This chapter wraps up the quarter-finals. Hopefully after this, the tournament should go a lot smoother, there's only three battles left and we're done!
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Come on, this is Pokemon. Clearly it will be resolved by tournament bracket. We just have to get the number of love interests to 8 or 16 first.
Jay Hayden: Heh. "Equal". You wish.
Tambry96bj: She probably won't take too long, just another 5-10 years or so irl.
Duskzilla: And still far, far, FAR from over.
LegacyReturns: Nice to know you think this was a slow buildup, I thought it was actually a little too fast. In-universe, they've only known each other for like a month and a half. As for romantic resolutions… that will take a while. Not sure who the endgame couple is going to be. Once things get a little more developed I might take a poll on who the audience ships. I will say that don't expect anything soon. Blake is preoccupied with other things at the moment, which is why we're only seeing Sango's side of things. Where Blake's love life will go from here is too soon to say, but I'm glad you find him interesting now. I wanted to start the story with him seeming pretty flat and generic, but sowing the seeds of more complexity underneath his initial characterization. There's still quite a lot left to reveal about his backstory and motivations that I hope we'll get to in good time.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 73
"I'm surprised you're leading with Lilia," Daryl said. "Seems you're taking this pretty seriously, huh?"
"You got that right," Akira said, nodding. "Sorry Daryl, but I'm going to have to win this battle."
"Well, I'm tempted to give it to you," Daryl shrugged. "I don't really have much of a stake in this. But… what would be the fun in that, right? It's been a while since we've had a match, let's have some fun! What do you say?"
"Sableye!" Amethyst nodded in agreement.
"So the matchup is Cradily vs. Sableye!" Lila announced.
"On Water Stage 4, Waterfall Valley Field!" Darla added, alluding to the large battlefield the two pokemon were fighting on. It was a rocky valley with outcroppings jutting up on the sides of the field, with large walls of water crashing down from them. The water pooled in the center to form a shallow pond, with a small mountain in the center that also served as host to a downpour of water.
"Amethyst, take the initiative with fake out!" Daryl said. Amethyst cackled and sank down into her shadow, disappearing from the battlefield. She reappeared behind Lilia, giving another cackle. The Cradily turned her head to face the small pokemon, Amethyst clapping her hands in front of Lilia's face, stunning her.
"Now, use night shade," Daryl ordered. Amethyst's eyes began glowing with light, and she fired a beam of ghostly energy from her eyes, engulfing Lilia.
"Neat little trick, but unfortunately your Sableye isn't a high enough level for that move to be much of a threat," Akira said. "Lilia! Earthquake!"
Lilia focused energy into her forelegs, the tendrils around her head flaring open as she slammed downwards into the water, sending tremors through the stadium that created small waves in the shallow pond, throwing Amethyst off-balance. The earthquake threw the ghostly pokemon off of her feet and she rolled through the water, Daryl returning her to her pokeball before she sustained any serious injuries.
"Sorry, but this isn't the best matchup for you," Daryl smiled. "You rest up, and do your best later! Now, let's go with you, Isura!" Daryl threw out a pokeball, which a Medicham emerge from. Immediately, the psychic pokemon clasped his hands together and began drawing psychic energy into his body, coating himself in a bright blue veil.
"Continually switching will be problematic, Lilia," Akira noted. "Let's put a stop to that with stealth rock!"
"Cra!" Lilia nodded, focusing energy through her body. The flowers ringing her head burst out and she ripped rocks out of the battlefield with ancient powers, sending them airborne and circling around the Medicham.
"No matter, Isura," Daryl calmly noted. "Now, use your psychic powers!"
Isura charged forward, easily dodging each of the coming stones by psychically enhancing his physical skills. He raised his fist and struck Lilia right at the base of her neck with full power, the ancient pokemon letting out a wail of pain.
"Ooh! That looked like a full force drain punch!" Lila winced.
"Not only that, but twice the strength thanks to Medicham's ability," Darla reminded her.
"Lilia!" Akira cried out. Lilia tilted her head back, coughing, and then released a spray of liquid from her mouth, dousing Isura.
"Medi!" Isura cried, leaping back, urgently wiping the gunk off of his body. He began coughing, holding his hands over his nose as a sickening odor swept over the battlefield.
"Isura, what's wrong?" Daryl asked, pinching his nose.
"Don't worry, I didn't really do any damage to him," Akira said, smiling. "Your Medicham just hit Lilia a little too hard, that's all, and you made her lose her lunch."
"That's gastro acid, then," Darla said.
"What's that?" Lila wailed.
"It's a technique that a pokemon can use to release a stinky gunk from within their stomachs," Darla said, holding her breath. "The stench is so strong it suppresses the pokemon's use of their abilities."
"It's revolting," Lila gagged.
"We've halved his power! Now, let's settle things!" Akira said. "Sludge bomb!" Lilia tiled her head back and swung it forward, launching a massive sphere of venom that hit Isura head-on. The limber pokemon leapt out of the pool of poison, coughing, but the venom had already begun to sink into his body.
"Isura, are you good?" Daryl asked.
"Medi…" Isura panted, nodding, glancing back at his trainer.
"We should have known that Lilia would come at us with tricks like this," Daryl said. Akira and I are roommates, after all, I know every trick he's got up his sleeve.
"Lilia, another sludge bomb should do it," Akira ordered. Lilia tilted her head back, gathering poisonous energy into her mouth to fire at Isura.
"Isura, use detect," Daryl ordered. Isura held his hands up, focusing his energy, and skillfully evaded the attack with a series of swift movements. But even as the wave of toxins passed harmlessly by the fighting type, Isura still flinched, stumbling down onto one leg.
Isura's still suffering from poison… Daryl noted. He glanced at the stealth rock attack floating around his side of the field. If I switch him out, that'll be what Akira wants… but I won't just let him suffer like this.
"Isura, return," Daryl said, holding up Isura's pokeball.
"Lilia, bind him so he can't escape!" Akira shouted. Lilia's tentacles shot out and grabbed Isura, pulling him close and lifting him up into the air while squeezing him tightly.
"Isura, if you can't free yourself, then you've got to fight back!" Daryl shouted.
"Medi…" Isura gasped, coughing loudly as Lilia's tendrils constricted tighter around him. His eyes sharpened and he increased his struggles, Lilia squeezing down tighter in response.
"Reversal!" Daryl ordered. Isura's eyes closed and he began gathering energy into his body, releasing the energy in a powerful shockwave of energy that pushed Lilia away, her tentacles retreating as she fell over backwards. Isura plummeted toward the ground but spun in midair, righting himself as he pulled his hand back, focusing energy into his palm.
Isura struck Lilia in the chest with a powerful force palm, sending shockwaves through the water.
"Cra…!" Lilia wailed, tentacles thrashing, before she succumbed to the attack, losing consciousness.
"Return," Akira said, returning Lilia to her pokeball. "Good job, Lilia, you set things up nicely."
"Daryl's scored the first victory in the match!" Lila said.
"True, but his Medicham has taken some serious damage. This battle ain't close to being over," Darla reminded her.
"Nami, you're next." Akira sent out his Vaporeon next, the water pokemon landing on the small lake with hardly a splash. "Whirlpool!"
"Va!" Nami growled, her fins flaring up as the water on the ground began swirling around her body, leaping up and wrapping around Isura, trapping him in a tornado of water that blocked him off from Daryl calling him back.
"So it seems you're pretty desperate to keep fighting Isura, huh?" Daryl asked, frowning. "That's quite rude of you, bullying a pokemon like that. But it won't go as easily as you like! Isura!"
"Medi!" Isura nodded. He raised his hand up, electricity coursing through his fist.
"That's thunderpunch!" Akira shouted. "Nami, use acid armor to protect yourself!"
"Vaporeon!" Nami said, water swirling around her body to protect herself from the excess electricity as Isura struck, sending a current up through the water on the ground, shocking Nami.
"That defensive buff isn't good enough, eh," Daryl said.
"I strengthened her defenses enough, eh, Nami?"
"Va!" Nami nodded, smiling.
"Still, that attack did some damage," Akira noted. "Nami, recover your health with aqua ring, and then strengthen your defenses again with another acid armor!"
Water swirled around Nami and coated her body, turning her partially liquid as her defenses raised and her health restored.
"Another thunderpunch attack," Daryl ordered. Isure charged at Nami and raised his hand, electricity swirling around him.
"Nami, surf!" Nami growled, her finned tail sticking into the air, water dancing around and raising up into a massive tidal wave. With a swipe of her tail, the waves crashed down and surged towards Isura, the psychic pokemon leaping up and dodging over the wave, lunging at Nami.
"Nami, baton pass!"
"Oh?" Lila gasped.
"What's up with that?" Darla asked, confused as Nami was returned to her pokeball.
Thank you, Nami. But now… Akira closed his eyes, and cradled a pokeball in his hand. I'll rely on you once again.
Akira flung the pokeball into the air, and Satsuki emerged, letting out a roar as she descended from the sky.
"A Gyarados?!" Darla exclaimed.
"It's red!" Lila gasped.
"Come on, Satsuki…" Dakota quietly cheered from her seat, clenching her hand into a fist. "You can do it!"
"Where'd you get something like that?" Daryl asked. "I don't remember seeing you with a Gyarados before, Akira!"
"There's a lot about me you don't know," Akira smiled.
Satsuki landed in the water, knocking Isura backwards with a swipe of his tail. She sidled up to Akira and purred, rubbing her head against him lovingly.
"That's an interesting… Gyarados…" Darla said, confused. "It's not intimidating in the slightest."
"Are they usually that… loving?" Lila asked.
"Isura, take that thing down with a thunderpunch," Daryl ordered. Isura ran towards Satsuki with his hand raised, electricity coursing through his fist.
"Hurricane!" Akira ordered. Satsuki reared up, wind dancing around her as she soared into the air, generating a tornado of wind and water that she sent flying at Isura. The hurricane lifted him into the air and flung him through the sky, Isura crashing down into the water as Satsuki landed at the peak of one of the waterfalls, letting out a howl.
"Return, Isura," Daryl said, returning his badly damaged Medicham to his pokeball. This is a surprise… I'm not sure what to use to handle that Gyarados's power… Nettle isn't my strongest pokemon, but if he can put her to sleep...
Daryl tossed out a pokeball, which Nettle, his Ivysaur, emerged from.
"Nettle, weaken that Gyarados's water attacks by using sunny day!" Daryl said. "Then, follow it with a sleep powder attack!"
Nettle gathered energy into the bulb on his back, and released it into the air, intensifying the afternoon sun. Then, he sent a cloud of pollen up toward where Satsuki was perched at the top of the waterfall, the sleep powder drifting towards her.
"That won't be nearly enough!" Akira shouted. "Satsuki! Dragon dance!"
Energy swirled around Satsuki's body, crackling with fire and lightning as Satsuki burned away the spores, descending toward Nettle, her power and speed increasing as she surged forward.
"Whoa!" Lila exclaimed.
"What speed!" Darla grinned.
"Ice fang!" Akira ordered. Satsuki opened her large jaws, icy energy coursing through her fangs as she shot forward, biting down hard on Nettle's body.
"Nettle!" Daryl cried.
"Ivy!" Nettle wailed, Satsuki's powerful jaws delivering a chilling bite down onto his ruddy flesh. The ice coated over his body and froze him solid, Satsuki pulling backwards. She swung her tail and struck the ice, shattering it with a powerful blow and sending Nettle airborne, the grass pokemon hitting the ground hard, unconscious.
"Whoa! Akira's Gyarados is really turning the tide of things!" Lila said.
"She absorbed his Vaporeon's defensive buffs, and increased her power and speed with dragon dance…" Darla noted. "This a is really dangerous spot for Daryl's team."
Daryl returned Nettle to his pokeball, frowning.
"Amethyst, come back out," Daryl sent his Sableye back out, the stones surrounding the battlefield biting down into her. But she shrugged this pain off with a laugh, gathering energy into her claws.
"Will-o-wisp," Daryl ordered. Amethyst created several orbs of ghostly flames, which she sent flying at Satsuki. The fire engulfed his body, badly burning her. Satsuki let out a roar of pain, the fires engulfing her body.
"Sableye's prankster ability let her get the drop on Gyarados," Lila noted.
"And with that harsh burn she inflicted, Gyarados's power has been cut!" Darla added.
"Satsuki!" Akira shouted. Water swirled around her body, and with a swing of her tail, she sent a blade of water at Amethyst, who quickly ducked under the slicing wave of water, disappearing into the shadows of the water-covered floor.
"Satsuki, she's going to attack you when you aren't looking," Akira warned. "The only way to stop her is to tear this whole arena down!"
"Gyaaaraa!" Satsuki roared, creating a howling hurricane around her body. The winds whipped up and lifted the waters up into a torrent of writhing waves and a cutting gale.
"Sableye!" Amethyst cried, getting caught up in the torrential attack, the waves sending her crashing through the stadium, bashing her against the rocks as she faded through them, but she was still catching the brunt of the attack, sprawled out on the ground as Satsuki wiped the ground with her completely.
"That's three pokemon Akira's Gyarados has managed to take down!" Lila said.
"Wait, what's that?" Darla asked, narrowing her eyes. Energy began surging around Satsuki's body, and her attack strength increased.
"That's the spirit, Satsuki," Akira smiled.
"Gya~" Satsuki purred, smiling back at Akira.
"Oh!" Darla gasped.
"What?" Lila asked, confused.
"That's moxie…" Darla said. "Instead of intimidate, that Gyarados's ability must be moxie!"
"What's moxie?" Lila asked.
"It's an ability that increases the attack of a pokemon every time it finishes off an opponent's pokemon." Darla explained. "So that's why Sableye's burns barely even slowed her down, and why she's been able to finish off Daryl's last two pokemon in one hit."
"Whoa, really?" Lila said. "That's amazing!"
"So that's it, Akira," Daryl said. "You weakened Isura, and set things up so your Gyarados could sweep my whole team with a combination of stealth rock and baton pass."
"Something like that," Akira said, nodding, Satsuki's energy restoring from the aqua veil Nami had passed on to her.
"I'm in quite a bind…" Daryl said, frowning. "Rokosa, try your hardest!"
Daryl sent his Corsola out, the cute-looking pokemon giving a very off-character glare at Satsuki.
"Corsola!" Rokosa growled, and created a stone in front of her that she sent flying towards Satsuki. She followed it with a series of power gem attacks, the storm of stone and crystal flying toward Satsuki.
"Satsuki!" Akira shouted. Satsuki lowered her head and surged forward on the water, breaking through the stones and crystals that rained down on her. She lunged at Rokosa and hit her with a powerful headbutt, the pink pokemon flying through the air. Rokosa landed on the ground and sent another waver of crystals at Satsuki, but she smashed them to pieces with the swipe of a powerful aqua tail.
"Rokosa, use recover to restore your health, then strengthen your defenses with iron defense!" Daryl ordered, Rokosa glowing with two layers, her defenses rising as her health was restored.
"Break through those defenses with hydro pump!" Akira shouted. Satsuki opened her mouth and sent a massive blast of water at Rokosa, the high-pressurized blast of water tearing through the air as it roared toward the small Corsola.
"Mirror coat!" Rokosa's body began shimmering, the water striking a thin barrier around her body, then rejecting it and reflecting the water back in a powerful strike.
The hydro pump hit Satsuki head-on, the serpentine pokemon crying out in pain, glaring at Rokosa angrily.
"If special attacks won't work, then we'll have to hammer her defenses with a powerful barrage of physical moves," Akira decided. "Use waterfall."
"Gyarados!" Satsuki howled, water surging up around her body. She charged through the water at Rokosa, colliding with a small pokemon with the force of a torrential waterfall, knocking her upwards with a swing of her head. Rokosa heightened her defenses with another iron defense attack, but Satsuki flew up and struck her again. She plowed straight into one of the waterfalls lining the sides of the battlefield, and began to soar up it, buffeting Rokosa against the downward blast of the falls while striking at her directly with an equally intense waterfall attack. When they reached the crest of the falls, Rokosa was launched into the air, Satsuki chasing after her. She coiled into a ball and shot her tail out, water swirling around it in a powerful whirlpool. She slammed her tail down into Rokosa's face, knocking her downwards like a meteor. Rokosa hit the ground at high speed, coming to a crashing halt as the parted waves crashed back over her. The Corsola slowly drifted up to the surface.
"So even Rokosa couldn't win…" Darly murmured, returning the unconscious pokemon to her pokeball as Satsuki landed on the ground, her strength increasing once more.
"Whoa…" Sango gasped, staring at the battle on the screen.
"I had no idea Akira was so strong…" Blake said, frowning. "If he had used that pokemon against me…"
So I'll have to fight that thing, huh? Cynthia thought, her hands trembling in excitement. I can't wait… That battle will be the best…
"Even Rokosa's defenses won't be enough to endure the hit," Daryl said, frowning. "Let's see if speed will be able to change things."
Daryl sent out his next pokemon, an Accelgor. The pokemon's thin, grey frame was a blur in motion as he shot forward, the only trace the pokemon left behind was the pink of its face.
"Ezio, increase your speed even further with agility!" Daryl ordered, Ezio disappearing in a flash.
"Satsuki, we'll handle this just like we did with Amethyst," Akira said. "Use hurricane to attack the entire battlefield.
"Even with your raised speed, you're too slow. Power swap!"
"What?!" Akira gasped. Satsuki's body began glowing with light as Ezio reappeared in front of her, also glowing. Light from Ezio's body flowed into Satsuki as a similar tendril of light shot off of Satsuki's body and enveloped Ezio.
As the two lights faded, Ezio lunged forward and struck Satsuki in the face, knocking the crimson pokemon backwards.
"Satsuki!" Akira cried out.
"Gyara!" Satsuki groaned, lifting her head from the water.
"It took most of our team to do it, but your Gyarados reached the maximum attack she could get," Daryl said. "And now we've taken it all."
"Whoa!" Lila gasped.
"In a stunning reversal, pushed to the very edge, Daryl has managed to steal all the attack buffs from Akira's Gyarados!" Darla announced. "Could this be where he makes his counterattack?!"
"As if we'd let you!" Akira said. "Satsuki! Use dragon dance to increase your power and speed again!"
"Gyara!" Satsuki roared, energy swirling around her body as she charged at Ezio.
"Even if you increase your speed, you won't be able to catch us," Daryl said. "Ezio, disappear!"
Ezio shot forwards, disappearing as his speed increased, so the only trace of his movements were small splashes on the water.
"Disorient her with a bug buzz attack," Daryl ordered. A shrill, eerie buzz rang out across the battlefield, Akira clenching his hands over his ears as Satsuki thrashed around, the sonic attack driving her mad. She splashed about in the water, sending her tail lashing out in any direction it would go, desperate to quiet sounds echoing in her ears.
"Satsuki! You need to regain your balance!" Akira shouted out, but his words were drowned out by the high-pitched shrieks of the bug attack. Satsuki!
Satsuki's eyes snapped open and she turned her gaze to meet Akira's, understanding immediately what he wanted her to do. She nodded her head and stretched up, roaring, the sky darkening overhead as clouds gathered around the stadium as a prelude to a massive downpour. As the rain struck the water, the wind around her danced up in a powerful twister, catching the waves and creating a twisting spout around her body. A barrier of wind and water cut her off from Ezio, and the sound of the waves drowned out the bug pokemon's sonic attack.
"That Gyarados has taken to the defensive for the first time in this fight, protecting herself with a powerful twister!" Darla announced.
"Accelgor's speed won't be able to get through those winds," Lila speculated. She was quickly proven right, Ezio making a move to get through the twister only to be repelled by the powerful winds.
"Ezio, even with your speed you won't be able to get through that twister," Daryl frowned. He raised his head and looked at the top of the spout, where the waves and wind were spewing water out onto the battlefield. "If we're going to get through, then there's only one way to go!"
"Accel!" Ezio nodded, running back from Satsuki and heading toward the edge of the arena. His body becoming a blur, the bug pokemon ascended up the cliff side of the battlefield, standing over the lip of the twister and leaping in, focusing energy into his hands to prepare an energy ball to fire at Satsuki as he passed into the tube of the spout.
"Gyara!" Satsuki's voice howled over the roar of the twister, staring up at the top of the twister, focusing energy into her mouth. She fired a massive hyper beam that took up the entirety of the tube of the twister, engulfing Ezio in its powerful light and shooting up into the sky, breaking through the clouds and returning the sunlight.
Ezio fell to the ground, knocked out in a single hit from the hyper beam, Satsuki flinching in recoil from the powerful attack, stunned.
"We knew that we couldn't catch up with your speed normally," Akira explained as Daryl recalled his Accelgor. "So we set up a trap to get your Accelgor immobilized, forcing him to attack from a single direction so we could finish him off with our strongest attack.
"He came up with a plan like that without even speaking to his pokemon…" Lila frowned, glancing at Darla. "Is… is that possible? You don't think Akira has that whatchamacallit, do you?"
"No…" Darla said ponderously, holding her chin. "We would have seen something before now… I think it might just be his bond with that pokemon."
"This… is our last chance," Daryl said, holding up his last pokeball. "You know, Akira, when it comes down to it, I don't really have much of a reason to keep winning. I joined this tournament to see some good things, and battle some strong opponents. But just because I'm not in it for anything too major, like you, doesn't mean we're just going to back down at the end. Falco, I need your help! Do your best!"
Daryl sent out his last pokemon, his Braviary. Falco glared at Daryl for a few moments, but turned his head and saw Satsuki towering before him, and narrowed his eyes. Falco spread his wings and took to the sky, bombing toward the immobilized Gyarados.
"Go, Falco!" Daryl cheered, Falco's feathers shimmering with energy as he hit Satsuki just below her head with a powerful brave bird attack, the force of the blow knocking the water pokemon backwards as she roared out in pain. Satsuki hit the water with a crash as Falco pulled back, shaking his head, fighting off the numbness of the recoil.
"Satsuki!" Akira called out, water swirling around Satsuki and restoring some of her health, the weakened Gyarados rising up to her full height, but still trembling from the aftereffects of her hyper beam and the damage from Falco's brave bird.
Falco shot toward Satsuki again, readying another brave bird attack.
Losing her previous buffs was problematic, but Satsuki has regained a decent chunk of her attack boosts. We can only hope it will be enough.
"Satsuki!" Akira called out, Satsuki charging through the water to meet Falco's attack head-on.
"Dodge her, Falco!" Daryl shouted, but Falco ignored his orders, building up energy for another brave bird.
"Giga impact!" Akira ordered. Satsuki focused her body, drawing out all of the reserves of strength she had remaining, her scales shimmering from red to white as her energy was intensified, lowering her head and striking Falco in a powerful collision, the force of the two attacks knocking both pokemon backwards. Falco plummeted to the ground and hit the water hard as Satsuki stumbled back, landing with a splash, stunned from the aftereffects of the mighty giga impact.
"That cinches it!" Darla said after a brief pause to see if Falco could continue fighting. "Braviary is unable to battle! Gyarados wins. That's all of Daryl's pokemon, which means Akira is the fourth participant of the semi-finals!"
"Wow, that was amazing!" Lila gasped, echoing the crowd's stunned cheers. "I don't think we've ever seen a pokemon take out six pokemon in one battle before! It might be a first, don't you think?"
Akira stepped into the water, running over to Satsuki, gently laying a hand on her scaled hide. Satsuki twisted her head to face Akira and smiled, rubbing up lovingly against him.
"Woo-hoo!" Dakota cheered, throwing up her fist, before realizing what she'd just done and sitting back down, embarrassed in spite of the people cheering around her. As she looked at Akira hugging his Gyarados, she thought she saw something. It was a strange, blurry image of a young girl in red standing beside him, placing a hand on his arm and staring up into his eyes. Confused, Dakota rubbed her eyes to get a better look, but when she blinked the girl was gone, and only Akira and Satsuki could be seen on the battlefield.
So that battle was pretty quick. I'm assuming that people will find it unsatisfying and a little unfair that Akira's team could sweep so easily, but that's what happens sometimes when you've got the right set up for a sweep. Now, onto the semi-finals!