Here's the second round of the semi-finals! Akira vs. Cynthia, who will be able to come out ahead and face Elaina in the final round?

KedharS: Elaina's power control is certainly fluctuating. There's no way she has it fully under control yet.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, she'll certainly try her best, but it's definitely gonna be a tricky matchup. Cynthia's not one for giving in easy, though, that's for sure.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 82

"So Elaina's victory has cemented her position in the final match tomorrow!" Darla announced.

"But who will be the one to face her?" Lila asked. "Here come our last two semi-finalists, Cynthia Fafnir and Akira-"

"It doesn't matter!" Cynthia's loud voice interrupted Lila as she stepped out into the stadium, smiling. She waved to the audience (they'd returned after Elaina's match ended) and wore a big smile on her face.

Akira rolled his eyes and followed after her.

"Boo!" Dakota jeered, but it seemed somewhat half-hearted.

"So, you've prepared yourself, huh?" Akira asked.

"You bet!" Cynthia chortled. "I've studied your match with Blake, and I also studied your quarter-final match! I'm not certain of my victory yet, but I'm pretty confident! Let's do this thing!"

"Alright, this begins the last match of the semi-finals!" Lila announced, spinning the wheel. The wheel pulled to a stop on the picture of a large lightning bolt.

"Electric Stage 3! Charged Stone Field!" Darla announced. The battlefield shifted, turning into a rocky floor with large, glowing crystals crackling with electricity floating over it. Current flowed down from the crystals into the ground, electrocuting the battlefield at certain intervals.

"Lilia, go," Akira said, throwing out a pokeball, which his Cradily emerged from.

"Saw that one coming!" Cynthia grinned. "Come on out, Ruby!"

Cynthia sent out her Mawile, who glared angrily at the plant pokemon.

"Ruby, let's not let him set up any tricks on us! Hit her with your taunt attack!"

"Maw!" Ruby nodded, whirling around and opening the jaws of her false mouth, snarling at the Cradily.

"Oh, so you think that Lilia is only capable of setting up tricks?" Akira asked.

"Sorry, but we're not in the mood to deal with stealth rock today," Cynthia smiled. Lilia lumbered towards the Mawile on her stubby legs, her vines reaching toward the small pokemon.

"Ruby, iron head to beat her back," Cynthia ordered. Ruby raised her toothy horns and opened them wide, fending off Lilia's attacks. She lunged at the rock pokemon and swung her head, slicing into her with her sharpened fangs.

"Craa!" Lilia moaned, stepping backward. She lifted her vines up and gathered a sphere of shining green energy in front of her face, firing it point-blank at Ruby. The energy ball exploded, Ruby tumbling forwards. Ruby rose to her feet and whirled around, to see Lilia standing on her hind legs.

"Ruby! Come back!" Cynthia cried, realizing what was happening. Ruby realized it as well, turning tail and running toward Cynthia.

Lilia slammed down onto the ground and struck with a powerful earthquake, the shockwave striking Ruby and knocking her off her feet.

Ruby rose, panting, injured by the ground attack, training her eyes on Lilia as she gathered a sphere of green energy in front of her head again.

"Ruby, return," Cynthia said, calling back her Mawile before the attack was fired. "Okay! Rose, come out!"

Cynthia's Kirlia came out, immediately dodging Lilia's energy ball.

"Cynthia's Mawile didn't work, but maybe her Kirlia will be able to turn things around," Darla said.

"She was the one who won Cynthia her quarter-final match," Lila reminded her.

"Rose, use psybeam!" Rose held her hands up to her head, her horns glowing with psychic energy. She fired it in a rainbow-colored beam at Lilia, striking the grass pokemon. Lilia cried in pain, storming forward. She raised her front legs and slammed them onto the ground, lifting large, electrified stones out of the ground and flung them toward Rose.

"Rose, teleport!" Rose disappeared, the stones crashing down on where she'd been standing, reappearing over Lilia's head. She sent a blast of psionic energy at close-range, leaping off of Lilia and landing elegantly on the ground. Lilia shook her head, firing another energy ball attack, but this one went nowhere near Rose, much to the pokemon's confusion.

"What's with that attack?" Lila asked, confused.

"That Cradily must have been confused!" Darla said.

"Lilia, return," Akira returned Lilia to her pokeball, and sent her back out, clearing her confusion.

"Smart move," Cynthia grinned. "But you've given up the initiative! Now, Rose, use calm mind!" Rose closed her eyes and concentrated, amplifying her psychic abilities as Lilia reemerged.

"Lilia, earthquake!" Akira ordered. Lilia sent another wave of tremors through the ground.

"Rose, teleport up!" Rose teleported off the ground, landing on one of the floating stones. She winced as the electrical current ran through her body, but it was preferable to being struck by the earthquake.

"Now!" Lilia swung her head around and opened her mouth, firing a large sphere of gunk at Rose.

"Rose!" Cynthia cried out as the sludge bomb collided with the rock Rose had been standing on, venom engulfing the stone completely.

Rose panted, reappearing behind Lilia, having used teleport at the last moment to dodge the brunt of the attack. Lilia was ready for that, however, and swung her head around, a wave of sludge flowing from her mouth and washing across the battlefield.

"Kirlia!" The sludge wave engulfed Rose, muffling her wails. It drained off of her and she rose to her feet, panting, badly damaged by the poison attack.

Damn, I wasn't expecting my pokemon to be forced this much by Akira's first 'mon, Cynthia frowned.

"Another sludge bomb, Lilia!" Akira ordered.

"Rose, don't dodge this one!" Cynthia shouted. "Stop it with psychic!"

"Kirl!" Rose nodded, her body glowing blue. The orb of sludge stopped, frozen in place by Rose's psychic powers. With a spin of her hand, Rose send the sludge bomb back where it came from, the poison washing over Lilia.

"Cradily!" Lilia cried.

"Lilia, focus," Akira said. "Look out!"

"Go, Rose!" Cynthia cheered. Lilia used her tentacles to wipe the sludge out of her eyes, just in time to see Rose fire another psybeam that hit her directly in the face. Lilia slumped to the ground, Rose standing over her and lifting her up with her psychic attack, flinging her across the field. Lilia flew through the air and crashed into one of the floating stones, getting electrocuted by the current. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Whoa!" Lila gasped.

"Cradily is unable to battle!" Darla announced.

"So that means Cynthia scored the first win of this battle!" Lila cheered.

"Way to go, Cynthia!" Sango cheered.

"Keep it up!" Julia nodded.

"Suck a dick, Akira!" Dakota added.

"Lilia, good work. Come back!" Akira said, calling back his Cradily. "Now, Starla, go!"

Akira sent out his Starmie, the star-shaped pokemon spinning forward and lunging at Rose.

"Trying to catch us off guard, huh? Well we won't fall for that! Rose, hit them with your magical leaf!"

Rose gathered together leaves of magical energy, swirling them into a whirlwind of rainbow-colored blades that she sent spiraling toward Starla.

"Starla, use camouflage," Akira ordered. Starla landed on the ground and slowly turned the color of the dark yellow stone floor, becoming almost impossible to see.

"Oh, you think that making yourself difficult to see will help you dodge? Sorry to disappoint you, but magical leaf will track you wherever you go!" Cynthia was proven right as the leaves flew right to Starla, slicing into their body.

"That wasn't the point," Akira said, Starla's original coloring returning. "Camouflage doesn't just let pokemon blend in with the background. It also changes their typing to match the terrain. And where do you think we are right now?"

"I see, so you made your Starmie into an electric type to dodge the super-effective hit!" Cynthia smiled. "That's a real good trick, Akira! I'd have never thought of that in a million years!"

"And that's just the first part. Starla, use thunderbolt!"

"Star!" Starla said, their body crackling with electricity. They fired a powerful bolt of lightning that struck Rose, electrocuting her.

"Whoa, that's quite a powerful thunderbolt!" Lila said.

"It should be, it's boosted by the same-type attack bonus," Darla noted.

"Rose, are you okay?"

"Kirl…" Rose said, standing up, shaking.

"Another thunderbolt, Starla," Akira ordered. Starla gathered more electricity out of the ground, releasing it toward Rose.

"Rose, teleport," Cynthia said. Rose disappeared before the lightning struck her, the electricity dispersing itself. Rose reappeared behind Starla and gathered up psychic energy into her head, firing a beam that engulfed Starla, causing them to shimmer with the colors of the rainbow. The Starmie cried in pain, whirling around, and fired another thunderbolt at close range that electrocuted Rose, the Kirlia stumbling back and falling onto the ground, unconscious.

Starla shivered, injured from the boosted special attacks, but they still seemed capable of keeping up the fight. Cynthia raised her pokeball, returning Rose, and began considering her options.

That Starmie is electric type right now, but I can't risk using Leon, since that was still a water type originally. Plus, they know ice beam, and there's no way I'm letting Leon get anywhere near one of those. But with those thunderbolts flying around, I can't safely use Elise or Chris, either. And I need to save Tristan for the counterplay, plus Ruby has also taken some serious hits… I guess that means that the pokemon I'll have to use to fight back is… Cynthia frowned. She reached to her belt, and threw a pokeball up into the air.

"James, it's up to you! Win this one for us!"

"Loud!" James shouted, emerging from the pokeball, beating his chest aggressively.

"Cynthia's next pokemon is her Loudred!" Lila said.

"Loudred has been a fierce competitor, but will he be able to stand up to Akira's Starmie?"

"He's gonna do his best!" Cynthia said. "James, hit 'em with your supersonic!"

"Loudred!" James shouted, lowering his head, his speaker-ears flexing. A pulse of supersonic waves surged from the purple pokemon and engulfed Starla in an attempt to disorient the weakened star pokemon. Starla stumbled, confused by the sonic waves, even though they didn't have any noticeable ears.

"Akira's Starmie has been confused by Loudred's supersonic!" Darla cried.

"And that's not all, Cynthia's pressing further!" Lila noticed.

"Now, James, use hyper voice!"

"LOUDRED!" James roared, firing a pulse of sonic energy from his mouth and ears, the force of the blast knocking Starla backwards.

"Starla, return for now," Akira returned Starla to their pokeball so they could recover from their confusion. "Harris! Go!"

Akira sent out his Heracross to take Starla's place. The bug pokemon flexed, jutting his horn out toward James. He spread open his shell and took to the air, flying at the normal type.

James has got no chance against a fighting type like Heracross. I need to switch him out. But if I do that… Cynthia bit her lip. …No. It may be risky… but I can't win this battle without taking a few chances!

"James, use supersonic!"

"Loud!" James nodded, releasing another shockwave of disorienting sounds.

Harris clutched his ears, falling to the ground, too confused to fly.

"Okay, James, come back!" Cynthia said, returning her Loudred to his pokeball. "Now, Leon, take him down!"

"So you confused Harris and then used his confusion to get the initiative to make a switch, huh?" Akira said. "That's a rather bold play. What if supersonic missed? Or what if Harris hadn't stumbled in confusion? That Loudred of yours would have been on the receiving end of a close combat attack, and you would have been forced into an even worse situation."

"True," Cynthia said, nodding, "but I figured… your pokemon are already way stronger than mine. So if I wasn't willing to take a few risks to come out ahead, then I'd just be washed out completely."

"Fair," Akira said, nodding.

"What about you?" Cynthia asked. "Aren't you one for taking risks? I do believe you have that pretty red Gyarados that so cleanly swept up last battle… but where is she?"

Cynthia smirked.

"Or… are you too afraid of what I've got up my sleeve to send her out right now?"

"You're goading me, huh?" Akira laughed. "It seems you really are afraid of Satsuki if you're going to try for something like that."

"Not at all," Cynthia chuckled, shaking her head. "I just want this match to be the best it can be! And nothing's more fun than seeing a Gyarados run out!"

If I send out Satsuki, she'll switch into her Breloom and put her to sleep. Akira wasn't stupid, he knew what Cynthia was planning. He wouldn't be sending out Satsuki until it was absolutely necessary.

It seems my plan is working. My victory yesterday has firmly cemented Satsuki as Cynthia's number one target. This girl might act like an idiot, but she's rather savvy. She's no-doubt tailored up a game plan to take out Satsuki… which means my best course of action is to draw this out with my other pokemon. If I can shake up her plans by refusing to fall for the bait, then I can draw her out with my better pokemon.

"Harris! Come back!" Akira held up his pokeball.

"Leon! Acrobatics!" Cynthia ordered. Leon spread his wings and glided toward Harris at high speed, dancing through the air and slicing the bug pokemon with his claws and wings.

"Hera!" Harris cried, too confused to defend himself from the attacks. This left him a sitting duck, forced to take the damage Leon was inflicting until Akira was able to recall him.

"Kumari!" Akira sent out his trusty Beartic, the ice pokemon letting out a roar.

"Akira's sent out his Beartic!" Lila cried.

"Nice work, that's a pokemon that can sweep up a Gligar nicely!" Darla agreed.

I figured as much, Cynthia frowned.

Send out that Breloom! Akira mentally demanded of her.

Cynthia glanced at Leon, and smiled.

"Leon! Use swords dance!"

"Gli!" Leon nodded, spinning through the air to boost his attack power.

"Kumari! Aqua jet!" Kumari coated his body in a veil of water and shot toward Leon at high speed, striking him in the chest with his sharp claws.

"Gligar!" Leon cried. Kumari used his monstrous strength to fling the small pokemon to the ground. Leon hit the ground hard, Kumari dropping down toward him.

"Finish that thing off with icicle crash," Akira ordered.

"Bear!" Kumari shouted, holding his arms out. Massive icicles formed around his body, the freezing missiles firing at the injured ground pokemon.

"Leon! Baton pass!" Cynthia held up her pokeball and Leon began glowing, flying back to her pokeball. She held up a second and tossed it out, Ruby making a return appearance.

"You're a fan of baton pass, if I remember?" Cynthia smiled. "Well now, Ruby has received a special gift from another one of my friends!"

"Maw!" Ruby nodded in agreement.

"Kumari!" Akira shouted, Kumari raising his head and whirling around. He opened his mouth and fired a blast of icy wind at the steel pokemon, the chilling cold reducing her speed.

"Ruby! Use play rough!" Cynthia ordered. Ruby raised her hands and charged at Kumari, her large horns thrashing.

"That won't hit us! Kumari!" Water surged across Kumari's body and he shot into the air, dodging Ruby's lunge, landing on the ground behind the small pokemon and jetting toward her.

"Maw!" Ruby growled, gritting her teeth. She held her small hands out to protect herself, but Kumari hit her like a train, sending her tumbling across the ground.

"Now, use surf!" Kumari pulled to a stop, the water surrounding his body swirling with greater intensity with each swipe of his claws. The water grew into a massive tidal wave. Kumari leapt on top of it, the torrent surging toward Ruby.

"Ruby!" Cynthia cried, her Mawile stumbling to her feet. "Wait, that's it! Ruby! Grab one of those stones!"

"Maw!" Ruby gasped, her eyes widening. She nodded, running away from the wave and toward one of the hovering rocks. She opened her horned mouth and bit down on one of the boulders, wincing as the electricity zapped her. She didn't let this pain get the better of her, though. With a twist of her neck, she flung the stone head-on into the tidal wave. When the stone struck the water, the current it was holding was released, electrocuting the water and Kumari along with it.

"Bear!" Kumari roared in pain, his concentration shattering. The surfing wave broke, flooding harmlessly over the battlefield. Well, almost harmlessly.

"Maw!" Ruby cried, the water covering her feet, causing the battlefield's current to electrocute her, as well. Both pokemon were struck with the equivalent of a violent electric attack, neither one able to continue fighting.

"Double knockout," Darla ruled.

"That means they've both lost two pokemon!" Lila added.

"Return," Cynthia said, returning Ruby to her pokeball. "Leon! Come on back out!"

"Come back, Kumari," Akira said, calling back his bear pokemon. "Starla, go!"

Both trainers sent out their pokemon, who had both taken a few hits over the course of the battle.

I've got a type disadvantage here… but in terms of the tempo, I'm still out ahead, Cynthia determined. The problem is, if I can't take a decisive lead, that Gyarados might just wash away whatever I have left by the time it comes out.

"Starla, ice beam!" Akira ordered. Starla concentrated icy energy into the topward tip of their star body, releasing the energy in a crackling beam of blue light.

"Leon! Use agility!"

"Gli!" Leon dodged the ice attack and increased his speed, racing toward Starla, claws raised.

"Rapid spin!" Starla's back star began spinning in one direction and their front star spinning in the other, Starla leaping into the air to fend off Leon's attack with their high-speed rotation. Leon couldn't land a decisive blow due to the spinning attacks, so he spread out his wings and put some distance between the two.

"Now, Starla, use recover," Akira ordered. Starla began glowing, restoring most of their wounds.

"Oh, that's just dirty," Cynthia frowned. "Leon! Fury cutter!"

Leon swung his claws and struck Starla with an attack that did not do much damage. As Starla continued recovering, Leon landed a few more slashes on their body, each attack multiplying in power since the last one.

"Shake him off, Starla!" Starla used rapid spin again to knock Leon away, the flying pokemon tumbling through the air before right himself, glaring at the star-shaped pokemon.

"Now, swift." Starla spun, sending a barrage of shining stars at Leon, the glowing stars flying after the fast pokemon as Leon tried to evade the attack, hitting him in the back with a barrage of shimmering light.

"Leon, are you okay?" Cynthia asked.

"Gli!" Leon said, nodding to her, before returning his attention to Starla.

"I don't think we can just keep up the fury cutter," Cynthia said. "It requires you to get too close. One mistake, and we'll be done in by that ice beam, you know that?"

"Gligar," Leon said, shaking his head, raising his claws.

"…Well, if you're sure."

"Bubblebeam," Akira ordered. Starla fired a wave of bubbles that floated in the air around it like a series of airborne mines to further trip up Leon's movements.

"Oh, nice, Gligar's been fenced in!" Lila said.

"True, but with his speed and size, he should be able to avoid them if he keeps a cool head and stays focused," Darla pointed out.

"Leon, can you handle it?" Cynthia asked.

"Gli!" Leon nodded, raising his claw. He took to the sky, easily dodging around the bubbles with his agility as he charged right into the thick of it.

"Only a fool runs headfirst in a minefield," Akira chastised her. "Starla, use swift!"

"Star!" Starla spun the star on their back, sending a wave of glowing stars into the field of bubbles. The stars sliced through the bubbles as they shot toward Leon. When the bubbles popped, they burst in a chain.

"Gligar!" Leon wailed, engulfed by explosions on all sides. He plummeted out of the sky, badly injured, and hit the ground.

"Leon!" Cynthia cried.

"He's not moving!" Lila wailed.

"This could be it!" Darla nodded.

"Starla, ice beam!"

"Star!" Starla bobbed, firing a beam of icy energy at Leon.

"Leon!" Cynthia shouted again. Leon's eyes shakily opened and he faded away, the ice harmlessly striking the ground.

"He vanished?!" Lila cried.

"No way!" Darla said.

"Faint attack!" Cynthia cheered. Leon appeared from the shadows and slashed into Starla's back with a darkness-infused pincer.

"Star!" Starla cried, falling onto the ground, injured by the dark attack.

"Now, x-scissor!" Cynthia ordered. Leon raised his pincers and swung them in twin diagonal slashes, cutting into Starla with a violent, super-effective attack.

"Starmie is unable to battle!" Lila announced.

"Akira's lost three of his pokemon!" Darla added.

"Return," Akira said, recalling Starla to their pokeball. He paused, considering his options.

If I use Nami… then I won't be able to use Maggie, Akira frowned to himself. I'll need the fire typing to stand up to her Breloom…

…No choice.

"Satsuki!" Akira said, sending out his Gyarados. Cynthia smiled wide.

"Here it is!" Lila said.

"Akira's trump card!" Darla said.

"That's what we were waiting for!" Cynthia crowed. "Leon-"

"Satsuki, hyper beam!"

"…Eh?"

Satsuki opened her mouth and fired a large blast of concentrated destructive energy, engulfing Leon. Leon was blasted off of the battlefield and all the way to the far wall, denting it. Leon fell out of the crater and hit the ground, unconscious.

Cynthia's mouth fell opened, shocked, as Satsuki paused, completely stunned from the backlash of her powerful attack. She gulped, recalling Leon and reaching to her belt for another pokeball.

"Well, now I can-"

"Both trainers have lost three of their pokemon, so now it's time to switch up the battlefield," Lila announced. Cynthia shot her a dirty look.

"The real battle begins now," Akira said, narrowing his eyes and recalling Satsuki to her pokeball as the field began to get reselected.

The match is really heating up! But who will pull out the win? Let's find out next chapter! Review!