It's time for a new arc to begin! In this chapter, we get to see the battle between Sylvia and Mirar over the title of the Eight Leaders! Will Sylvia be able to dethrone Mirar, when all she has to do is force a draw in order to win? Or will Mirar be able to defeat her and retain a firm grip on his position?

JoshGamerV: Don't worry, she sought out some help for it.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Don't worry, not only will we get the battle, we even get the conclusion of it in this chapter!

Pokemonking0924: Career vs. love, always a difficult choice.

Hellraiserphoenix: Interesting indeed.

Seamitar X: Nah, I wouldn't go that far. He's fully aware of Ayame's feelings, after all.

KedharS: Well, it's hard to explain, but yes, cult members are pretty close. As for Caelia's "development" I don't know if I would call it that. I certainly didn't intend for it to come off as character development, she just went from one type of destructive lifestyle to another. Actual character development still has yet to occur.

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Yup, and Sango may have some run-ins with them. Either now, or maybe later, during the expedition.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 153

The air around campus was unnaturally tense for the students on campus. The freshmen had all left on their field trip, leaving behind only students who had a fairly good idea of the power struggle between the daevas. Thanks to Dakota's announcement, there wasn't a student on campus who did not know about Sylvia's upcoming battle against Mirar. While there had been other title defense matches in the past weeks, Sylvia was notable for her exceptional record in battles with other students in the past (including the top four of the Fall Festival Tournament) and for being a member of the Phantom's faction. This made things a lot more exciting for the student body, as it would be one of the first direct confrontations between the Eight Leaders, the supposed heads of the school, and one of the daevas' factions.

Even knowing this, Dakota was less than thrilled about events, even if she should be overjoyed at such an exciting story. A big part of that had to do with the fact that Mirar seemed to be very troubled by the coming events; particularly, he always had a pensive, considerate look on his face whenever Dakota spoke about the situation to him, much to her constant annoyance. It was like he was resigned to whatever result was to come out of the battle, which to Dakoa, was just irritating. Whenever she asked, he would tell her he was as prepared for this coming match as he always was, but something seemed… off. Like there was something he wasn't letting her in on. Which made it all the more frustrating! Dakota loathed being in the dark on things. The idea that someone was keeping a secret from her made the hair on her arms stand up, like they were talking about her behind her back… even though that was patently ridiculous. Nevertheless, Mirar's consistent lack of urgency about this coming match with Sylvia made Dakota want to pull her hair out; it was all she could do to build up the match with the student body, but without any inside track on things, she'd be just as surprised about the results as anyone else. Why couldn't Mirar just share his findings with her? It would certainly make things easier to withstand, that was for sure.

Dakota sighed, and knocked on the door to the infirmary room she was visiting.

"Come in," Akira's voice came from inside, and she shakily walked into the room, feeling less than comfortable being in here again. It was the first time she'd come to visit him since the… incident, and she felt a little (a lot) awkward being in the same room as him.

It didn't help that Serefina was there as well.

"Um, hey," Dakota said quietly, giving him a half-assed sort of wave to show that there were no (or few) hard feelings.

"Dakota?" Serefina asked, looking up from her book, her eyes widening. A hopeful expression crossed her face for half a second, before it soured again. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect you to visit Akira again."

"Oh, uh, you know…" Dakota said, scratching her hair, letting out an awkward half-laugh. "Just… hanging around, you know?"

"In the infirmary?" Akira asked, raising his eyebrow.

"…Yes," Dakota said flatly, nodding her head like a robot.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone," Serefina said, giggling in spite of herself. She leapt to her feet and booked it out of the room in about a second, before either student could say anything.

"W-wait, Seri-" Dakota said, her face flustering.

"That's not-" Akira protested.

"Have fun!" Serefina called over her shoulder.

"…What am I even doing here?" Dakota sighed, completely exhausted and unsure of herself.

Akira shrugged.

Dakota sat down on the chair Serefina had been sitting in, planting her foot on the seat so her knee was sticking out. She wrapped her hands over her knee, and rocked back and forth, awkwardly avoiding looking at Akira.

"Dakota…" Akira said quietly, Dakota nearly leaping out of her seat.

"Y-yes!" Dakota responded, glancing at Akira, her cheeks flushing.

"Do you want to talk about something?" Akira asked. "We're… friends, right? So we can talk like friends."

"Y-yes, right!" Dakota said, nodding her head with a sharp jerk. "We're friends! So let's… talk like friends."

In spite of their mutual agreement, neither one of them seemed all that intent on actually talking. It was Dakota that finally broke the stalemate.

"So… I hear you're getting out of here soon, right?" Dakota said, smiling.

"Uh, yeah," Akira said, nodding. "My wounds are pretty much patched up, and I don't have any plans on spending the rest of the month as an invalid."

Dakota chuckled, relaxing back in her seat.

"I'm glad Serefina is still coming by to see you," Dakota added. "I haven't been able to come by… and I mean, it's not like you'd have any other girls visiting you, you know? So… I'm glad, yeah, glad, I guess…"

Dakota scowled.

"There aren't, right?"

"I'm pretty sure you didn't come here just to talk about my health or the quality of my visitors," Akira said, frowning. "…What did you really come here for?"

Dakota inhaled, and let out a sigh.

"You know about what's going on today, right? Mirar is going to be defending his title against Sylvia Driscoll."

Akira nodded.

"I'd heard," he said. "What's the big deal? I thought Mirar always wins in a 1 on 1 match?"

"I know, because he's always super-prepared for everything!" Dakota huffed. "But right now, I don't know, I just have this feeling… like something's going to go wrong, you know?"

"Sylvia's a sneaky one," Akira agreed. "Still, being worried, that doesn't seem like you. I'd think you'd be fine either way. Besides, wouldn't the upset of Sylvia taking Mirar's position make for an amazing article? I'd expect you to be rooting against him, especially considering how much you used to complain about him as a president, right?"

Dakota sighed, shaking her head.

"I know, I know, I might not like Mirar very much… but he's still a valuable part of our club. And not just because he's strong. But because he's a member of the Eight Leaders."

"What do you mean?" Akira asked, confused, leaning in closer to her. Suddenly, the conversation seemed to be moving into a direction that was actually significant, and deserved his full attention.

"Right now, we've been able to avoid the influence of the daeva factions because our president has the protection of the Eight Leaders at his back," Dakota replied. "But there are a bunch of club members who want us to ally with the Phantom. It's only Mirar and his position keeping us together. But if he loses…"

"If he loses, then he loses his position, and the protection that comes with it," Akira understood. "That's probably why Sylvia chose to challenge him in the first place."

"This has the Phantom's stench all over it," Dakota scowled. "Without one of the Eight Leaders protecting our club, then the Phantom will seize control of it with relative ease. And when that happens, the club itself will lose all meaning. What point is there to have a newspaper club if it's firmly in the hands of one faction? We'd lose out on our individually, and our objectivity. Instead of exposing all the problems and issues with the factions, we'd become a propaganda piece for the Phantom."

Akira didn't really feel like bringing up that Dakota's already… "hazy" definitions of the truth were not doing their club any favors in term of objectivity either, but he decided against it. All that would result in was another fight, and he really wasn't in the mood.

"So what are you going to do?" Akira asked.

"…There's nothing I can do," Dakota admitted. "All I can do is hope that Mirar will be able to win. …Damn it! I hate being like this, not being able to anything, it's so frustrating!"

"…Dakota…" Akira said quietly, staring at her. "This anxiety you feel… why did you come talk to me about it?"

"…Besides the fact that you're one of my only friends?" Dakota asked, frowning.

"That isn't what I meant," Akira said, shaking his head. "I mean… is there anything I can do for you? Do you want me to help?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Dakota laughed bitterly. "How could you help, Bakakira? Sounds like your head injury caused more damage than we thought it did!"

Akira narrowed his eyes. Dakota looked to the side, frowning. She was caught, alright.

"…That isn't the only thing, though," Dakota said, shaking her head. "I guess I just wanted… to talk with you again."

"…" Akira frowned, staring at her.

"O-oh, that reminds me… I need to go!" Dakota said, turning away from Akira to conceal her blushing face. "I-I still haven't replaced the camera I broke, and I need to prepare one of my spares, and… Crap, I forgot, I'm late, I… nevermind! Take care, Akira! Get better soon! I mean, you're already basically better, so I guess… stay healthy! Bye!"

She ran out in a fluster, Akira watching her leave with a look of apprehension.

Dakota swallowed, staring at the battlefield from her seat in the stadium of Charizard Hall. There were a lot of people gathered in the battle arena, most of them being from the Research Course. Phantom supporters, obviously. Dakota was sitting in the front row, holding an old video camera in her hands. She felt very small in this crowd of spectators, who were all clearly rooting against Mirar. The closest thing she could recognize to a supporter were the other members of the Eight Leaders, who were seated in a special viewing box overlooking the title defense. Mirar walked out into the stadium, his face calm, as though he had everything prepared.

He glanced at Dakota and gave her a rueful smile. Dakota gulped. Emotions like that were not common from a guy who was basically an empty shell. Was he already in character?

"Hello there~" Sylvia stepped into the stadium to a chorus of cheers, swathed in an elegant black dress that was her customary appearance. Her Shuppet, Spectre, floated beside her, cackling. Sylvia waved to the others, and did a little twirl, the frills of her lacy dress swirling up. She stepped out onto the battlefield opposite Mirar, a playful smile crossing her face.

"Hello there!" Darla Drake stepped out onto the center of the field. Lila stepped in beside her, waving. The two girls called out to the audience, drawing another chorus of applause.

"Today, this match is sure to be a stunner," Darla said. "Sylvia Driscoll challenging Mirar Christian for his title as a member of the Eight Leaders!"

"Mirar's already retiring with his graduation," Lila added, "but it seems that Sylvia doesn't want to wait!"

"Got me there," Sylvia grinned, drawing some laughs out of the audience. Darla and Lila shot her a pair of dirty looks.

"We'll be serving here as your Pokemon MCs for this event!" Darla smiled.

"You can count on us to be completely neutral, don't worry!" Lila added.

"The rules are very simple! As the defender, Mirar has to prove his worth by completely defeating Sylvia in battle," Lila explained. "If she manages to defeat him, or even force a draw, that means he's lost his title as the Seventh Leader, right, Darla?"

"That's right, Lila," Darla confirmed. "But this sort of match is his specialty! Both trainers will only use one pokemon! No items, no nothing! That means this is a sudden-death round! And Mirar is certainly used to fighting with one pokemon, his key partner, Ditto! What will Sylvia use to fight back?"

"It's a surprise!" Sylvia winked, holding up a black pokeball with an "S" on the roof. She spun it in her hands. "Don't you just love surprises, Mirar?"

An equally playful smile crossed Mirar's face, and he nodded in agreement.

"Mirar, do you have anything else to say before the fight?" Darla asked.

"Just that I'm not sure what she's got planned… but it's going to be a blast!" Mirar giggled.

Sylvia smirked.

"Oh? Mirar, the prepared guy, is surprised? Well this is gonna be a blast, I'm sure!" Sylvia said. "I chose you for a very specific reason… because I know all about how you like to do things! I'm probably even more prepared than you are!"

"Oh, we have no idea of what pokemon you're going to use," Mirar agreed, smiling. "But whatever you've got planned, I'm quite certain we'll do our best."

"What about you, Sylvia? Any words?" Lila asked, holding up her microphone to Sylvia.

"Just one thing to say," Sylvia purred. "I think… I can end things in just one move."

"One… move?" Lila said, her mouth falling open. Sylvia smiled wider, nodding her head. Gasps and whispers rose up from among the crowd of students, and Dakota sunk a little deeper in her seat, starting to get worried. The confidence she had… it was hard to argue with. And she certainly knew how to work up a crowd.

"Well… I gotta say, that's an interesting thought," Darla said, gesturing to Lila to come back to the middle of the battlefield. "Let's not keep our crowd waiting any longer, though!"

"Go, Mimi!" Mirar said, sending out his Ditto. Dakota swallowed, glancing at Sylvia. Now it was her turn.

"So predictable, Mirar!" Sylvia pouted. "Even when you're pretending to be me, I would never to something that obvious! But now, here's a real surprise for you! Higurashi! Let's end this fast!"

Sylvia smiled, and threw her black pokeball into the air. From within it, emerged her pokemon. Its insectoid body was a dull gold color, and it hovered above the stadium, unmoving as Mirar's Ditto shifted its appearance to resemble it. A clear halo hovered over its head, and its eyes were completely empty. The pokemon let out no signs of life or emotion at all.

"Uh… what pokemon is that?" Lila asked, confused.

"A Shedinja," Darla answered. "But why choose that one? Shedinja only have one hit point. Is she even taking things seriously?"

More confusion broke out. Even Dakota didn't know what was going on. But Mirar did. He frowned, leering at Sylvia.

"Never seen me use this one before, right?" Sylvia smiled. "That's because I never have, not once! A brand new pokemon, just for you! You couldn't see it coming if you tried!"

Her smile widened, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"See, because Higurashi's a little special… I haven't needed to train them a bit! You see, they'll fulfill their duty… just with one move."

"What's wrong, Mirar? You've broken character! What's with that frown?" Sylvia put her fingers on her mouth, and pushed up. "If you want to be like me, then you should smile! S-M-I-L-E!"

But Mirar wasn't smiling. The match was already decided.

"You know what's going on, don'tcha? That's why you ain't mimicking me anymore?" Sylvia huffed. "Oh, poo! That's no fun! I wanted to see what I'd be like when I got completely flummoxed! See, I know all about your little specialty! Beating down your opponents until you're both at a final sliver of HP, and then win with your superior ability! But see… whoops! We're already both at a sliver of HP! I had it planned out to perfection, the least you could do is give me the satisfaction of keeping up the performance!"

Mirar wasn't feeling so gracious, much to Sylvia's frustration. She shrugged in defeat, staring excitedly up at her Shedinja. Victory was close at hand, they just needed the match to officially begin.

"Th-That's right, Ditto copies every detail of the opponent, including their HP and abilities!" Darla said, nodding. "That means both pokemon have only a single hit point!"

"Why bother with that?" Lila asked, confused.

"I think we both know what's happening next," Sylvia purred. "Sudden death… for real!"

Mirar scowled back. He knew full well what moves this Shedinja was capable of. Conveniently, there was only one move he had the choice of using to score damage on Sylvia's Shedinja. He knew that look in her eye well, she was brimming with eagerness. It was already over. Might as well end it now.

"Okay, uh, both of you, begin!" Darla announced, she and Lila stepping off the stage as the match officially began.

"Mimi, shadow sneak!"

"Higurashi, shadow sneak!"

The shadows of the two hovering pokemon shot across the ground at high speed, striking at each other through their wonder guards. Both pokemon were dealt a lethal hit, and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"And that's the end of that," Sylvia purred, recalling her unconscious Shedinja. Mirar said nothing, calling back his Ditto as well. Match over.

"Uh…" Darla and Lila looked at each other as the crowd cheered Sylvia's name. Dakota's face was pale. Mirar had lost. Well, he'd technically drawn the match. But by the rules of a title defense, that meant he'd lost. Sylvia was the newest member of the Eight Leaders.

"So sour," Sylvia smiled, pressing her fingers to her lips and pushing her expression up into a smile. "That was a blast, right Mirar? Short and sweet, just perfect for my victory! So come on, Mirar! Turn that frown upside-down, and S-M-I-L-E!"

"Uh, I guess… with that… it's a draw?" Lila questioned. "That was so underwhelming, though!"

"Yeah, so… Sylvia wins the title defense, through the challenger's priority, then," Darla agreed, scowling. "A victory decided by a single move… we better still get paid for our full fee!"

Welp. The Title Defense Match is over. Fairly underwhelming, I know. The real meat is yet to come. And yes, I know that Ditto doesn't copy a pokemon's HP. But that's because of crummy game mechanics to prevent glitches, and doesn't make any sense for what a Ditto is actually supposed to do, so in my version transform copies everything. Hence why Sylvia can take advantage of it, like so. And why the attacks hit simultaneously, like with Cynthia's match. It might seem like a dirty trick, but that's how Sylvia does things. Underhandedly.