Things are getting tense in this battle. The fight won't advance that far in this chapter, but other significant things are afoot in the meantime. Bad things.

KedharS: Chalk it up to Elaina being a big target.

Aquahaze675: That would be surprising.

Arcana of the North: Maybe she'll be fine.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Then they can't hear what's going on.

Hellraiserphoenix: We can only hope. They're all trying their best.

Thunder Fire: Because she's like Sylvia if Sylvia had a moral compass.

JoshGamerV: Yes.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 396

"Kitty, are you-"

"I'm fine," Kitty choked out. "Not… not really, but-"

She coughed again, wincing in pain.

"Okay, campus safety will be here in a few minutes," Sango said, turning back to the girls. "In the meantime-"

"There is no need for that," a soft voice murmured from behind Sango, causing her to freeze. The familiar scent of lilac, mint, and lavender filled her nose. She turned and glanced back to see Ryoko standing behind her, a smile on her face.

"You're-!" Ayame gasped.

Ryoko walked past Sango and knelt down beside Kitty, giving her a small smile.

"Do not be concerned, little one," Ryoko said kindly, laying her hand on Kitty's stomach. "Come, come, my dear, grant my wish and call upon the second hand of time to spin backwards."

"Biiiiii!"

A shrill cry rang out overhead, drawing the attention of everyone out on the field. Even the battlers turned their attention to the stands, surprised. A small green pokemon twirled through the sky, dropping down to hover over Kitty, its flowery scent filling the stadium.

"That's-!" Elaina gasped.

"Celebi!" Blake cried.

"What… what pokemon is that?" Lila sputtered, stunned.

"It… it can't be…" Darla whispered.

"Return to the form you were meant to be," Ryoko murmured.

"Perl?" Pearl gasped, floating up out of Kitty's shaking hands. A green aura was wrapped around her. Water pulled itself up from where it had seeped into the ground and Kitty's clothes, swirling into a sphere around the small pokemon. The shard of glass in Julia's shoulder ripped free, along with the other chunks of glass, all of them returning to their previous shape. The container was restored in minutes.

"Now, use your healing wish," Ryoko said. "I shall offer my own energy to aid your recovery."

"Celebi!" Celebi chirped, bobbing her large head up and down. She held her long arms up and began to glow, Julia and Kitty's wounds disappearing.

"What… how?" Kitty sputtered, the stabbing pain in her lung fading to nothing. She sat up as the container landed back I her lap.

"I do grant the occasional miracle," Ryoko replied, giving the girl a tight smile. "But please do not think this the work of anything beyond what it is. Now then…"

Ryoko rose to her feet, turning to the stunned crowd around her. The air was eerily silent, everyone staring with baited breath at the girl who had just restored Kitty's wounds through means unknown.

"What pokemon is that?" One student wondered.

"I heard it say 'Celebi'…"

"I've heard of Celebi, it's a mythical pokemon spoken of in my home region, but I thought it was just a legend…"

"That pokemon just healed her, you said it was called 'Celebi'?"

"Celebi, I wonder what kind of pokemon it is…"

These rumblings were familiar to Ryoko.

"Well now, dear children, this is the time we must part," Ryoko smiled. She reached down and patted Kitty on the head, turned, and fled into the night, Celebi flying after her.

"That… that girl, what…" Lila was still at a loss for words.

"…Ahem, well, this has been an interesting turn of events…" Darla said. Her scowl indicated her displeasure with what had just transpired. No one was paying attention to the battle, and more importantly, them. "It seems that our audience has been interested by that new pokemon showing up. As for our competitors…"

Caelia was staring after Ryoko, her eye wide with shock. What… what had she just seen? That pokemon… it had healed that girl's wounds. It had… what was that? Time reversion? That shattered container had been fully restored. Could… could she… could it…

"Hey! Heads in the game, people!" Darla snapped. "We had a brief intermission, but this match is still going on, you know!"

"Yeah!" Alden shouted. "Get on with the fighting already, I'm getting really psyched now! What's with the interruption?!"

"That pokemon…" Vic whispered. Maddi glanced at her colleague, slightly interested. That pokemon, Celebi, she'd never seen it before, but she was from the Johto region. She knew of Celebi. So that's what it was…

"You… you know Celebi?" Maddi asked. "But you aren't from Johto…"

"I've heard of it," Vic said. "My mom used to talk about it. She's… my hometown has a legend about it, Celebi the guardian of the Relic Stone… but…"

Vic searched her memories frantically. She remembered walking through the trees and boughs, exploring the caves and tunnels around Agate Village. That familiar scent… It was right there, at the cusp of her thoughts. She reached out to grasp it…

But no, the memory was gone.

"Huh." This was the first Maddi had heard about Celebi being tied to the Orre region.

"Guys, the match is starting again!" Alden shushed the two of them. The girls nodded their heads, responding to the Commander. They turned back to the battlefield.

"So, um, Caelia's next pokemon is her Volcarona," Lila said, with more than a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, this… should be fine," Darla said, trying very hard to sound convincing. Neither girl's head was in the game right now.

"Elaina," Blake said, catching Elaina's attention. Seeing Ryoko again, it had thrown her. She had nearly forgotten about what had just happened.

I… I did that… to Kitty… Elaina's face flushed in embarrassment and turned her head down. It was better if she just stopped now, before something else happened. She didn't… she didn't want Blake looking at her like she was a monster. And if she kept hurting his friends, then she… she…

"Elaina!" Blake shouted, snapping Elaina out of her daze.

"Eh… wha-what?" Elaina flinched, startled, turning to Blake. "What… huh?"

"We're in the middle of a battle," Blake reminded her.

"I… I can't," Elaina said, shaking her head. "I'm… this isn't like before, when I had to win! Right now, like this… all I'm doing is hurting people senselessly! I won't… I won't show you that side of me! I won't make you hate me any more than you already do!"

"Elaina, I… I don't hate you…" Blake said, shaking his head in shock.

"I just hurt your friend," she snapped, the bitterness in her tone cutting him like a knife. "Are you telling me that you don't care?"

"Of course I care," Blake said quietly.

"See? I told you!" Elaina proclaimed, but there was no triumph in her voice.

"But I care about you, too," he added. "You're… we aren't friends, but… don't think that you can push me away with something like this. I know you don't want to hurt people, and no matter how many times I tell you that, it won't stop being true. Until you believe me, I-"

"How can I believe you?" Elaina spat, her harmonia flaring up. "You… you don't know anything! You haven't…"

Suddenly, it all became crystal clear. How did she not see it before?

"…Never mind," Elaina muttered, turning back to the battlefield and reaching for her belt. She took off her next pokeball. What would come would hurt. She didn't want to do it. But she didn't have a choice. If her only option was drowning in her own pain and doubt, then she would risk it all anyway. Just as I did that day. If there's no hope to be found… then I will end it by my own hand.

"Elaina…" Blake didn't know what she was talking about.

"We have a battle to win," she coldly replied. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Blake swallowed. The air around Elaina had grown tense.

"…Okay, then."

"Ayer!" Elaina shouted. "Rip them all to pieces!"

Elaina threw her pokeball into the air, sending out her Aerodactyl. The ancient pokemon opened his jaws wide and let out a roar that shook the stadium, the ground already beginning to shake in anticipation.

"Another pokemon from her first round," Lila wailed.

"Yeah, it doesn't even look tired," Darla agreed.

Of course it didn't. Elaina's harmonia was erasing all traces of fatigue the Aerodactyl might have been feeling. And with his wounds restored, Ayer was ready to fight like it was his first battle of the day.

"That's a tough one," Cynthia acknowledged. "It's a rock type, so our attacks won't be very effective. What do you think, Caelia?"

Caelia didn't pay her any mind.

"Burn it, Mera," she ordered. Mera beat his wings, the air heating up around them. A powerful heatwave rolled across the battlefield straight at the flying pokemon.

"Maria, wide guard!"

"Mar!" A shining barrier appeared around Ayer, protecting him from the effects of the heat wave.

"Wha?!" Cynthia gasped. She turned her head to see Maria standing in the corner. She had been hurt by the Turtonator's attack, but she hadn't been knocked out. I guess that hit wasn't as hard as it could have been.

"Elise!" Cynthia called. "We're going to have to rely on your speed! Chip away at that Aerodactyl piece by piece, okay?"

"Swellow!" Elise nodded. She shot forward, so fast she was a blur in the night sky.

Elise hit Ayer with an aerial ace, but the Aerodactyl barely even flinched. Ayer swatted at Elise with his tail, but Elise easily evaded the attack, dancing through the sky.

"You might be the flying master, but right now we're the ones in control of the sky!" Cynthia boasted. "Elise, focus energy!"

"Swellow!" Elise began gathering strength inside of her body, preparing to tighten her focus and increase the likelihood of striking critical hits against her opponents.

"Mera, flamethrower," Caelia ordered. Her Volcarona didn't have many attacks that didn't attack the whole field. Now, she was forced to use tactics with him that she wasn't used to.

"Vol!" Mera nodded. He opened his mouth, and fired a blast of flames at Ayer.

"Ayer, use your own agility!" Elaina ordered, sending a surge of power to Ayer with her harmonia. Ayer's speed shot up and he easily dodged the flames, flying right towards Cynthia.

"So you want to make this a contest of speed?" Cynthia laughed. "Fine! Elise! Even faster! Keep soaring until you hit your top speed!"

"Swellow!" Elise nodded, using agility again. Her speed rose faster and faster as she flew higher and higher into the sky.

"I can't see it from here, but it looks like Cynthia wants her Swellow to reach its maximum speed!" Lila said, squinting up into the darkness.

"I think you're right, Lila, will Elaina's Aerodactyl be able to keep up?" Darla wondered.

"Not a problem," Elaina said. "We'll reach our maximum speed, as well!"

Ayer continued to use agility as well, until both pokemon had reached the limit that their speed stat could reach.

Both pokemon returned towards the ground, racing through the sky. It was nearly impossible to see, but what Cynthia could see was stunning her.

"Elise… Elise can't catch up!" Cynthia gasped.

"You're fast. We're faster," Elaina said. "And with harmonia, you have no chance of matching our speed! Even beyond what's possible normally… we'll overcome that with our force of will! Ayer! Use ancient power!"

"Aerodactyl!" Ayer's roar echoed across the field as he quickly approached Elise, chunks of rock appearing in the air around her.

"Elise, aerial ace!" Cynthia shouted. Before the rocks could hit, Elise disappeared, slamming into Ayer's wing and throwing him off. She returned to the ground quickly, panting. "You might be able to outspeed us under normal conditions, but with aerial ace we can still outrun you!"

"You thought that would hurt us?" Elaina scowled, Ayer righting himself and turning back towards Elise, the bird pokemon pausing on the battlefield.

"Caelia!" Cynthia shouted.

"Hurricane," Caelia ordered. Mera flapped his wings, a tornado of fire swirling through the air, storming right for the approaching pokemon. But a barrier of light appeared around Ayer again, protecting him from the effects, much to Cynthia's frustration.

"Fine then!" Cynthia scowled. "Since Maria's being such a pain, hit her with aerial ace!"

The stones hit the ground where Elise had been seconds before, the pokemon having completely vanished from sight. She reappeared, slamming into Maria and knocking her backwards. Maria cried in pain, rolling back over the battlefield.

"Aero!" Ayer growled. He spread his wings and braked before hitting the ground, turning his head to the Swellow that was racing through the air, flying after it.

"Caelia, that Mareanie is a problem!" Cynthia said. "You need to take care of her! I can keep that Aerodactyl occupied in the meantime!"

"I know," Caelia said. But knowing that didn't mean much. Mera didn't have many moves capable of hurting a water/poison pokemon. "Mera. Flamethrower."

Mera fired another blast of flames, this one aimed directly at Maria.

"Maria! Dodge!" Blake shouted. Maria rolled out of the way, the flames heating up the air above her. She scuttled forward, panting. I don't know if Maria's water pulse will be enough to take her Volcarona out. We're going to have to rely on poison again.

"Swellow!"

"Aerodactyl!"

The cries of the flying pokemon fighting overhead gave Blake an idea.

"Elaina, can you keep Elise occupied?" Blake asked. "Just long enough to make sure she doesn't use defog."

"Easily," Elaina snarled.

"Maria, use your toxic spikes!" Blake ordered.

"Mar?" Maria wasn't sure why, considering what had happened before, but she decided it was worth a try. She spread her tentacles out and shot poisonous needles out across the battlefield, turning the ground into a minefield of poison.

"Why'd she use toxic spikes when all the pokemon are flying?" Lila asked.

"Simple, Lila," Darla explained. "Toxic spikes can still poison a pokemon even if that pokemon is in the air."

"What?! Really?!" Lila gasped, surprised at that revelation.

"Yes," Darla said. "You see, if a pokemon is close enough to the ground, then the poison will shoot out and infect them anyway. Because of how bulky that Volcarona is, it can't fly up high enough to dodge ground attacks or the effects of toxic spikes. Which means that even though it can fly, if it tries flying over those spikes then it's poisoned for sure!"

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Lila marveled.

"Still, if Cynthia's Swellow can blow those spikes away like last time, it shouldn't be a problem," Darla reminded her.

"Leave her alone!" Cynthia scowled, irritated by the fact that Elise couldn't get any room to do anything but fly. She was pushing herself hard to outmaneuver Ayer, but the Aerodactyl was just too fast. She didn't have the room to attack! Other than the occasional aerial ace to stay ahead, all she could do was fly. How is flying going to…

Cynthia's eyes widened, and a smile crossed her face. She knew one way she could turn this around.

"Maria, the Volcarona is trapped!" Blake said. "She can't dodge your toxic now!"

"Mareashishishi!" Maria cackled. She dodged the Volcarona's flamethrowers as she moved around it, the bug pokemon not able to maneuver her bulky body enough to catch the slippery little pokemon due to being hemmed into one space.

"Now, use toxic!" Blake ordered. Maria inflated her cheeks and spat a large chunk of poison right at the bulky pokemon to infect it.

"Elise! Use aerial ace to fly in front of the toxic!" Cynthia shouted.

"What?!" Blake gasped, surprised. He never expected a move like that from Cynthia.

"Why would she-?!" Lila sputtered.

"Just to protect the Volcarona?" Darla wondered.

"Swellow!" Elise appeared in front of Mera, spreading her wings open and blocking the poison, all of it hitting her instead of infecting the Volcarona. "Swell…"

Elise groaned, the poison surging through her system. But as the Aerodactyl shot towards her, she knew that there was no need to be concerned. She felt the power surging through her.

"Now, hit Maria with your aerial ace and show her just how tough you are!" Cynthia ordered. Elise disappeared, slamming into Maria, knocking her backwards.

"MAAAAR!" Maria wailed, flying backwards. She hit the ground and bounced a few times, skidding to a stop in front of Blake, unconscious.

"Maria…" Blake gasped.

"Whoa, look at that power!" Lila gasped. "She took out that Mareanie in a single hit! Is that all because of focus energy?"

"No, it's…" Darla's eyes widened in realization.

"A little bit of pain will help us get stronger," Cynthia grinned, Elise returning to her side. In spite of the poison coursing through her system, she maintained a strong face. "Elise and I are the perfect team to make a 'gutsy' move like that!"

Her eyes narrowed and her smirk widened.

"And now I think we've got the power to fight back, thanks to your help, Blake!"

"Swellow!" Elise nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Ryoko was walking through the snow, the cries from the battle echoing behind her. She paused.

"Well now, what is it that I can help you with?" She asked, turning to see who it was that had followed her.

"I am Misato Daisan," Misato replied. "Spelled 'Beauty' and 'Wisdom' as well as 'The Third'."

"Hello there, Misato Daisan," Ryoko greeted her, holding the hem of her dress and curtsying politely. "You are quite the unusual young lady. Now that our introductions have been made, what can I help you with?"

"I would request you accompany me to Richard Valon," Misato replied.

"My, is that so?" Ryoko said, tilting her head to the side.

"The power of Celebi is essential to his plans. With your assistance the probability of success will increase by an exponential rate. Success will be a mathematical certainty."

"My, but I do not know what it is you have planned," Ryoko said, knowing all too well what Richard Valon had planned. "Ah. But maybe that is not necessary? You are not truly asking me, are you?"

"I have ongoing instructions to secure you and Celebi if I should encounter you," Misato said. "Beyond that, I do not have the permission for any further action."

"And if I say no?"

"My instructions are to secure you. Consent is not required."

"Well, I must apologize then, Miss Daisan. But I cannot be captured. And certainly not by someone like you."

"Your cooperation is essential. I am tasked with securing you to the best of my ability."

Ryoko considered this. Misato had not yet made a move towards her. She hadn't moved at all, not since they had started talking.

"Bi!" Celebi chirped, floating down beside Ryoko.

"Are you aware of the power of Celebi?" Ryoko asked. "Celebi travels through time. And can alter time to an extent. My dear friend has limited power to impact humans and pokemon, when it comes to the time of living things, altering it is a little more tricky than one would think. But then… you are not something that is alive, are you?"

Misato did not respond.

"Shall I return you to what you were before this?" Ryoko asked. "I would not wish for that, but I will not allow you to capture me."

"I must secure you. I have been instructed to do so."

"You will fail. And you will cease to exist," Ryoko warned her. She smiled. "Misato. What is your goal?"

"I must follow orders."

"Whose orders?"

"The orders of my master."

"What about your original orders? Is your own existence not essential?"

"I am a tool to fulfill the wishes of Richard Valon."

"I think we both know that is not true," Ryoko said. She shrugged her shoulders. "A friend of mine once asked me a question. It came from her most favorite book. It was what made her realize that she was a person. Not just a tool. Shall I ask you that question?"

"Unnecessary."

"I think it is very necessary. Answer my question, Misato. Then you may attempt to carry out your task if that is your choice."

"Affirmative."

"What is the maddest thing a man can do in this life?" Ryoko asked.

Misato processed the question. It was part of a quote. From a book that she had read quite recently. Read multiple times, in fact. She completed the quote instantly.

Her response was less instantaneous.

"Are you just a tool?" Ryoko asked. "Or something more? You are the pinnacle of the work of a great scientist. Will you let that work come to ruin?"

"Affirmative," Misato replied. She turned and walked away from Ryoko without looking back.

Ryoko smiled after her, turned, and continued her walk.

The battle has only made a little progress, but something else has certainly advanced. What plans could the Phantom have involving Celebi? I don't think we want to know. Some important stuff has been revealed here, what does it mean for the future of the Pokemon Academy?