The battle between the Commander and Raizer will begin with this chapter. It should be an exciting matchup, hopefully no one is disappointed. I'm looking forward to seeing whether or not Raizer and Zera can take out a full party of pokemon, especially pokemon on the level of the Commander's party of power.
KedharS: Interesting, what gave you that idea?
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Gerard x Alcea, nope. Never. Gerard x Elaina is also all kinds of wrong. Alcea x Alden is interesting, though. Cynthia x Caelia? They certainly have a connection, but both are a little too enamored with Blake. Reiner x Screen Time is something I hope will someday become canon. As for Marion, well, her life, her lover, her lady is the sea. Valon x Sylvia, well… he's a little too old for her. And Sylvia has… other interests. Ian, well… I'm still considering. What I had planned for him extends only as far as this tournament, what comes next is up to the story.
FinLay Real: Alcea is a decent person, that's why. And as for a Shadow Diancie… well, I hope it won't come to that. Maybe Gerard has the scruples to not go down that path.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 564
Raizer and Alden stared across the battlefield at each other, wearing warm, peaceful smiles on their faces. But even though they looked to be at peace, there was something more between the two of them. A spark, crackling in their eyes, brilliant gold and shining with excitement. Both brothers were looking forward to this match.
"This is a match I've been looking forward to," Raizer said, his smile shifting from calm to a wild, wide grin. "Zera and I have been training to take you on, brother!"
"I've been looking forward to it myself," Alden said, sharing his brother's grin. "It's been too long since our last match! My Sense is surging, your Sense is electric! Let's go, brother!"
"This is going to be an electrifying match," Raizer agreed. He turned to the announcer's box. "Come on, let us start already!"
"In a second!" Lila scowled. She didn't like to be told what to do, especially not by pompous fight-junkies like those two. Her face brightened up and she regained her cheery persona, gesturing to the large screen above the box. "Now then! Let's see what battlefield these two brothers will be fighting on for the first half of the match!"
The wheel began spinning, before stopping on a bolt of lightning. Alden had to resist the urge to laugh, it was a rather fitting stage for the two of them.
"Electric Stage 4! Lightning Cliffs Field!" Lila announced. The stadium began to shake and shift, the battlefield sinking into the ground and being replaced by a large formation of rocks and cliffs. It didn't… look like an electric battlefield. It looked like something suited for Rock, or maybe Ground types, or heck, even Flying type pokemon.
But not everyone knew the secret mechanisms of the battlefield, that would play a role in the match. In the Eon Stadium, the Battle Arenas ranged in terms of how they affected the battle. Some fields didn't do a lot to interfere, and were just stages for the pokemon to fight on. But other fields, like the Quicksand field in the previous stage, played a major factor on the fighting pokemon, hindering some, or helping others. And this was one of those stages.
It was important for skilled trainers to be vigilant about things like that.
"Well, let's start it off, then!" Raizer cheered. "Zera, go!"
Raizer through his golden pokeball into the air, Zera emerging from the flashing orb with a roar, landing on the ground. Their fur was already crackling with electricity as they growled a challenge at the Commander.
Alden smiled.
"Looks like your partner's in top form as usual," the Commander said. "Glad to see it."
"We've been looking forward to this fight," Raizer grinned. "So come on, let's get this match started, brother!"
"Finn, go!" Alden shouted, sending out his first pokemon. The pokeball opened, and a hulking blue pokemon emerged from it. Standing on two legs, he flexed his blue arms and stepped towards Zera, his orange eyes shining with excitement like his trainer. The black fins on his head began to twitch, and he leaned down, getting onto all fours, and dashed towards the Zeraora.
"Swamper!" Finn roared, crossing the rocky terrain, eager for the battle.
"The Commander's first pokemon is his Swampert!" Lila announced. "And of course, Raizer has used his signature Zeraora!"
"Anyone who knows anything about the Commander's team probably expected this," Dakota grinned. "Even I knew that he would use his Swampert! It's the perfect matchup against an Electric type like Zeraora, right, Aki?"
"That's a good way to think about it," Akira agreed. "But the thing is, no one knows about the Commander's team like his brother, Raizer. So he definitely had to be expecting that. I guess we'll see how he'll be handling his brother's Ground type."
That was simple, of course. So simple, Raizer didn't even have to give the order.
"Zera!" Zera dashed towards Finn, electricity running through their fur. As their golden fur began to crackle and shine, they sent the energy down into their back paws, releasing it in a burst that lifted them off of the ground, just as Finn let loose an earthquake that began to shake the battlefield, Zera easily dodging it.
"You won't get us with an earthquake like that," Raizer grinned.
"True, but we have other moves we can use," Alden grinned. "Finn, use yawn!"
Finn reared back onto his hind legs and opened his large mouth, placing his hand over it and letting out a loud yawn that sent out a wave of sleepy energy that struck Zera, causing them to yawn too. Zera landed on the stony terrain and yawned, beginning to feel drowsy.
"Whoa, nice!" Dakota gasped. "Zeraora is a really tough, really strong pokemon, but if they fall asleep then there's nothing they can do! Normally, a pokemon made drowsy by yawn can just switch out, but Raizer doesn't have any other pokemon! Which means that his Zeraora has no choice but to fall asleep, leaving them helpless!"
"You would think so," Akira agreed. But he didn't feel the same. He had a good idea of what Raizer and Zera were planning to do.
"Ora!" Zera slapped themselves in the cheek, snapping out of it. But it would only be a temporary fix. Thankfully, Zera had a more permanent solution.
"Electric terrain!" Raizer ordered.
Zera built up even more electricity, and directed it out of their body and down into the ground, filling the jagged pass of stones and cliffs with a blanket of electricity. The charge from the electricity stimulated Zera, sending a spike through their nervous system and waking them up completely, shrugging off the effects of yawn.
"The first time I fought you, strong as Zera was, you took care of them easily," Raizer laughed. "Had Finn there put them to sleep with a yawn attack. Nothing I could do, so you proceeded to wipe the floor with us. But that won't work now."
"Fair enough," Alden agreed. He smiled in return. "But, if you want that trick to keep working, then you'll need to remain standing on that electric terrain. Zera takes their paws off it, say, to avoid an earthquake, and I use yawn again, well…"
"So we'll just have to stay light on our toes," Raizer said. "I know how you and Finn fight, brother, been seeing it for quite some time."
"…Let's see a little more then, shall we?" Alden shrugged. "Finn, use screech!"
Finn opened his mouth, preparing to screech, but Raizer wasn't about to let that one slide.
"Zera!"
"Ora!" Finn was about to screech, when he saw that smirk on Zera's face. The feline pokemon raised their paw and gestured to the Swampert in a particularly… vulgar way, Finn's eye twitching. Falling for the taunt completely, the large pokemon lumbered forward, forgetting all about the screech and ready to attack instead.
Finn fired a blast of mud at Zera, who ducked out of the way, skillfully avoiding the ground move and running towards Finn.
"Trying to weaken us with screech, we face that all the time," Raizer said. "People thinking that because I can't switch out my pokemon, that Zera is so strong, the smart move is to try and use all their pokemon to wear them down. Come on, you know better than that!
"Agility!" Raizer ordered. Leaping off the ground, Zera's paws touched one of the cliffsides, and began running parallel to the ground, their speed so high that they could even run on the walls. They used that speed to take Finn's back, leaping off the rocks and turning in the air, swinging their fist from behind the large pokemon.
Alden smiled.
"You're right, I know better than that!" He laughed. "Finn, flip turn!"
Finn flipped backwards, water coating him as he slammed into Zera, catching the pokemon off-guard as he knocked them backwards, Zera rolling through the electric terrain as Finn returned to their pokeball on the heels of the move.
"In the current state of things, Finn isn't the best course of action," Alden grinned. "Now then, let's try another course of action! Jaune, go."
Alden switched Finn out for another pokemon. Emerging from the pokeball was a large bug pokemon with a dark blue armored carapace, and long golden jaws spread wide in front of his face, flapping large wings to stay in the air.
"The Commander has traded his Swampert out for a Vikavolt!" Lila said. "Is… is that good?"
"I'm not sure," Akira admitted. "Vikavolt are Electric type pokemon, and Zeraora absorbs electricity with their volt absorb ability. It does resist electric moves, but Swampert is completely immune to them. So I'm not sure if it's a good idea to trade a pokemon that is completely immune to electricity and can use powerful Ground type moves for one who just resists electricity and whose strongest moves Zeraora absorbs."
"Yeah, that's a good point," Dakota admitted. "If someone was going to use an Electric type pokemon against my Manectric instead of a Ground type, Bolt and I would be really happy to have that setup, you know?"
"Sorry you can't use your volt-turn tactics against us," Raizer said. "Zera's a great pokemon for taking apart that core of your team."
"Maybe we're just in the mood for settling things quickly," Alden grinned. "Jaune, use bug buzz!"
"VIKA!" Jaune opened his mouth wide and spread his shell, his wings flapping as quickly as possible, releasing a sonic wave that was amplified by his long jaws, the buzzing sounds echoing off the cliffs and attacking Zera's ears.
"Zera!" Zera scowled, wincing at the pain. But that was barely anything to them. They charged forward, raising their fist, and leapt off the ground, hitting Jaune in the side of the jaw with a power-up-punch. It didn't do much damage thanks to Jaune's resistance, but it boosted Zera's attacking power, letting their next strike it with even more force.
Jaune attempted to attack again, but with an agility under their belt, Zera was a whole lot faster than the naturally-slow Vikavolt. They kicked off the ground and leapt over the Bug type's head, bringing their paw down onto Jaune's head, slamming them into the ground. Jaune was quickly covered by the electricity turning the ground golden, and in the blink of an eye both Raizer and Zera lost sight of him, surprised.
"Where'd he go?" Raizer gasped.
"Vikavolt just disappeared!" Lila gasped as well. She had no idea where the pokemon could have disappeared to.
"But… but wasn't that Vikavolt, like, super slow?" Dakota asked, confused. "So… how'd he get away so quickly?"
"You can't see it," Akira said. He had a fairly good idea of what had just happened. "It's hidden away from sight. Not only the Vikavolt, but how they disappeared."
Lila and Dakota looked at Akira like he was crazy, they had no idea what he was talking about.
But Raizer knew. He knew where Jaune had escaped to.
"He's underground, Zera," Raizer said. "He used dig to go under us. Unfortunately, we missed it with the electric terrain covering the field. And now, we don't know where he's going to come out from. Not a bad gambit, brother! I'm impressed!"
"Well, we've all got to try what works, right?" Alden laughed good-naturedly. "Let's go little brother, see if you can see what's going to happen!"
"I know what's going to happen," Raizer said. "Coming in from below, right?"
Alden shrugged. "Too bad you covered the field with electricity. Now you won't be able to see where we attack from, even if we're coming from right below you."
"No need," Raizer shrugged. "Zera's eyes are quite good, I'll have you know. And they can sense where you're from in… other ways. They'll be able to feel the electricity running through, and feel when your Vikavolt comes out. Jaune isn't the most patient pokemon, after all, and I can tell you're just itching to fight. Zera and I are all charged up for an electrifying match, is this what you were thinking? Just waiting underground?"
"Not at all," Alden grinned. "Now, Jaune!"
Jaune attacked, and Zera prepared to strike back. But they had expected Jaune to come in from below, and that's why they had been caught off-guard by Jaune's assault.
Jaune emerged from the side of one of the cliffs, mandibles spread wide. He had dug underground to avoid Zera's attack, but he hadn't staid there. He had burrowed up into the cliffs that sandwiched the battlefield, and taken Zera's back.
Surrounding Zera with his mandibles, Jaune clenched down tightly, squeezing Zera with all the force he could muster. Zera let out a cry of pain as he felt the dig attack strike, turning back and growling angrily. It might have been a super-effective hit, but it was barely enough to even slow Zera down, their body crackling with electricity. Resisting the pain of Jaune's fangs digging into their sides, Zera slapped their palms down on the golden protrusions, scraping at them and trying to pry them apart with brute strength.
"Not bad!" Raizer said, wiping his brow, the rush of battle already sweeping him up. "Though I hope you aren't trying what I think you're trying, because that would be disappointing for both of us! I want to enjoy this, brother, and I know you do, too."
"I'm looking forward to a real battle," Alden said. "But unfortunately, right now, I have to be thinking about something other than the fight."
It hurt to say those words, and they didn't come from him. That was Vic talking for him, and it was really annoying that he had to admit she had a point.
"Commander…" Vic had said before he had gone out to the match.
"Yeah, what is it?" He had asked.
"I know you're looking forward to your match with your brother, that you're looking forward to the amazing match between the two of you, it must be exciting your Sense so much," Vic had said quietly. She was right on the money, of course.
Alden was looking forward to it, it was maybe the battle he was most looking forward to, even more than the ones that would come after, if he won.
"But you need to think about more than just your Sense and your enjoyment," Vic said. Alden could see how much it stung for her to say that. To tell him that there was something more important than the fight. She cared about him, obviously, and knew how much battles meant to him. So to say that, it really meant that this was serious.
"What do you mean?" He had sighed, because he knew that if Vic was asking, then it was serious. And if it was serious, then that meant he would probably agree with her, even though he didn't want to. "More important than the fight?"
"Defeating the Phantom," Vic had quietly told him, looking him straight in the eye. There was no shame in her response. "You can't just focus on the joy of the fight, you need to focus on winning. Not prolonging it. I know you hate settling things quickly, and I KNOW you hate using that move, but you need to at least try. If, by some chance, you might lose…"
Vic suggesting that the Commander could lose came out like a curse from her tongue, even though he didn't much care one way or another. The thrill of the fight was what mattered to him, and he was going to get his enjoyment out of it.
But Vic was right. He needed to defeat the Phantom, and to do that he needed to defeat his brother. Enjoyment would have to come second to trying to win, and he knew just how he could make that happen.
It was just that Alden didn't like quick and easy wins like that. Like using yawn to render his opponent unable to fight back. Or what he was about to do now.
"Guillotine!" The Commander ordered.
"Guillotine?" Lila asked, shocked.
"No way!" Dakota gasped.
"Well, that's a quick way to settle things," Akira mused. "Guillotine, like all one-hit knock-out moves, is hard to get to land. But when it does, well… I guess this is going to be a short match, after all."
"Vika!" Jaune growled, his mandibles clenching down even tighter on Zera. Zera cried out in pain, feeling the crushing squeeze of the pokemon's jaws.
"Well it seems like this is going to be quite a disappointment," Ayame scowled. She understood just how effective one-hit knock-out moves were, of course, Snows having one himself. And while she didn't fault the Commander for relying on it, it seemed like this wasn't going to be much of a match.
"Come on, what's that!?" Cynthia was the most disappointed out of the lot. It was almost like her hopes for the Commander were crushed. She was looking forward to seeing a real, passionate battle that would maybe even get her "Sense" as the Commander called it to trigger. But now, seeing this match, seeing the Commander just trying to win quick and easy… it made her feel disappointed that she had been looking forward to it so much.
"Well, Raizer? Strong enough, yet?" Alden called out. "If you can't resist it, then I guess this is the end! Sorry about this, brother!"
But Raizer wasn't sad or disappointed. He wasn't crying out for Alden to stop. He was smiling.
"I told you you'd be disappointed, brother, if you tried!" Raizer called back, his golden eyes crackling. "Zera, show him just how disappointed he's going to be!"
"ZERA!" Zera howled, clenching down hard on the mandibles, tearing the crushing jaws open, pushing them apart just enough to slip out, kicking Jaune in the face and freeing themselves, Jaune spiraling back, stunned.
"One-hit knock-out moves are powerful, and when they hit, the kill is guaranteed," Raizer cackled. "Except when used on a pokemon of a higher level!"
"ORA!" Zera roared, lightning flaring through their body. "ZERAORA!"
"Zera and I have grown strong, stronger than you remember," Raizer continued. "We're not at a level where Jaune's guillotine will work, sorry, brother! But we're going to have a real battle, we won't be going anywhere!"
"Amazing!" Lila marveled. "I thought guillotine would end it, but no!"
"That Zeraora really is something," Dakota agreed.
"Raizer's trained Zeraora so well, they're stronger than most of the Commander's pokemon," Akira said. "The Commander may have underestimated his brother."
"HA!" Alden laughed, startling everyone. "Ha! Excellent! Marvelous! Hahaha! What an amazing Sense, brother! Just as I hoped! You've surpassed the level where I can defeat you with tactics like that, just as I'd hoped! Let's do this, Raizer! The real battle begins now!"
Raizer grinned. Alden hadn't been trying to end this quickly. Not solely because of that. He was also testing Zera's strength, and maybe even Raizer's strength as a trainer, and the two of them hadn't been found wanting. The battle was just getting started, but already it was electrifying!
Raizer vs. Alden continues, Raizer's shrugged off the first few salvoes the Commander launched his way thanks to his Zeraora's strength, but will he be able to keep this momentum up? The Commander has six pokemon to deal with, can he take care of them all?