the last moment, dodging the attack.

"Yuu!" Claire cheered. "You're gonna fight for me?"

"Lux…" Yuu said, looking away.

"Aww, you big sweetie," Claire giggled. "Now, discharge!"

Yuu released the electricity stored up in his fur in a shockwave, Falco flapping his wings to fly higher into the air, avoiding the attack. He folded his wings inward and shot toward Yuu like a bullet.

"Yuu, take him down!" Claire ordered, Yuu building up another charge of electricity as the bird pokemon approached.

"Falco, evasive maneuvers!" Daryl exclaimed. "Then, use u-turn!" Falco dodged the blasts of electricity radiating from Yuu's body, and barreled head-first into the electric type, knocking Yuu backwards. Falco began glowing, and returned to Daryl's pokeball.

"Thanks for your hard work, buddy," Daryl said, smiling.

"I guess Daryl sense this matchup wouldn't be good for him, so he switching to another pokemon," Lila said.

"Good thinking on his part," Darla said, nodding. "What's he going to use to fight this Luxray, huh?"

"I gotta say, you've trained that Luxray pretty well," Daryl said, smiling. "I'd love it if a trainer as lovely and talented as you were to come to this school."

"Aw, you're sweet," Claire said, smiling. "But flattery and flirting won't get you anywhere. I like being the chaser too, you see, I just love it when a boy plays hard to get." She capitalized this with a wink to Blake, who rolled his eyes, Cynthia giving him a sharp jab in the side, huffing.

"If you were a cute girl on the other hand… ufufu…" Claire cackled.

"…There's something disturbingly familiar about this girl…" Sango said.

"That's because she's Cynthia with big boobs," Julia commented dryly.

"Amethyst, go," Daryl said, throwing out a pokeball, which a violet shadow emerged from. The shadow took the form of a small imp with gems sticking out of its body, and large gems where its eyes would be.

"So Daryl's next pokemon is his Sableye!" Darla announced.

"Ooh, that's a fascinating choice," Lila said. "Sableye don't have any weaknesses!"

She leaned back in her chair, smiling smugly. "Except fairy types, of course."

Darla rolled her eyes.

"Aw, what a cutie!" Claire said, smiling. "But we'll still have to take it down! Yuu, use discharge!"

"Amethyst," Daryl said, Amethyst nodding. Yuu built up electricity into his mane, when a wad of mud hit him in the face.

"…" Yuu raised his paw up to his face and wiped the mud off, glaring at Amethyst, who was rolling on the ground, cackling.

"…Well, ground attacks are super effective against electric types," Darla said, shaking her head, while Lila burst out laughing.

"Yuu, don't take that from her!" Claire shouted. "Use wild charge!"

Electricity surged through Yuu's body, and he prepared to charge at Amethyst.

"Amethyst, will-o-wisp," Daryl ordered. Amethyst raised her hands, spheres of violet flame dancing in front of her, shooting at Yuu as he moved forward, burning the electric pokemon.

"Yuu!" Claire cried out.

"That was Sableye's prankster ability!" Lila said.

"Prankster?" Darla asked, surprised.

"Yes," Lila said, smiling proudly at the fact she knew something her partner didn't, for once. "It's a very rare ability. My Kiwi has it! It lets pokemon who use status moves attack faster than other pokemon!"

"Wow, that is powerful!" Darla said. "Thanks to that ability of hers, that Sableye has inflicted a serious burn on Luxray with a will-o-wisp attack!"

"Yuu, are you okay?" Claire asked. Yuu narrowed his eyes and the electricity around him pulsed, growing in intensity. "…Well, okay then."

"Lux!" Yuu growled, lunging at Amethyst. He ran forward at high speed, electricity streaming off his body.

"Sableye!" Amethyst cried out in terror, flinging her arms wildly, crouching into a small ball. Yuu leapt forward… and skidded on a banana peel, losing his balance and crashing to the ground in front of Amethyst.

Amethyst leapt to her feet, cackling, Claire's face turning bright red.

"Yuu! Are you okay?" Claire exclaimed.

"Luxray…" Yuu growled, rising onto all fours, seething with anger. Amethyst glanced at him and took a step back, but Yuu was far faster. He lunged forward and struck Amethyst with his claws, sending a massive current of electricity into Amethyst's body.

"Sableeeeyee!" Amethyst wailed, Yuu flinging her backwards. She hit the ground and reformed herself, Yuu lunging toward her.

"Yuu, volt switch!" Claire said.

"Luxray!" Yuu growled, shaking his head.

"I'm serious, Yuu, you need to rest," Claire said.

"Lux…" Yuu frowned, turning his attention back to Amethyst.

"Amethyst, use fake out," Daryl said. Amethyst slapped her hands on Yuu's cheeks, surprising Yuu, who stumbled back, glaring at the ghost pokemon even harder as she ran away.

"Like I said, Yuu, use volt switch!" Claire repeated. Electricity coursed through Yuu's body, and he charged in pursuit of Amethyst, who looked back at him in fear.

"Shadow sneak," Daryl ordered.

Amethyst raised her hand and pressed it against the ground as she ran, her arm sinking into her shadow and shooting toward Yuu, striking out at her from below, but this time Yuu was prepared. He leapt over the claw of shadows and landed in front of Amethyst, releasing a blast of electricity from his body that engulfed Amethyst, shooting past her and returning to his pokeball.

"Claire has returned her Luxray back to take a rest, who's she going to send out next?" Darla wondered.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it'll be just as hilarious as the rest of this battle has been," Lila giggled.

"Okay Lulu, let's do it!" Claire cheered, throwing out a pokeball with a twirl, sending out a Sentret.

"A Sentret, huh?" Daryl said, smiling. "That's an interesting choice."

"Yup! She's just the cutest," Claire said, smiling proudly.

"Against a normal type, Sableye's ghost moves won't be able to work," Lila said.

"So if Sentret has any moves other than ghost types, this could be a way to turn things around," Darla added.

"Lulu, use foresight," Claire ordered, Lulu taking note of Amethyst, before pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Ah-ha!" Claire said. "She says you're the culprit, Amethyst! Of the crime of pranking poor Yuu!"

"Sentret!" Lulu nodded in agreement, crossing her arms over the ring on her chest.

"Amethyst, will-o-wisp," Daryl ordered, Amethyst firing high-speed fire orbs at Lulu.

"Aqua tail," Claire shouted. Water covered Lulu's tail and she leapt into the air, swatting at the fire orbs and extinguishing them. Lulu landed on her tail and used it as a springboard, launching her forwards, and swinging it at Amethyst, swatting her in the face, knocking her backwards.

"Amethyst, use recover," Daryl said. Amethyst began shining, regaining some of her health.

"Lulu, headbutt!" Claire ordered. Lulu ran forward and headbutted Amethyst in the face, knocking the shadow pokemon backwards. Amethyst stumbled, Lulu slapping her with her tail several times.

"Dark pulse!" Daryl shouted.

"Sableye!" Amethyst said, raising her claw and placing it on the ground. A shockwave of dark energy shot out from her hand, slamming into Lulu. Lulu tumbled across the ground, Amethyst lunging after her.

"Now, faint attack!" Daryl continued.

"Sucker punch!" Claire shouted. As Amethyst jumped into the air and swung at Lulu, Lulu smirking and making a swift punch, hitting Amethyst in the jaw, the ghost pokemon stumbling backward.

"You're not the only that can take cheap shots!" Claire said, smirking. "In fact, it happens to be a specialty of ours!"

"Amethyst, another dark pulse," Daryl ordered. Amethyst sent another shockwave through the ground, knocking Lulu off of her feet, the normal pokemon trying to stumble up, before collapsing, unconscious.

"…So, it seems that Claire's Sentret wasn't at a high enough level to really put up a good fight against Daryl's Sableye," Darla sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Aw, that's too bad," Lila said, looking at Claire sympathetically. "She was so cute, too…"

"Lulu might be adorable, but she's not much of a fighter," Claire admitted, returning the small brown pokemon to her pokeball. "Still, she tries her best. My next pokemon, though? She's a real heavy hitter. Aurora! Go!"

Claire threw out another pokeball, and in a swirl of ice and snow a spectral figure emerged, floating over the battlefield. The kimono-clad pokemon raised her arms, snow swirling up around her body.

"A Froslass…" Elle said, looking down at the battlefield from her seat in the Eight Leaders' box. "…Good choice."

"So Claire has chosen to fight a ghost type with another ghost type, it seems," Lila said.

"Well, normal type didn't do much, so maybe a ghost is the answer," Darla admitted. "And the power of Froslass's ice attacks can't be understated."

"Amethyst, we'll start with burning her, okay?" Daryl asked, Amethyst nodding, creating more fireballs.

"Oh? You think you're the only ones with speed on your side, huh?" Claire asked. Aurora raised her hands, several chunks of ice depositing from the vapor in the air. She flung her hands forward and the ice shot across the battlefield, colliding with the fireballs in a small chain of explosions.

"How do you like a taste of ice shard?" Claire giggled. "It's a nice little priority move, don't you agree? And without that special ability of yours, your cute little Sableye won't be even close to a match for my sweet Aurora's grace and speed!"

"Froslass," Aurora said, nodding in agreement.

"Well, that may be so, but we've still got a good advantage in typing on our side," Daryl noted. "Amethyst, use dark pulse!"

"Aurora, use blizzard and freeze him solid!" Claire ordered.

"Froslass!" Aurora shouted, floating up into the air and holding out her arms, conjuring snowclouds around her, and with them a torrent of ice and hail that swept across the battlefield, slamming in Amethyst before the ghost pokemon could prepare her next attack. The cold chill hit Daryl, who raised his arms up to brace himself against the freezing attack, but thankfully it wasn't incredibly strong, and it just chilled his arms slightly. When he dropped them to look at the battlefield, he saw his Sableye, frozen solid in a huge chunk of ice.

"Amethyst!" Daryl cried out.

"Water pulse!" Aurora held her hands in front of her mouth, creating a sphere of watery energy that she fired at the hunk of ice, the water smashing through the ice and slamming into Amethyst, sending her flying through the air. Amethyst slammed into the ground in front of Daryl, knocked out from the power moves that hit her in sequence.

"Well, that was something!" Darla said, surprised. "Froslass's powerful blizzard attack has taken out Daryl's first pokemon!"

"Way to go!" Lila said, smiling. "I knew you could do it!"

"That Froslass of yours is really well-trained," Daryl said, returning Amethyst to her pokeball. "She's going to be hard to beat!" Aurora glared at him, Daryl shrugging back at her.

"She's pretty amazing alright," Claire said, Aurora blushing in response. "Now then, send out your next pokemon, Daryl! It might be freezing right now, but we're just getting warmed up!"

Well, Claire is certainly an interesting one. I wonder what insights she might have into Blake's backstory? Will she help us understand him on a deeper level, by informing the audience of their common experiences together? Or is she just for comic relief?

…It's probably gonna be the latter one.