Sorry for the hiatus, I was doing stuff. But I'm going to be making this chapter extra long, to finish off the battle so we can start speeding up this tournament!
Superblal: We'll see.
Number13teen: I agree, that was too much.
LegacyReturns: Glad to see you again! Yeah, I remember that too. And yes, I'm aware that the tournament will take a long time. Thankfully, everything will go faster with each round. I'm going as fast as I can here! And I am trying to develop the characters as much as I can. Hopefully, they'll only get more interesting from here.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 60
"Pixie, go," Will said. The pokeball landed on the ground, and from it, a white pokemon emerged. Its body was roughly avian, with small white wings on the back, but also seemed vaguely humanoid with small arms and legs. Its white body was dotted with hollow red and blue triangles, and the crown on its head was made of jagged triangles.
"Togetic!" The Togetic, Pixie, murmured, her bright smile replacing the weakening sunlight.
A flying type… Lua thought. "Verdance, your moves won't be very effective, especially now that the sunlight has faded! Return!"
"Leaf!" Verdance nodded, turning and running back to Lua.
"Pixie, aerial ace," Will ordered. Pixie flapped her wings and disappeared, a shockwave of wind blasting past Verdance, her leaves whipping in the current. Pixie reappeared and slashed downward with her hand, striking Verdance in the neck with a sharp, fast slash.
"Leafeon!" Verdance cried, collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
"Whoa, did you see that?" Darla gasped.
"It was just a blur!" Lila said, shaking her head. "And Leafeon's already down!"
"Verdance!" Lua cried out. "No way! My Verdance was totally healthy! She wouldn't fall to a single attack, even if it was a flying type!"
"That attack must have been a critical hit," Darla reasoned.
"Indeed, how lucky!" Lila said, nodding. "A fast move Leafeon couldn't dodge, and a critical hit!"
"Return, Verdance," Lua returned her Leafeon to her pokeball, and reached into her purse for another. "I'll fight you with speed myself then! Boua, go!"
Lua threw out her love ball, which an Alomomola emerged from, hovering in the air.
"Oooh!" Lila gushed. "How cute! She and her boyfriend have the same pokemon."
"Chicks," Darla rolled her eyes.
"Boua, use aqua jet!" Lua ordered. Boua wreathed himself in a veil of water, and charged across the battlefield at high speed, water coursing behind him. He slammed into Pixie and pushed her back, charging across the battlefield, smashing Pixie into the far wall.
"Ooh, that's some nice speed," Darla noted.
"Just as Will started regaining some momentum!" Lila said, frowning. "What's he gonna do next?"
"Pixie, shock wave!" Will ordered. Pixie's body began crackling with electricity, a vertical wave of electricity shot out from her and struck Boua, shockwave after shockwave shooting out of the flying pokemon and pushing Boua backwards, Pixie landing on the ground, panting. The electric attack died down, Boua collapsing to the ground. He tried to float back up, but slumped down, unconscious.
"No way!" Darla gasped.
"In one move, again!" Lila said, her eyes wide.
"That's twice now," Julia said, frowning. "No way that's a coincidence."
"Hm?" Kitty asked, tilting her head to the side and glancing at her friend.
"Will's Togetic has totally turned the tables!" Darla said.
"In the blink of an eye, both trainers are down to only two pokemon apiece! This could be anyone's game!" Lila said, nodding.
"Return," Lua returned Boua to her love ball, withdrawing a second love ball from her purse. "Melody, go!"
From the love ball, a large, round, pink and white pokemon emerged. Her most defining feature were her large green eyes, and she inhaled, her body inflating.
"Wigglytuff!" Lila cheered. "It's a fairy vs. fairy match!"
"Your Togetic's ability is super luck, isn't it?" Lua said. "That's quite a rare ability you've got there. No wonder you got back to back criticals. But Melody's just the one to handle it."
"If that Togetic's ability really is super luck, then she'll be getting a lot of criticals," Darla agreed.
"True, but Wigglytuff is an excellent choice to fight against critical hits. Their best stat is their HP; she can definitely tank some powered-up moves." Lila mused.
"Pixie, aerial ace," Will ordered. Pixie flapped her wings and flew back onto the battlefield, her speed increasing until she disappeared, lunging at the Wigglytuff.
"Melody! Absolute defense!" Lua ordered.
"Wiggly!" Melody said, bobbing her… head(?) up and down. She opened her mouth wide, gathering in air, and her body inflated like a balloon. Pixie raised her hand, and struck Melody in the stomach. But the move didn't damage her at all. With a flex of her stomach, Melody pushed Pixie backwards, the flying pokemon bouncing back from the resistance of the pokemon's balloon-like body.
"Wigglytuff have the consistency of a balloon," Lila explained. "So their bodies are really elastic, and resilient. Physical moves like that will just bounce off their bodies while they're inflated."
"If she's a big balloon, then shock wave won't work either," Will reasoned. "Magical leaf, Pixie!"
"Toge!" Pixie nodded, flying back from Melody, who remained motionless and inflated. With a flap of her wings, Pixie created leaves of shimmering rainbow energy, which swirled toward Melody in a whirlwind. The leaves struck Melody head on, digging deep into her rubbery skin.
"Did that do it?" Will asked.
"Wiggly…" Melody murmured, the leaves pressing so far into her that parts of her skin were bulging out from her body. "…TUFF!" Melody flung her arms out, her balloon body snapping back like a rubber band, flinging the leaves off in all directions.
"That's one 'tuff' pokemon," Claire chortled. "Get it? Like, with two fs." Sango rolled her eyes.
"Melody, use body slam!" Lua ordered. Melody flattened herself down until she was almost paper-thin, springing at top speed toward Pixie like a rubber ball. She slammed into Pixie, sending her flying, the two pokemon bouncing backwards.
"That looked hard," Will said. "Pixie, fly up to avoid another one of those!"
"Togetic!" Pixie said, nodding. She flapped her wings and flew up into the air, away from Melody.
"You won't get away. Melody, after it!"
"Wiggly!" Melody nodded, inhaling more air. Her body inflated even larger, and she began floating up into the air, drifting slowly toward Pixie.
"It can fly!?" Darla exclaimed.
"Well, duh, Wigglytuff are known as the 'balloon' pokemon," Lila said, rolling her eyes.
"But why does it fly!?"
"It flies because it flies, that's why!" Lila "explained".
"But it isn't fast," Will noted. "With nothing to bounce off to increase its speed, it's just a big, slow ball of air. Pixie, push it back with fairy wind!"
Pixie nodded, flapping her wings, creating a wave of sweet-smelling wind that she sent toward Melody, pushing the balloon pokemon back.
"True, right now Melody can't do much. But we're just getting started. Keep going, Melody!"
Melody continued inhaling more air, her body slowly inflating even larger.
"Wow, that thing's growing large," Sango said. "I wonder how big it's gonna get?"
"Bigger…" Kitty noted.
"Still getting bigger…" Julia said.
"…You're kidding me…" Darla said, her face going pale. The stadium began to darken, as Melody grew even larger, Pixie staring up at her in shock.
"WIGGLYTUFF!" Melody boomed, its massive form blotting out the sun, looming down over them all.
"Notably, Wigglytuff can inflate their body up to twenty times their original size!" Lila noted.
"This is insanity!" Darla exclaimed, shaking her partner. "If that thing uses body slam, this stadium will be flattened!"
"…Pixie, use fairy wind," Will ordered. Pixie looked up at Melody and flapped her wings, creating another gust of wind.
"No way that will work!" Sango said, frowning. She was quickly proven wrong, however, as Melody was slowly lifted up away from the battlefield, light trickling in on the edges as she slowly floated further and further away.
"…But even so, its body is still mostly air, so it's not like it grows any heavier. It is just a balloon, after all." Lila continued. Darla pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head.
"Since none of our conventional moves will work on this thing… Pixie! Time for our secret weapon!" Will shouted.
"We won't let you! Melody, hyper voice!" Lua ordered. Melody's mouth snapped open in a deafening roar, the air rushing out of her body in the form of a massive sonic blast of compressed air.
"Pixie!" Will exclaimed. Pixie raised her winger, and began wiggling it from side to side as the sonic energy struck her.
"That's metronome!" Lila gasped.
Pixie's body began glowing as it accumulated massive amounts of energy, the light emanating around her growing brighter and brighter until the field was filled with a blinding light, releasing it in a massive wave of power.
"Aaaah!" Darla exclaimed. "Metronome turned into EXPLOSION?!"
The massive explosion of power created a shockwave of sound that struck the hyper voice's sonic waves head on, releasing a crackling explosion of sound that nearly burst the eardrums of the entire audience.
Pixie plummeted to the ground, having expended all of her energy. Melody, likewise, drifted lazily down to the battlefield, deflated.
"Neither pokemon is able to battle," Darla ruled.
"Now they're both down to three pokemon each!" Lila announced.
"Well, sometimes metronome is a dud," Will sighed. "But you did good work, and managed to even the odds! Return, Pixie!"
"You did your best, Melody. Have a good rest," Lua said, smiling, returning Melody to her love ball.
"Luna, go." Will threw out a pokeball, which an Umbreon emerged from. She glanced at him, and he smiled. "Time to battle, girl, okay?"
"Um." Luna huffed, slightly irritated, but she took a fighting stance all the same.
"Luna?" Kitty asked, look at Julia in confusion. "But isn't that…"
"It's not mine," Julia sighed in frustration shaking her head. "Some people just have no originality. Look at her spots, see? Hers are yellow. My Luna has blue circles in her fur because she's a shiny pokemon."
"Oh," Kitty said, nodding.
"But why would he send out an Umbreon, when that girl still has her Florges left?" Julia wondered.
"Corsage, go!" Lua shouted, sending her Florges back out. "You're going to regret sending out that Umbreon! Corsage, use moonblast!"
Corsage gathered shimmering energy in the palms of her hands, forming a sphere of fairy energy. She sent it flying at Luna at a high speed, Luna dodging the attack by leaping to the side.
"Luna, use quick attack!" Will ordered. Luna ran at high speed toward Corsage, raising her claws, and slicing at the flower pokemon.
"Use petal blizzard to keep her back," Lua ordered, a tornado of flower petals whipping up around Florges and pushing Luna backwards.
"Confuse ray, Luna!" Luna's eyes glowed red, an orb of eerie energy appearing in front of her, moving shakily toward the fairy pokemon.
"As though I'd let you wilt my precious pokemon! Corsage, use safeguard!" A veil of energy appeared around Corsage's body, the confuse ray dispersing on contact with it. Corsage began readying another moonblast, Will glancing at Luna.
She's done about as much as can be expected against a fairy type… Looks like we'll have to wrap this one up, then. Will decided. "Luna! Use mean look!"
"Umbreon!" Luna growled, glaring at Corsage, stunning her. The fairy pokemon shivered from the pokemon's intense gaze, temporarily immobile.
"Now, Luna, use baton pass!" Will ordered. Luna nodded, and ran back to Will, her body shimmering as she leapt back into her pokeball. "Now, Cobalt, go!"
Will tossed out a pokeball to replace Luna, a Beldum emerging from it.
"Another steel type, huh? I'll send out Heartfire again to take this one out! Corsage, return!" Lua held up her love ball and tried to call Corsage back. Cobalt narrowed their single red eye into a glare, ominous energy emanating from their body, repelling the beam of light.
"Wh-what?" Lua gasped in shock.
"You keep switching your pokemon to deal with difficult matchups," Will said, frowning. "So we put a stop to that! Mean look prevents you from switching out your pokemon as long as it's in effect!"
"But… Umbreon was the one to use mean look, right?" Lila said, confused. "So, shouldn't effects of the move have faded now that she's been switched out for Beldum?"
"No," Darla corrected. "Because she was called back with baton pass. Baton pass passes on the conditions of the pokemon who uses it to the next pokemon that was sent out. This includes attack buffs, and speed buffs… but also the intimidating gaze of mean look."
"Whoa!" Lila gasped in surprise.
"Florges can't run away now," Darla said. "Now she has to fight against Beldum in a fair fight."
"Nice trick," Julia whistled.
"That doesn't seem fair…" Kitty whined.
"Then we'll just have to fight! Corsage, use moonblast!" Lua ordered.
"Cobalt! Use iron head!" Will ordered. Cobalt's body began shining with a silver light and they shot toward Corsage at a high speed. Their head slammed into the orb of energy head on, pushing through it with barely a scratch, and hitting Corsage in the face at full power, sending her flying backwards.
"…Brutal…" Darla said.
"How rude!" Lila huffed. "Subjecting that poor fairy to mean ol' steel attacks! And not even letting her escape!"
"It's not 'rude', it's strategy!" Will objected. "Anyway, good job, Cobalt. You finished her off nicely."
"It seems that Corsage took more damage from that Doublade than I thought," Lua sighed. "Return, sweetie. Now then… it looks like this is gonna be rough. But now I have the initiative again! Heartfire, come on back out!"
Lua tossed out her ultra ball, which her Magmortar emerged from in a wave of flames.
"As I figured," Will said, frowning. "Cobalt! Time to return!"
"Bel!" Cobalt said, bobbing their body up and down, turning back toward Will to return.
"Not a chance! Heartfire, use fire spin!" Heartfire held his hand up, a tornado of flames shooting out of it and encircling Cobalt, the beam of light from Will's pokeball lost in the flames.
"You're not the only one capable of stopping a retreat," Lua snarled. "Time to give you a taste of what my Corsage felt! We can't prepare to lose this, got it, Heartfire?" And now that that Beldum is trapped, finish it off!"
"Cobalt! Since you can't escape, use zen headbutt!" Will ordered. Cobalt emerged from the flames, their body swathed in psychic energy, and they lunged toward Heartfire.
"Fire blast!" Lua ordered. Heartfire raised his hand and created a giant fire kanji in front of him that he fired at Cobalt, striking the steel-type directly, knocking Cobalt unconscious.
"Well, it was worth a shot," Will sighed. "Return, Cobalt!"
Returning the Beldum to their pokeball, he reached onto his belt for another one. "Luna, you're next!"
Luna reappeared, growling.
"Umbreon again!" Darla said.
"He must be going for the same strategy as before," Lila noted. "So Will's last pokemon must have a type advantage against Magmortar!"
"That thing again… Heartfire, she's going to try to trap you! Don't let her! Return!" Lua held up her ultra ball, but Luna was too quick for her, repelling the ball's light with a fierce glare.
"Fine, change of plans," Lua said, returning the ultra ball to her purse. "Heartfire, burn that Umbreon to cinders before she can escape! Fire blast!"
Heartfire raised his hand, firing another star of fire at top speed as Luna ran back toward Will. She glanced back at the incoming flames, but they were too quick for her to outrun, overcoming Luna's running form, the dark pokemon howling in pain as the flames surrounded her.
"Luna!" Will exclaimed. The flames died down, leaving Luna lying on the ground, badly burned from the fire blast.
"Heartfire, finish her off!" Lua ordered. Heartfire walked up to Luna, raising her hand, pointing it at the trembling pokemon.
"Luna! Now!" Will shouted. Luna's eyes snapped open and she leapt to her feet, kicking her hind legs up, knocking Heartfire's hand into the air, firing the flames high into the air, Heartfire losing his balance and stumbling backward.
"Now, Luna! Baton pass!" Luna swiftly ran back to her trainer, ignoring the searing burns on her fur. She leapt forward, returning to her pokeball.
"That Umbreon's got some real moves," Darla said, nodding in admiration. "To take that fire blast and still move like that."
"I guess…" Lila said, sulking.
"Nessie! Finish it off!" Will threw out a pokeball, which a large blue pokemon emerged from. The Lapras looked like a large prehistoric sea dinosaur, with a large grey shell and flippers instead of legs. She opened her mouth, singing out, before glaring at Heartfire.
"A Lapras! That's an interesting choice. Darla, who do you think is going to win?" Lila asked.
"That's a tough one," Darla said, holding her chin with her hand in contemplation. "Lapras are strong, but significantly less so when not in water. Not only that, but they're part ice type, meaning that Magmortar's fire moves will be normally effective, as opposed to the resistance that other water types will have. Still… Lapras' water moves are still strong… and Will wouldn't send her out if she couldn't stand a chance."
"Heartfire! Use flamethrower!" Heartfire fired a stream of flames at Nessie, who opened her mouth as the flames drew closer.
"Nessie! Water pulse!" Nessie generated a shockwave of water from her mouth, sending a pulse toward the flames, pushing through them and heading for Heartfire. The fire pokemon leapt to the side, circling around Nessie, firing another blast of flames.
"Nessie, watch out!" Will said, Nessie turning her head to face Heartfire, scooting to dodge the attack. She wasn't fast enough, however, and the flames hit her in the side. Nessie cried out in pain, Heartfire firing another blast of flames at her.
"See?" Darla said. "Without water, Lapras can't maneuver properly."
"Oh no!" Lila cried.
"Nessie! Use surf!"
"Lapras!" Nessie cried, raising her front flippers into the air. Water swirled around her as she conjured a tidal wave of watery power, lifting Nessie up over the flames. Nessie coasted across the water, the waves coursing toward Heartfire.
"Heartfire, run back and dodge!" Lua shouted. Heartfire ran toward the far end of the battlefield to escape the torrent of water.
"Nessie! Use ice beam!" Will ordered. Nessie opened her mouth, a beam of icy energy shooting from her mouth, striking the edge of the battlefield.
"Ice beam now?" Darla said. "Why?"
"I dunno," Lila shrugged.
Nessie turned her head, the beam tracing across the battlefield after Heartfire as the waves drew closer. Hearfire turned his head and jumped into the air, dodging the ice beam attack, Lua ducking.
"Hey! Watch where you're firing that thing!"
"Perfect! Nessie, use surf again!" Nessie had barely landed and she summoned another tidal wave, turning back to strike the Magmortar again.
"Heartfire, dodge this one the same way!" Lua ordered. Heartfire ran from the waves again, the water slamming down onto the battlefield.
"Now, Nessie! Again!"
"No matter what you do, it won't help! We'll keep dodging it, and- wait, what?" The wave grew far larger than it had previously, rising up to stretch over the entire battlefield.
"Whoa!" The wave slammed down with a powerful blast, hitting Heartfire directly. Heartfire was slammed with the force of the wave, pushing backwards, his body submerged in the water.
"Whoa… how did Lapras get that much power?!" Lila gasped.
"So that's what the ice beam was for!" Darla exclaimed. "Look! At the battlefield! It's flooded!"
Darla was dead-on. The edges of the battlefield were frozen solid, walls of ice rising into the air. The ice hemmed in the water from Nessie's surf attacks, creating a pool across the battlefield filled with water.
"No, Nessie can move at top speed!" Will grinned. "Surf!" Nessie shot across the battlefield, carried by the force of the waves.
"Heartfire! Use heatwave to melt the ice!" Heartfire held his hand up, releasing a blast of hot wind from his body, intensifying the heat across the battlefield to melt the ice walls.
"Nessie! Water pulse!" Nessie raised her flipper and slammed it onto the water, releasing a shockwave throughout the water, the pulse shooting up and hitting Heartfire, knocking the fire pokemon down as the waves engulfed him. The ice wall gave out from the heat and the water burst out over the edges, the battlefield clearing out. Nessie sunk down to the ground, looking over Heartfire, who was completely waterlogged and unconscious.
"You did the best you could, Heartfire," Lua sighed, returning the fire type pokemon. "I guess you just took on too much this battle."
Lua turned to Will, frowning. "I'm down to my last pokemon. But we're not going to give up! Sweets! Go!" Lua threw out another loveball, a Slurpuff emerging. The bipedal canine pokemon let out the scent of tarts, whipped cream dripping off its sticky fur.
"So Lua's last pokemon is Slurpuff!" Darla said.
"That's a good pokemon, but it doesn't really have any moves super-effective on Lapras," Lila said, frowning.
"Wanna bet?" Lua asked, smiling. "Sweets! Use energy ball!"
"A grass move!" Lila said, smiling. Sweets held his hands up, a ball of green energy forming in his hands. He held his hands up, and flung the green orb at Nessie.
"Nessie! Counter it with an energy ball of your own!" Will ordered.
"Energy ball?" Lila gasped.
"But Lapras can't learn that move!" Darla exclaimed.
In spite of her declaration, Nessie's mouth still gathered energy, which she fired out in an identical energy ball. The two attacks collided in an explosion of light, drifting down onto the ground as harmless energy.
"I spent years training Nessie to master that move," Will said, smiling. "She's special. Now! Nessie! Use ice beam!"
Nessie opened her mouth, a sphere of icy energy crackling within it. The ice shot out in a beam of frozen light toward the sweet pokemon.
"Sweets! Use light screen!" Lua ordered. Sweets held his hands up, a barrier of light appearing in front of him. The ice beam struck the barrier and dispersed in a crackle of energy, leaving Sweets perfectly unharmed on the other side.
"Darn," Will said, frowning. "With that light screen raising its defenses, your special moves won't have much effect, Nessie. It looks like we'll need to rely on our last resort, got it?"
Nessie glanced back at him, noticing the pained expression on Will's face. She closed her eyes, and nodded.
"What's this?" Lua asked, frowning.
"Nessie! Perish song!"
"Laprasss!" Nessie cried, opening her mouth, a haunting melody echoing out across the battlefield.
"My ears!" Darla cried.
"What's going on?!" Lila shouted.
"It's perish song!" Darla shouted over the increasingly maddening music. "Every pokemon that hears its melody will faint!"
"What?!" Lila asked, shocked.
"Yeah… the only way to save your pokemon is to switch it out!"
"Switch it out?" Lila said, frowning. "Wait… but… Slurpuff is Lua's last pokemon…"
"Nessie, return," Will said, returning Nessie to her pokeball. However, the haunting melody remained, Sweets crumbling to the ground. "Now, Luna, come on out!"
Will sent Luna back out, the badly injured Umbreon barely remaining standing. But she was still in better shape than the weakening Slurpuff.
"Lua," Will said, Lua glancing over to him. "Call your pokemon back. I promise, I'll beat Elaina. You can count on me. Don't let your Slurpuff get hurt for nothing."
Lua looked down at Sweets, and nodded glumly, tears in her eyes. "Return, Sweets." Lua recalled her pokemon before it fainted. Will recalled Luna as well.
"I guess that's the end, then," Darla said. "Will is the winner!"
"Yay…" Lila cheered with zero emotion whatsoever.
"Hey, we're supposed to be unbiased here!"
"I just wanted one of the fairy trainers to win," Lila sighed.
"It was a good fight," Will said, walking up to Lua. He held his hand out.
"…Yeah. You too. Sock Elaina one good for me and Roose." Lua took his hand, smiling, and nodded. She turned and walk off the battlefield, Will returning to her seat.
"And with that, we now reach the final fight of the day! And just in time, too, the sun's starting to set!" Darla announced.
"Come out, our last two trainers!" Lila called. "Cynthia Fafnir! Reiner Zollern!"
"Ooooh… YES!" Cynthia cheered, practically jumping from her seat. "Finally! Finally, finally, finally! It's finally my turn to fight!"
"Good luck," Blake said, smiling.
"You know it!" Cynthia said, winking at him. "See you in the top 8!"
She strutted out onto the battlefield, waving to the audience. Reiner trailed after her, walking confidently, but the obvious contrast between the dour Reiner and the showy, charming Cynthia was clear to see.
"Alright, Reiner," Cynthia said, smiling, the two standing on opposite sides of the battlefield. "Time for our rematch."
"Whatever you say," Reiner said, frowning. "It'll end just the same."
"Hah! That's what you think!" Cynthia said, smiling. "You just caught me with my guard down! But I won't lose twice! I've got a promise to keep, so just you watch! I'm gonna win this one for sure!"
"Well, she's certainly confident," Sango sighed.
"Reiner's a tough opponent," Julia said, frowning. "She shouldn't underestimate him."
"I hope she'll be okay…" Kitty said worriedly.
"Now, let the final match, Cynthia Fafnir vs. Reiner Zollern, begin!" Darla and Lila announced.
Awesome. This round's almost over. And yes, I know you can't baton pass mean look anymore. But since it doesn't make sense that glaring prevents a pokemon from switching, I don't really care.