The battle between Cynthia and Caelia and Sango and Maddi has begun! What will we see out of our two teams?
KedharS: Let's see which team will win!
Rosealine gold: Always believe in your girl.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Oof, what's going on with the site this time?
JoshGamerV: Maybe they will.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 385
The battle was really starting to heat up. Rose easily recovered from the quick attack with a small smile on her face that mirrored that of her trainer's. Vee was keeping his distance from the psychic type in turn. Against special attacking pokemon, the smart move was usually to charge forward and get in close, beating them with physical moves while keeping them from turning it into a long-range skirmish. But there was a factor that made that prospect unappealing, and that was Rose's ability to teleport. If Vee charged head-on and was reckless about it, then Rose would simply dodge. Vee would waste energy and PP on a move that would do nothing. So Maddi was keeping him back. She knew Cynthia. There was no way that she would lost a battle of patience against her.
Maddi's eyes slid to Sango. Sango was fighting a battle of her own. Sally was barraging Sango's Whiscash with blasts of poison, and because he was unable to dodge, it was all the ground pokemon could do to erect barriers with his earth power. What he needed was an opening.
"Vee!" Maddi turned back to her Eevee. "Use quick attack! You know the play!"
"Eevee!" Vee nodded, running straight towards Rose.
Sango knew what "the play" meant too. She counted to three, and then gave out her next order. "Whiskers! Use earthquake!"
Whiskers sent a shockwave through the ground, the entire battlefield shaking roughly. Just as the tremors began, Vee used the speed from his quick attack to jump up, launching himself safely into the air.
"Whoa! That's rough!" Cynthia gasped, her knees nearly buckling. "Rose! Gotta teleport!"
"Kirlia!" Rose nodded, enduring the tremors and focusing her psychic abilities, preparing to teleport. Before she could disappear, though, she was hit in the chest by a blast of psychic energy. "Kirlia!" She shouted in pain, tumbling backwards and enduring more tremors.
"Rose, come back!" Cynthia picked up her pokeball and recalled her injured Kirlia before she took anymore damage from the earthquake attack.
"Cynthia's recalled her own pokemon!" Lila gasped.
"That's right, Lila, it looks like she's going to switch for one with a better matchup to those earthquakes!" Darla agreed.
"But what's Caelia going to do?" Lila wondered. "Her Salazzle is a lot more vulnerable to ground moves than a Kirlia!"
"That's right, Lila, but it doesn't look like she's switching out," Darla agreed.
Indeed, Caelia was not as cautious as Cynthia.
"Sally." Caelia snarled. "Toxic."
Sally was taking far more damage from the painful earthquakes than Rose had, due to her double weakness to ground moves. But rather than switch to a more favorable matchup, Caelia was belligerently pressing forward. In spite of the massive pain the poison pokemon was inflicted with, she rose to her feet, opening her mouth and spitting a massive glob of poison out at the Whisash.
"Whiskers!" Sango cried. But with no water to swim in, there was nothing he could do to dodge. He took the toxic sludge head on, bellowing in pain, the poison eating away at him as he floundered in the dirt. The tremors slowed to a halt as Vee landed on the ground, running towards Sally. He opened his mouth and fired a shadow ball at the fire pokemon, the Salazzle swiftly dodging to the side.
"Leon, go!" Cynthia said, tossing her next pokeball out. Her Gligar spread his wings and glided out over the battlefield, approaching Vee while he was busy being occupied with Sally.
"And Cynthia's next pokemon is Gligar!" Lila announced.
"That's a good choice for dealing with ground moves, but he's going to have to watch out for Whiscash's water moves," Darla reminded everyone.
"Leon, use acrobatics on that Eevee!" Cynthia ordered. Leon shot through the sky and danced around Vee at a blinding speed, poking at him with his claws and stinger.
"Sally, venoshock," Caelia ordered, Sally now being given time to breathe. The fire pokemon turned and launched a blast of poison at Whiskers, the poisonous miasma bending into sharp spines to pierce the fish's scaly hide.
"Whiskers, muddy water again," Sango ordered. Whiskers' body heaved up and another tidal wave of brown water and debris flooded across the battlefield, overwhelming the wave of poison approaching him. The water broke against Sally, but the airborne Leon had seen it coming and broke off his attack on Vee, floating up into the air to dodge it. This gave Vee the opening his needed to maneuver out of the way of the flood, letting Sally take the full brunt of the water, washing her up at Caelia's feet, unconscious.
"And with that muddy water on top of the powerful earthquake, Caelia's Salazzle is the first pokemon to faint of the match!" Darla announced.
"That's right, Darla! Those powerful water and ground moves are sure to mean big trouble for Caelia's team, don't you think?" Lila asked.
"I'd say so," Darla agreed. "But will that be enough for Sango and Maddi to take the victory?"
Caelia recalled her Salazzle without a word. She switched to her next pokemon.
"Mera."
Caelia sent out her Volcarona, the large bug pokemon spreading his wings, glowing bright like the corona of the sun.
"Volcarona!" The pokemon buzzed, flapping his wings. Light erupted from his body and shot up into the air, the sun growing brighter and the air heating up.
"Castform!" Silver cried, his body shifting. His head turned an orange-reddish color with large orbs ringing it, and his body resembling a white sheet.
"The sunny day has intensified the sun's rays!" Darla gasped.
"Whoa! It's getting hot!" Lila said, wiping her forehead. "And look, the snow is starting to melt!"
Indeed, the hot sunlight was causing the snow covering the ground to begin to melt.
"Not good," Sango said. "The sun's going to weaken Whisker's water moves."
"Not a problem," Maddi said. "Vee, shadow ball!"
"Eevee!" Vee opened his mouth, firing a large shadow ball at the Volcarona.
"Mera, burn it," Caelia ordered. Mera flapped his wings, sending a wave of heat across the battlefield. The hot air buffered the shadow ball, weakening its power. The orb hit him in the chest, shadows wrapping around him but not doing a lot of damage. Mera shrugged it off and flapped his wings again, sending another blast of scorching heat across the battlefield.
"Perfect, Caelia! Keep that hot air going!" Cynthia cheered. "Leon! Go and glide on that wind and use your acrobatics!"
Leon used the thermals from the heat wave to carry him over the battlefield, aiming straight towards the big, bulky Whiscash. Whiskers groaned in pain as the poison ate away at him. Leon pierced Whiskers with his claw, the pokemon letting out a bellow of pain. He thrashed on the ground, trying to shake Leon off as best he could. But he couldn't get free.
"Just like before, Whiscash's lack of maneuverability is really a big issue," Darla noted.
"Oh, no! How is he going to get free?" Lila moaned. "He's stuck!"
"Vee! Don't let him go down that easy!" Maddi shouted. "Use shadow ball!"
"Eevee!" Vee cried, running towards Whiskers and Leon. He opened his mouth, firing an orb of ghostly energy at the latched-on pokemon. The shadow ball hit Leon in the back and he cried out in pain, releasing Whiskers.
"Whiskers, use aqua tail to knock yourself off of the ground, and then slam into Leon!" Sango shouted. Water swirled around Whiskers' tail and he slammed his tail against the ground, using the momentum to knock him off the ground. He twisted his body and then slammed into Leon, squashing him with his bulk.
"Crap!" Cynthia gasped. "Leon! Can you get free?"
Leon struggled underneath the heavy pokemon, desperately trying to free himself. But no matter how hard he tried and how much he cut and stabbed at the large pokemon, he couldn't pry the big Whiscash off, even as the poison continued to eat away at the heavy pokemon.
"Caelia! I need some help here!" Cynthia shouted to her partner.
"Fine," Caelia said. "Mera. Bug buzz."
"VOOOOOOOOOOL!" Mera shrieked, a high-pitched sonic buzz ringing out across the battlefield, striking the pokemon's ears, as well as the ears of the entire audience.
"Aaargh, I hate when they use this move in tournaments!" Darla groaned, holding her hands over her ears.
"It stings!" Lila wailed, pain causing her to grow dizzy. She felt nauseous, and she really didn't want to throw up, causing her to begin crying.
"Whisssss!" Whikers groaned, the painful ache in his ears and the burning of the poison eating away at him causing him to scream in pain. Whiskers thrashed atop the pinned Gligar, Leon trying to get free even as he endured the pain.
Vee groaned in pain, stumbling backwards, his ears burning. He fell onto his chest, growling and whining in pain.
"Thank you," Cynthia shouted, pressing her hands against her ears. "I'm glad you were trying to hel, but right now, it feels like my ears are bleeding, can you please maybe help a little less? I'd appreciate it! This might not hurt you, but it really hurts me!"
"Fine," Caelia said. "Mera. Hurricane."
Mera flapped her wings, and a massive hurricane of wind and heat swirled up in front of him. He sent the firestorm tornado forward, burning across the battlefield as it raged in a pillar of flames, the sky practically burning with heat. Whiskers and Vee were both swallowed by the massive windstorm, and the wind caught Leon's wings as Whiskers was lifted off him, the wind flinging him backwards, Leon spiraling through the air dizzily.
"Whiskers!" Sango cried.
"Vee!" Maddi shouted.
"Whoa! That's hot!" Darla shouted, shielding her face from the heat.
"My makeup is going to crack!" Lila wailed, fanning herself desperately.
The tornado of fire and wind whirled across the battlefield before dying down, the badly injured Whiscash and Eevee hitting the ground hard.
The storm dying down, Darla and Lila looked over the damage. Both Whiskers and Vee had been knocked unconscious, neither pokemon moving. Leon quickly righted himself and landed on the ground, panting, slightly singed but entirely able to keep fighting.
"Wh-whoa," Lila gasped.
"Talk about some major firepower!" Darla said, her jaw dropping.
"You can say that again," Lila agreed. "With that powerful hurricane attack, Caelia didn't just knock out the Whiscash and Eevee, but she's taken a commanding lead of the battle, too! She took out two pokemon in one hit, right, Darla?"
"Yeah, that's right Lila," Darla agreed. "Things are looking really bad for Sango and Maddi, that's for sure! And this sunlight isn't helping, either." Darla wiped the sweat off of her brow to emphasize her point.
Maddi and Sango glanced at each other, and nodded their heads. They both knew what the only reasonable course of action was.
"Sting, go!" Sango threw her pokeball, and her Tentacruel came out. There was no water to dwell in, so Sting hoisted himself up in the air on his tentacles, which not only allowed him some semblance of maneuverability, it made him look much larger than he was. He leered at Mera, bellowing out an angry roar.
"Violet, go," Maddi said, sending out her Spheal. The small pinkish-purple pokemon rolled forwards, an eager smile on her face. She clapped her flippers together cheerfully.
"As expected, both Sango and Maddi have taken Caelia's Volcarona into account, and sent out water pokemon to fight against him!" Darla declared.
"But will they be enough to take out the Volcarona?" Lila asked.
"For once, I don't know, Lila," Darla admitted. "But one thing's for sure, that Gligar of Cynthia's isn't going to be of much use."
"Hey!" Cynthia snapped.
"Well, her Gligar can at least try, right?" Lila asked.
"Hey!" Cynthia repeated, even more irritated.
"Meaningless," Caelia growled. "Mera. Heatwave."
Mera beat his wings, sending a wave of hot air across the battlefield.
"Sting! Use rain dance!" Sango ordered.
"Tentacruel!" Sting raised some of his tentacles and spun around, summoning a massive series of rainclouds overhead. The clouds opened up and dropped a massive deluge onto the battlefield, negating the sunny day and pelting the field, and the audience, with a torrent of fierce rain and wind, soaking through their outfits.
A chorus of angry shouts and groans rang out from members of the audience who had worn their fine clothes for the party that night, which were now soaked through. Darla and Lila's announcer's box was thankfully protected by a thick awning.
"Luckily, we thought ahead," Olivia chirped, glancing up at her own awning, stretched up over the large separated viewing area for her and her friends. Thanks to her prior planning, Olivia had managed to preserve her own wardrobe, and her fancy black and gold dress with red pins.
The fierce rain had weakened the strength of the heatwave, but neither Sango nor Maddi was willing to settle for that.
"Violet! Use blizzard!"
"Spheal!" Violet growled. She opened her mouth and inhaled, and then exhaled a blast of cold air, a massive blizzard blowing across the battlefield and striking the heatwave. The hot air began to melt the blizzard as it overcame the wind, pushing forward like a pseudo-tidal wave of ice and water, slamming into the pokemon on the other side of the battlefield.
"Vol!" Mera winced, hit by the bizarre mix of water and ice type moves, his wings getting wet. He fell onto the battlefield, unable to keep flying.
"Leon, dodge with agility!" Cynthia cried. Leon nodded his head, the wind and water and ice beating at him as his speed increased. He dodged through the air, trying to avoid the attack as best as he could. He avoided most of the water and ice, but he couldn't avoid all of it, the powerful attack causing him significant damage.
"Mera," Caelia growled. "Use hurricane again."
"Volcarona!" Mera sent a pulse of heat through his body, forcing himself dry. He flapped his wings and took to the sky again, creating a massive storm in front of his body. The wind swirled around into a massive waterspout, raging across the battlefield towards the two pokemon in powerfully destructive hurricane that rivaled the best that Elaina had to offer.
Sango cracked a smile, her eyes shining eagerly. She nodded to Maddi, who smirked. Just as they had hoped!
"Wait, Caelia!" Cynthia shouted to her partner, her eyes widening in fear. Caelia didn't know what Sango was like, but Cynthia knew that smirk. That smirk meant that Sango was planning something, and whatever it was, Caelia was about to walk right into that trap!
"Violet, get behind Sting- er, Tentacruel!" Maddi ordered, Sango flashing her a smirk. Maddi rolled her eyes as Violet rolled behind Sting, bracing herself.
"Sting, use mirror coat!" Sango ordered. Sting hunkered down in front of Violet to protect her, and her body began shining with a rainbow-colored veil, a powerful barrier coating her body. The wind and water of the massive hurricane struck Sting, and hit the barrier head-on. The water and wind bent back against him, the hurricane's destructive force turned back on Mera.
"Whoa!" Lila cried, closing her eyes and grabbing the table as the awning billowed in the wind, threatening to be ripped off.
"That's a powerful hurricane!" Darla gasped as the tornado raged past her. The hurricane ripped across the battlefield and slammed into Leon and Mera, engulfing them in a spout of water and wind that battered at them from all sides. Cynthai shielded her face from the destructive winds, the hurricane dying down.
Mera and Leon fell out of the sky, soaking wet, and hit the ground hard. Similarly to earlier, once again two pokemon had been struck by the powerful hurricane and were deposited onto the ground, and just like before, both pokemon were knocked unconscious.
"Whoa," Darla gasped, her mouth dropping open.
"That was… wow," Lila agreed, nodding.
"S-so," Darla said, regaining her composure, "Both Caelia's Volcarona and Cynthia's Gligar were knocked unconscious by the reflected hurricane!"
"Thanks to mirror coat, the hurricane was doubled in strength and sent back to wipe out both pokemon," Lila clarified. "What did you think of that move, Darla?"
"I thought that was a great play by Sango, Lila," Darla said. "But it looks like Sango's Tentacruel might have taken some damage from the hurricane, too."
"I agree," Lila agreed.
"Return," Cynthia said, recalling Leon. She wore a frown on her face. She glanced over to Caelia, and scowled. "Caelia! I warned you, don't lose your temper! You'll do something reckless, like you just did, and now we're behind again!"
Caelia didn't have any reaction to that. As the rain pelted her, she raised her hand and returned her Volcarona to his pokeball. Mera was a powerful pokemon, and he had gone down in a single blow. Caelia's eye twitched. Cynthia gulped as she saw the flash of anger shoot through it. She gulped, and took a step back.
"Er, Caelia, never mind! You did a good job!" Cynthia said. "Now, Rose! Come back out!"
"Kirlia!" Rose cheered, emerging from her pokeball.
"Cynthia sent her Kirlia back out to fight against the two water type pokemon," Darla declared.
"I think that's a good choice against that Tentacruel," Lila agreed. "But what's Caelia going to choose for her last pokemon?"
"I think we all know what the answer to that question is, Lila," Darla said.
"That's right we do!" Lila said, nodding.
"Okay, Caelia, don't lose your temper," Cynthia pleaded with her partner, not liking the look on her face. She could swear she could see steam coming off of her as the rain evaporated.
"Kara," Caelia growled, lifting her pokeball up. "Burn them all away."
Caelia threw her pokeball out, and from within it, her scarred Charizard emerged. Kara flapped her wings and landed on the ground, throwing her head back and giving a mighty roar that shook the stands. Now, the rain really was turning to steam, evaporating as it landed on Kara's scaly hide. She stomped forward and let out another roar of anger, firing a stream of flames from her mouth and into the air, right at the two pokemon opposing her.
Cynthia gulped. Caelia really was in pretty rough shape right now, she could feel the anger radiating off her partner. Cynthia sighed. This really wasn't good.
So, the battle is really (heh) heating up. Which team will win?