Let's see if Cynthia manages to pass her little test by the Commander's soldier! Will she be able to win, or maybe at least do something impressive? Let's find out!
Aakareo Kokokuhikari: We already know it's not the Phantom, Victoria's one of the Commanders' soldiers. And don't worry, Cynthia and Blake joining different groups probably won't affect their friendship too badly… Besides, Blake still isn't officially allied with Olivia just yet.
Hellraiserphoenix: I don't know if Blake would be that against Cynthia joining up with the Commander. It's not like he's got a huge investment in this skirmish anyway.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 107
Hm. That Lanturn is a Water/Electric type, Cynthia analyzed the pokemon this Victoria girl had sent out. As for that other one… I've never seen it before. But judging from those wicked blades… it looks like it could be a steel type. So of the pokemon I've got on hand… the best ones for this instance are probably…
"Tristan! Leon! Go!" Cynthia sent out her Breloom and her Gligar, the two pokemon staring down their opponents.
"You always use that Breloom, how predictable," Victoria sneered. "Don't you have any other pokemon up your sleeves?"
"What, crying over type disadvantages now?" Cynthia cooed. "So what's it gonna be? I'd prefer to handle this fast, so how about we just stick with the pokemon we've got out right now?"
"That sounds perfect," Victoria agreed.
"Then we'll take the first move! Tristan, use mach punch on that red one!"
"Breloom!" Tristan nodded, lowering his head and charging at the Bisharp. He raised his claw and punched at the bladed pokemon, but before he could land his blow, Valkyrie struck him in the jaw with a swift uppercut, and punched him in the stomach as well, knocking him back.
"That was a sucker punch!" Sango shouted. "Cynthia, that pokemon's probably a dark type!"
"Yeah, I know," Cynthia shouted. "Stop being a backseat battler!"
"Your friend is correct. My Valkyrie is a Bisharp, a Dark/Steel type," Victoria said.
"Oh, really? You're just volunteering that information, eh? How suspicious," Cynthia smirked.
"Of course. I am interested in nothing but the battle," Victoria stated. "I know about the capabilities of your pokemon. To conceal the same from you would be unfair."
"How chivalrous of you," Cynthia said, narrowing her eyes as she stared suspiciously at Victoria. "And yet why do I get the feeling that you're still hiding something?"
"If I showed you all my tricks, then it wouldn't be much of a battle. Now then, back to the fight! Shimmer, use hydro pump!"
The until-now ignored Lanturn let out a cheer, opening her mouth and firing a large blast of water at the most viable target, Leon.
"Leon!" Cynthia shouted, turning to her Gligar, "use acrobatics for some evasive maneuvers!"
"Gli!" Leon nodded, spreading his wings and floating up into the air, dancing through the sky to avoid the blasts of water.
"Good, now while you're up there, sharpen your attacking power with swords dance! Meanwhile, Tristan, put the pressure on that Bisharp with your seed bomb!"
Both pokemon nodded, Leon sharpening his claws while remaining airborne. Meanwhile, Tristan opened his mouth, and fired a massive compressed blast of seeds at Valkyrie.
"Swords dance, huh? That's a move we can do as well," Victoria said. On cue, Valkyrie's blades began sharpening and she ran forwards, slicing through the seeds with pinpoint accuracy as they exploded harmlessly against her blades and armor. She charged straight at Tristan, slicing at him with a series of sharp strikes.
"Just what we wanted, for you to get in close," Cynthia chortled. "Tristan, put her to sleep with spore, and then we'll double-team the Lanturn!"
"How basic," Victoria sneered. "Shimmer! Use thunder wave!"
"Trying to paralyze us, huh? Tristan, get back and launch spore from a distance, then!" As the electrical current shot across the battlefield at the two pokemon, Tristan jumped backwards and released a wave of spores from the mushroom on his head. The spores floated down over the battlefield, covering Valkyrie in a cloud of pollen.
"Heh, perfect!" Cynthia cackled. "Now, Tristan, launch a seed bomb at the Lanturn!"
"Bre!" Tristan nodded, turning his attention to the blue pokemon bouncing beside Victoria.
"Think so?" Victoria smirked. "Valkyrie!"
Valkyrie erupted from the cloud of spores, and struck Tristan in the back with a swift sucker punch, knocking the grass pokemon over.
"How?!" Cynthia exclaimed. "Never mind! Leon, get in there!"
Leon swiftly flew down to defend his fallen comrade, hitting Valkyrie in the face with his pincers and stinger, forcing the armored pokemon back. As Leon's attacks hit Valkyrie's armor, electrical sparks began to crackle off it, which Sango caught.
"No way!" Sango gasped. "That's…!"
"Did you think I used thunder wave just to paralyze you?" Victoria asked. "That's what I meant by your tactics being basic."
Leon pulled back as Tristan rose to his feet, panting, both pokemon staring at the slowed Bisharp.
"One of the biggest disadvantages in a double battle is to end up in a two-on-one," Victoria explained. "And the most common way for that to occur is with the use of status moves like sleep. You were so focused on your own pokemon's safety, that you didn't even think that thunder wave could be used as a defensive move."
"You paralyzed your own pokemon so I couldn't put it to sleep?!" Cynthia gasped, her eyes widening. "That's awesome! I'd have never thought of something like that!"
"I know the strategies you employ and came up with countermeasures," Victoria said. "There's no need to compliment basic tactics."
"Cynthia, it might not be asleep, but it's still weakened!" Sango reminded her. "Now that it's paralyzed, it won't be as fast!"
"You're right, now's my chance!" Cynthia said. She paused. Wait. But sucker punch doesn't care if the pokemon is naturally slow, it's a priority move! So even if I wanted to take advantage of my speed…
"In spite of your straightforward nature you're quite the diabolical one," Cynthia smiled. "I think I'm liking you even more, senpai."
"Leon, Tristan, split up!" Cynthia ordered. "Use x-scissor and mach punch from both sides!" Sucker punch can only go for one of them, and with her speed shot due to paralysis she can't try anything else in time!
"Shimmer! Heal bell!" Victoria ordered. Shimmer's lures began glowing and a soothing sound echoed across the battlefield, the current surrounding Valkyrie dispersing. Valkyrie's eyes sharpened and she leapt into action, readying her blades. She pulled her hand back and struck Tristan in the face with a sucker punch, knocking him over as his mach punch was thrown off. She whirled around and raised her blades, blocking Leon's x-scissor with an x-scissor of her own, the two strengthened attacks colliding. A massive "X" was cut in the ground by the impact, the two pokemon skirting back. Valkyrie charged forward once more, aiming her blades at the stumbling Tristan.
She keeps attacking, even though it's a two-on-one, Cynthia noted. Could it be…
"Leon! Forget about the Bisharp! Use your agility and acrobatics to get around her and go after that Lanturn!"
"Gli!" Leon nodded, taking to the sky and soaring over Valkyrie's head, flying at the Lanturn with his claws raised.
"Bish!" Valkyrie snapped, changing course and avoiding Tristan, shooting at top speed toward Leon. She swung her blade at the flying pokemon's back, but before she could connect, the pokemon vanished.
Leon had flown straight up, flipping over Valkyrie's head, and struck her in the back with her acrobatics, knocking the armored pokemon over.
"Shimmer!" Victoria shouted. Shimmer opened her mouth, firing a blast of water at Leon. Leon flew backwards as the water soaked him, leaving Valkyrie alone for his own safety. Valkyrie rose to her feet, panting, taking a defensive stance in front of Shimmer.
"You really are good," Cynthia said, her pokemon returning to her side so she could assess their wounds. Although Leon had taken some blows he was still in fine shape, but Tristan was critically injured. "You use Bisharp's speed and power and her swift priority moves to fight off both of your opponent's pokemon, while using your Lanturn's moves as support and to strike from long range. That's a double battle tactic I didn't ever expect to see here! Man, are all you guys in the Commander's faction like this?"
"Those of us who serve the Commander place battling above all else," Victoria confirmed. "This is my own 'Sense' of battling. I pride myself on my unflinching tactics and coordination of my pokemon. Let me show you just what I mean by that."
Valkyrie charged forward, raising her bladed gauntlets to prepare to swing.
Our x-scissor attacks clashed before, Cynthia remembered. That Bisharp might get us with a sucker punch, but if she does, then…
The only question is whether or not Tristan will be able to withstand it…
"Leon! Use x-scissor!" With this, Leon can take the hit, and Tristan can counter with sky uppercut! A single good fighting move should be enough for some serious damage, and with that we can get to work on that Lanturn.
"Valkyrie, use x-scissor as well! Shimmer, use your eerie impulse!" Valkyrie raised her hands, extending them outward to match Leon's raised pincers, as Shimmer fired a pulse of electrified energy.
"She's not using sucker punch?!" Cynthia gasped.
That's strange… Sango frowned. Eerie impulse is an attack to reduce the special attacking power of pokemon… but both of Cynthia's pokemon are physical attackers? So why would she use it here? Why at all?
The pulse of energy washed over the pokemon, as Valkyrie and Leon's blades and pincers collided with each other. This time, however, the exchange went much differently. Valkyrie effortlessly broke through Leon's attack and sliced into him, sending the flying pokemon spiraling backwards, crashing into the ground.
"Leon!" Cynthia cried. As Leon flew back into the air again, Tristan ran toward the Bisharp, raising his fist to punch. Valkyrie dodged the attack and hit him in the gut, knocking Tristan into the air with a powerful uppercut.
"How?! We were even until just now, so how did…" Cynthia rambled, her eyes widening in realization. She glared suspiciously at Valkyrie. "What did your Lanturn do just now?"
Victoria smirked. "Very good."
"What you just saw was the full effect of my Valkyrie's special ability, defiant. Shall I demonstrate again?" Lanturn released another eerie impulse, washing over Valkyrie. She charged forward, raising her blades, and slashed at Tristan, who dodged to the side.
"Whenever my Valkyrie's stats are lowered, her attacking power shoots way up. So I can reduce her special attack with eerie impulse, and in exchange boost her attacking power without having to waste my initiative on something like swords dance!"
"Amazing!" Cynthia grinned.
"Now, we'll end this."
"You're right we will! Tristan, use sky uppercut!"
"Counter it with sucker punch!"
Valkyrie caught Tristan in the face with another cheap shot, but this wasn't enough to force him to back off. Tristan pushed forward, raising his fist to strike Valkyrie in the jaw. Suddenly, however, he turned on his heel, missing the dark pokemon entirely, instead swiping at him with his tail. Tristan's eyes were narrowed into a tunnel vision as he charged at his new target, swinging his fist upwards.
"Tristan!" Cynthia cried as her Breloom hit her Gligar in the cut with an uppercut no one saw coming, sending him even further upwards. "Why?!"
"Thank you, Shimmer," Victoria smiled. "That was about to be very bad."
"Lanturn!" Shimmer bubbled, nodding cheerfully.
"What did you do?!" Cynthia shouted, running over to her injured Gligar. "Why would Tristan hit my poor Leon like that?!"
"I just made use of my Shimmer's natural abilities, is all," Victoria crowed, a vicious smile on her face. "I put the spotlight on your Gligar, forcing your Breloom to attack him, is all. Quite a dirty trick, but I thought I'd save my best for last."
"You really are dirty," Cynthia growled.
"Victory is all that matters. But don't worry, you won't have to see your partners turn against one another again. We'll end things here. Valkyrie! Finish him!"
Valkyrie struck Tristan in the back with a powerful x-scissor, the grass pokemon falling to the ground, unconscious.
"Tristan!" Cynthia wailed.
Leon rose to his feet, panting, flying toward Valkyrie to avenge his friend.
"You might be fast, but with our agility, we're faster," Cynthia reminded her. "And if we don't attack, you won't be able to hit us with sucker punch! You got us with dirty tricks before, but we won't let you have your way! We'll stick to evasive tactics!"
"It's pointless," Victoria said, shaking her head. "You've already lost this, and you don't even realize it. Shimmer! Use shock wave!"
"Shockwave?!" Cynthia exclaimed.
"Against a ground type?!" Sango gaped.
Indeed, Shimmer was using shockwave. The light emanating from her beacon began crackling with electricity, and she shot a wave of electrical energy out from her angler, crossing the battlefield in a pulse of lighting that engulfed Leon, electrocuting him.
"GLIIIII!" Leon wailed, feeling the sting of electricity for the first time in his life. He plummeted out of the sky, falling toward the ground.
"And guillotine to cinch it," Victoria ordered. Valkyrie spread her arms and lowered her head, shooting toward the falling pokemon, bringing her arms together in a powerful slash, hitting Leon from two sides, knocking him unconscious.
"I held back, so he'll recover," Victoria said, recalling her pokemon. "You've lost."
"That's impossible!" Cynthia exclaimed, running over to Tristan and Leon's unconscious forms. "How did Leon lose to electricity?!"
"It was the water," Sango said. "From earlier. That wasn't any ordinary water attack, was it?"
"…Clever, clever," Victoria said, narrowing her eyes. "Indeed. I used soak to not only force the Gligar back, but to turn him into a water type. Then, we would become susceptible to electricity when the time was right."
Sango frowned.
"I told you I had set this up from the beginning," Victoria said, shaking her head. "It was a mistake to scout you out. You simply don't have the Battle Sense to compete with us."
"Now, now, I wouldn't go that far."
A deep voice caused Victoria's eyes to widen, and she whirled around to see the approaching student.
"Commander!" Victoria gasped, standing at attention and raising her right hand into a salute.
Sango and Cynthia's eyes shot to see who had arrived. For all that was said… he seemed pretty average. He had blonde hair cut into a buzz cut, and wore a dark green jacket over his uniform, with his red armband attached to it. His eyes were as golden as his hair, and sparkled with light as he looked out over the battlefield with an appraising smile.
"At ease, Vic," he said, the girl relaxing as he stepped past her. "So, Cynthia Fafnir, we meet at last."
"I'm guessing you're this 'Commander' I've heard so much about," Cynthia frowned, recalling her pokemon.
"That would be me," he said, nodding. He held out a hand to her. "Alden Volt. That battle of yours was quite a treat! Now, I'm sure Vic here has already talked to you about our desire to have you join up with us? I'm glad that I ran into you all here. I'll be happy to continue that discussion, say, over breakfast?"
Cynthia didn't take his hand, staring at him calmly instead.
"I think our discussion is over, right?" She said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I didn't pass that test of yours, right?"
"Test?" Alden asked, tilting his head to the side. Victoria flinched.
"Say, Victoria…" Alden's voice was suddenly cold. He turned to look at her, smiling. "What's this I'm hearing about a test?"
"Er… Commander, I just…"
"She said that Cynthia would need to prove herself worthy to join up with you by winning a battle with her," Sango tattled.
"Oh, is that right," Alden said, nodding his head. "I see… Victoria, I believe that I instructed you to reach out to Cynthia and talk with her? To get a feeling of whether or not she would agree to join us as one of our soldiers? I don't remember ever authorizing any sort of 'test' of her abilities. I saw for myself just how capable she was."
"B-but Commander, I was only- I was only looking out for you! Someone like that… someone as weak as her doesn't belong with us! To be someone standing at your side, someone like her would…" Throughout their battle, Victoria had been stoic and confrontational, an ice-cold warrior to the core. But here she was now, trembling in fear.
Alden's eyes narrowed.
"Victoria, are you questioning my orders?"
"N-no! I-I'm sorry, sir, I was… I just…" Victoria looked at Alden desperately, almost in tears. "I was only looking out for you… for your dream, I…"
"I know, I know," Alden smiled, patting her gently on the head. Victoria's expression relaxed and her face brightened. "I should have seen something like this coming. Although I never imagined that someone as loyal as you, Vic, would do something so… bold."
"F-forgive me, sir," Victoria stuttered. "I-I never meant… I was just…"
"Jealous," Cynthia contributed. Victoria's face turned red and she whirled on Cynthia.
"I am not-!" She took a deep breath, catching herself, and regained her composure. "Forgive me, sir, it seems I'm still-"
"No, please, go on, this is what's so entertaining about you."
Victoria flinched, Cynthia sticking her tongue out at the older student, much to the girl's fury.
"I must say, though, I am disappointed," Alden sighed. "I had been hoping to battle you myself, but now your pokemon need looking after."
"Sir!" Victoria exclaimed. "You… want to battle with her? But wasn't my match enough? You can see what she is capable of-"
"Vic, I've told you a hundred times," Alden sighed, shaking his head, "what's most important in our soldiers isn't the trainer's skills, or even their pokemon."
He narrowed his eyes and ran his gaze up and down Cynthia appraisingly.
"What's most important is their 'Sense'."
"…" Victoria didn't want to agree with him, but she wouldn't object, either.
"Excuse me."
Alden turned to Sango, having completely overlooked her until now.
"Uh… who's this?"
"Her friend," Victoria answered. "I don't know who she is."
"My name is Sango," Sango identified herself, stepping up to the taller student.
Alden gave her a passing look, and sighed.
"Sorry, not interested."
"Huh?!"
"I can't really feel anything coming off of you," he sighed. "Are you even a battler?"
"No, I-"
"Then you're wasting my time," Alden interrupted her. "I'm only scouting out people with good battling sense, and it doesn't seem like that's you. I don't have any business with you, so you can go."
"I don't think so, because I have some business with you," Sango snapped. "Two of your goons attacked our friends yesterday! Julia had to go back to the hospital for the day! How dare you do that?! I'm going to report you to campus safety, and-"
"Was that a threat?" Victoria snapped, stomping towards her, stepping defensively in front of Alden.
"Huh, did that happen?" Alden asked. "Sorry, my bad."
"Your 'bad'?!" Sango exclaimed, her anger increasing.
"I don't pay much mind to what all those folks are doing," Alden sighed, "I leave all that stuff up to Vic here. The only thing I'm concerned about is enjoying a good battle."
"We'll discipline those two as an apology," Victoria offered. "Will that make things right?"
"I don't think so," Cynthia interrupted. "See, I've got the same grievance. You might not care what Sango thinks, but I'm a different matter, right?"
Alden nodded.
Cynthia turned to Sango and smiled smugly, Sango rolling her eyes.
"I'm gonna be honest with you, Mr. 'Commander', I've been waiting for an offer like this for some time," Cynthia admitted, staring him in the eyes. "Now, though… I'm not necessarily sure what I want to be doing. So if you don't mind… I'm going to go heal up my pokemon. And after that… let's get these negotiations started, yeah?"
Sango glanced worriedly at her friend, but Cynthia seemed confident in herself.
Alden smiled, and Victoria frowned.
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear!"
So it looks like even though she lost, Cynthia's still managed to attract the attention of the big man himself! The third member of the Daevas has now made an appearance! And yes, I know Defiant doesn't work when your allies lower your stats. But I always thought that was a stupid restriction to begin with, so I decided to change it.