The battle is really getting into gear! More pokemon are going to fight their hardest, and we'll be approaching the climax soon! Who will emerge the victor? What edges will be gained in this battle, can the Commander keep his lead over Gerard?
KedharS: Or is he the hero?
Rus0804: We'll have to see.
Aurastar Warrior: You will probably wait longer.
Aquahaze675: Definitely came in handy here, hopefully he can keep up that momentum.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Interesting, thank you, I'll take a look.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 576
Jaune fluttered over the battlefield, taking advantage of his speed to avoid the stealth rocks shining around him, waiting for Gerard to send out his next pokemon.
"Temblor," Gerard said, sending out his Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior!" Temblor bellowed, landing on the cloudy ground with a thud, growling angrily.
"Gerard's sent out his Rhyperior!" Lila said. "That guy's a pretty big pokemon!"
"Not only is he big, but he's slow, too," Dakota said, frowning. "Which means that's a pretty big problem for the Commander!"
"Temblor, stone edge!" Gerard ordered.
"Rhyperior!" Temblor charged forward like a boulder rolling downhill, raising his massive arms. Large diamonds hovering in the air turned towards Jaune, flying at him from all directions.
"Jaune! Use double team!" Alden ordered.
"Vikavolt!" Jaune spread his wings and buzzed, creating multiple copies of himself, filling the sky with a swarm of bugs.
"Look at how fast they're moving!" Lila marveled.
"It's the trick room," Akira agreed. "Rhyperior is a little slower than Vikavolt naturally, but they're both really slow. Which means that in the trick room, they're both really fast."
"So, you're going to fill the sky to try and get away, huh?" Gerard smirked. "That won't help! Temblor, use smack down! Knock them all out of the sky!"
Temblor charged forward and lifted his massive arms, creating a large slab of stone. He swung it like a swatter at a particularly large cluster of Jaunes, smashing through the copies. But the real Jaune was quick enough to stay out of range.
"That won't get us!" Alden smiled. "Jaune! Use flash cannon!"
"Rhyperior!" Temblor bellowed, turning towards the Vikavolt and raising his arm to swing at it, but before he could, Jaune spread his jaws open wide and created light in between his mandibles, firing a concentrated beam of light that hit the large pokemon in the chest, Temblor roaring out in pain as he stumbled back across the fluffy field, trying to get his balance.
"Temblor!" Gerard shouted.
"Rhyperior!" Templor slapped his thick tail down on the clouds behind him, sending fluff up into the air as he braced himself. He launched himself forward, arm raised, and smashed down on Jaune with a powerful smack down, knocking him into the ground.
"VIKAVOLT!" Jaune cried out in pain, trying to pick himself up off the ground even though his wings badly smashed. He wouldn't be able to fly for a while.
But Temblor wasn't going to give him a while.
"Rock blast!" Gerard ordered.
While Jaune tried to move, Temblor barraged him with several massive boulders faster than Jaune could respond, burying the bug under a mountain of rock.
"Vikavolt is unable to battle," Lila judged after seeing that the bug couldn't squirm out from under the boulders. "Rhyperior is the winner!"
"You caught be off-guard," Gerard said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "With how fast that Vikavolt of yours was. But without its electric attacks, it couldn't do much. A fast enough pokemon like Temblor with powerful rock moves is MORE than enough to swat that bug away."
"He's saying that, but that flash cannon did a lot of damage," Akira observed, noticing the painful scorch on Temblor's chest plate. He was breathing hard. "The special defenses of a Rhyperior aren't their strongest features," he added. "So that was a significant blow."
"Return, Jaune," Alden said, recalling his Vikavolt. "Finn, go!"
Alden sent out his Swampert again, Finn landing on the ground and roaring angrily. The diamonds shredded his skin, his eyes flashing, but he lumbered forward anyway.
"As expected, the Commander sent his Swampert back out!" Dakota announced. "That's a really good choice, right, Aki?"
"Definitely," Akira agreed. "After all, Swampert is a Water type, which is an effective pokemon to use against a Rock/Ground type like Rhyperior. Furthermore, it's unlikely that Gerard will switch out to his Golem, either, as that's a Rock/Electric type, which are both types that Swampert is very good at dealing with.
"Then that means Gerard's probably going to switch out to Diancie, right?" Lila asked hopefully.
"That would be awesome!" Dakota agreed, her camera ready.
Gerard thought similarly, and held up his pokeball to call back his Rhyperior.
"Finn! Use whirlpool!" Alden ordered.
"Swampert!" Finn held up his hands, water swirling around in a large torrent and sweeping up Temblor in its painful battering waves, the bulky pokemon letting out a painful groan as the water held him down.
"With that, Rhyperior can't escape any longer!" Lila said.
"So that's your game, huh?" Gerard scowled. "Temblor! Use mega horn!"
"Rhyperior!" Lowering his head, the drill horn on Temblor's forehead began to whirl, grinding at high speed as he broke free of the water, charging at Finn. He moved so fast that Finn couldn't dodge in time, stunned by the speed of the hefty Rock type.
"SWAMPERT!" Finn roared out in pain as the horn gouged into him, the attack doing serious damage. Finn tried to stand his ground, but it was painful.
"If you want us to stick in, then we will," Gerard said, narrowing his eyes. "Temblor, keep going!"
"Not a chance!" Alden shouted back. "Finn! Use hammer arm!"
"Swampert!" Finn raised his arms and slammed them down on Temblor's head, smashing into him with a powerful blow that would have normally reduced his speed, but instead boosted instead thanks to the trick room.
"Rhyperior!" Temblor growled, shaking his head angrily and shoving Finn back with a powerful shoulder lunge, Finn stumbling backwards. The two pokemon pulled apart, panting, glaring at each other.
"They're both big, bulky pokemon," Lila noted. "Rhyperior's a little faster though, right? …Err, slower, I mean. This is confusing!"
"Finn! Use muddy water!" Alden ordered.
"Not so fast! Temblor, take down!" Gerard ordered as well. Finn raised his arms, a large wave of muddy water rising up behind him, but he wasn't fast enough. Temblor shot forward and plowed into Finn, knocking the water pokemon backwards as the waves crashed into him, Finn rolling through the soaked clouds and rising to his feet, panting.
"Rhyperior!" Temblor roared, enduring the bounding waves smashing against him. He was trying his best to stay strong, but he was running out of health. The whirlpool around him grew in power, continuing to drain away his strength, and he wasn't happy with that.
"Swampert!" Finn held his arms up, and a bright blue aura began to glow around his body.
"That's Swampert's torrent ability!" Akira gasped.
"So he must be in a tight spot," Dakota noted.
"What do you mean?" Lila asked, turning to look at the two of them.
"When a pokemon with Torrent has their health drop below a third, then their ability kicks in," Akira explained. "It boosts the strength of Water type moves by a significant amount. It's just like Blaze and Overgrow."
"Oh!" Lila said, nodding. "That's really good for the Commander then, right?"
"As long as he can keep his Swampert in the fight, then the water moves he uses will do some serious damage," Akira agreed.
"Nicely done, Finn," Alden grinned. Normally, his Swampert was used for his yawn attack, as well as for setting stealth rocks, but making use of his Water typing was a great move as well. "Now, use hydro pump!"
"Swampert!" Finn opened his mouth, and fired a massive blast of water at Temblor.
"Temblor, dodge," Gerard ordered. Temblor leapt to the side, evading the blast of pressurized water, and charged at Finn, horn lowered. He gouged the Swampert in the side and Finn roared out in pain, feeling his health draining away.
"SWAMPERT!" Finn exclaimed, raising his fist, and bringing it down against the side of Temblor's face, slamming him off of his body, Temblor rolling across the ground. Finn roared, turning in Temblor's direction, and charged forward, slamming into Temblor and knocking him into the ground again.
"Now, finish him with hydro pump!" Alden said. Finn mounted Temblor, tilting his head back, and fired a powerful burst of water that hit the Rhyperior at point-blank rain, Temblor struggling as he was deluged with the blast.
"Rhy…" Temblor coughed and sputtered out water, losing consciousness.
"Rhyperior is unable to battle!" Lila ruled. "Swampert is the winner!"
"Gerard only has two pokemon left," Dakota observed.
"But one of those pokemon is Diancie," Akira reminded her. "It's not even close to being over."
Dakota rolled her eyes. Like SHE had to be reminded about Diancie, it was all that she had been looking forward to this match!
"Return, Temblor," Gerard said, recalling his Rhyperior. "Diana!"
"Diancie!" Diana emerged from her pokeball with a shine, the stones digging into her. She held her hands up and gathered light into the diamond on her chest, turning her attention towards Finn, who was still glowing blue, but barely standing.
"Moonblast!" Gerard ordered. Diana flung her hands forward and fired the fairy energy in a powerful blast that hit Finn in the stomach, knocking him over.
"Swampert!" Finn groaned out, clutching his gut and falling over, face-planting in the clouds, the rest of his strength taken.
"Swampert is unable to battle," Lila said next. "Diancie is the winner!"
"Come back, Finn," Alden said, recalling his Swampert. He turned his attention towards Lila, who cleared her throat, standing up.
"With that, both Alden and Gerard have lost at least three pokemon," she announced. "That means we will be switching battlefields!"
She sighed wistfully, staring at the battlefield that she loved dearly. Seeing it buried in mud and water, the clouds were no longer looking plump and fluffy. It wasn't a happy sight. "So we'll be changing to another battlefield!"
The screen shifted from displaying the battle that had been going on to present the roulette wheel again. The wheel began to spin, and everyone's eyes were on it. The wheel pulled to a stop, showing a large stone.
Lila's eyes widened, shocked by what she saw. It was like it was meant to be.
"…R-Rock Stage 1," she stuttered, a shaky smile spreading across her face at the serendipity. "Gem Valley Field."
Gerard recalled Diana as the field began to shake and shift, everything below sinking into the ground. The stones still remained suspended in the air, as did the massive diamond dome screen of the trick room, and the entire battlefield was still twinkling, so it was hard to see what the new battlefield looked like as it rose up.
Then, as the battlefield rose up from below, revealing a sparkling stage that brightened the stadium even more in the setting sun.
The new battlefield was a large valley with jagged outcroppings casting shadows in multiple directions, but the shadows were beaten back by the sparkle of countless gemstones, lining the walls and glowing a variety of colors. Gerard's eyes widened in realization as he saw what the stadium had to show. It looked like the inside of Glittering Cave! Gerard felt like he was seeing a ghost. He winced. He always hated fighting on this stage before.
After all, it reminded him so much of Diana.
But now, Diana was back at his side. And this was the perfect battlefield to make her shine in all her glory, he couldn't have planned it better.
"It's so beautiful!" Lila murmured, her face lighting up.
"Yeah," Dakota agreed, a wide smile spreading across her face. "It's gorgeous. A battlefield of gemstones, the perfect place for Diancie to fight to her fullest. It's so… romantic. Don't you think so, Aki?" She asked, turning to Akira.
"…It's alright," Akira said, looking away. He wasn't exactly measuring battlefields on their prettiness like the girls were. And as embarrassed as he was, if he said anything more positive about what Dakota had labeled "romantic" then she'd never let him hear the end of it.
Akira wasn't the only one shaken by the battlefield, Gerard was pretty shaken by it himself, seeing it as the perfect field.
A shaky smile crossed his face and he had to resist the urge from throwing the sparkling pink pokeball back out. "Providence…" he whispered. "This has got to be providence."
There was nothing that could have been a greater signal to him that he would win this match.
"Shocker, go," Gerard said instead. He wanted to use Diana right now, he really did. But he had to do this smart. She was his trump card. And he wouldn't send her out again until the end, to ensure that she would emerge the victor. So he threw a different pokeball instead.
"Golem!" Shocker roared, landing on the rocky ground. Shards of diamond dug into his hardened flesh, but he shook those off, ready to continue fighting. He might have taken some blows, but he was nowhere near close to being defeated, not as long as he had the trick room on his side.
"Mimi, go," Alden said, sending out his Mimikyu. The tiny pokemon landed on the battlefield, the stones cutting up her disguise. But the Pikachu façade remaind upright, even if it was a little shoddily made and crooked, letting on little trace of the pokemon hidden beneath it.
"Your last uninjured pokemon left, huh?" Gerard asked, cracking a grin, his eyes shining. "Well, don't worry. I'll be happy to take care of that nuisance! Especially considering how fast the little thing is, compared to my Golem! Shocker, use charge beam!"
"Golem!" Shocker rumbled, leaning over and tilting the massive magnet on his back towards Mimi, electricity building up in it.
"Mimi, use swords dance!" Alden ordered. Mimi spun around, waving her stick "tail" as Shocker released the laser beam, the piercing light hitting her directly.
Well, hit her in the "head" anyway.
Mimi's disguise broke as the head of her Pikachu outfit flopped over, leaving Mimi vulnerable. But, she'd still had her turn to set up on the Golem, and that would hopefully be more than enough to deal with the bulky Rock type. Even if he was moving at such a high speed.
"Now, heavy slam!" Gerard shouted. He had used the charge beam first because he knew full-well what Mimikyu's ability was. Now, he would be using the real moves.
"Golem!" Shocker charged forward, right at home on the rocky terrain as he crossed it with speed, approaching the tiny pokemon on the other side of the field. Shocker was moving so fast, Mimi barely had time to leap to the side and dodge, though she still managed it fine.
"Mimi, wood hammer!" Alden shouted.
"Mimikyu!" As Mimi dodged Shocker's strike, she pulled back the large wooden stick she used for a tail, and swung it at the Golem with all her might. She hit the pokemon so hard that the recoil of the blow actually knocked her back!
"So, your plan is to weaken my pokemon with moves like that?" Gerard laughed. "How cute. You do realize you dealt a serious blow to your own pokemon, right?"
"He's not wrong," Akira agreed. "Wood hammer is a powerful attack alright, and it's super-effective against a Golem. But it has quite a kick."
"No, my plan is to do as much damage to you as I can!" Alden laughed, his eyes shining with excitement. "That's where you and I part ways, Gerard! I'm fighting out of love for the battle! So yeah, Mimi and I, we'll use whatever moves will do the most damage! And if you ask me, it looks like it's working, don't you think?"
"Kyu!" Mimi chirped. Boosted by swords dance, the attack had done some serious damage to Shocker, who had already sustained some wounds from earlier in the round. The Golem didn't seem to be doing so hot.
"Don't think that'll be enough to stop us," Gerard scowled. "You, who see battles as nothing but a way to get your own worthless satisfaction, like an addict, you have no idea what it means to fight for everything! This is fun to you? Well this is everything to me! Shocker!"
"Golem!" Shocker roared, leaping to his feet and turning towards Mimi. He curled up into a ball and flew towards her, carried by a magnetic current lifting him into the air.
"Going for another heavy slam?" Alden grinned. "Well at this distance we can't dodge in time, not with how slow we are! Unless, of course, we had a trick of our own, isn't that right, Mimi?"
"Mimikyu!" Mimi spun in a circle, and then sunk into the shadows just as Shocker landed on the ground with a thud.
Emerging from the shadows a ways off, Mimi lunged forward with a ghastly claw, striking Shocker in the back as the Golem rose to his feet. She had used shadow sneak to dodge his heavy slam attack, and now she was taking full advantage of the priority move.
"Golem!" Shocker cried, turning on Mimi and lowering his head, aiming his magnet directly at her. He fired off another charge beam, the electric attack hitting the Mimikyu in the stomach this time, right where her real body was hidden.
"Mimikyu!" Mimi cried, flying backwards. She bounced off the rocks as they cut into her, but she quickly righted herself just in time for Shocker to come plummeting down on her, the Golem having taken the opportunity to fly in her direction once more.
"Mimi!" Alden shouted.
Mimi turned just as Shocker fell upon her, swinging her wooden hammer with all of her might. The stick struck Shocker and the Golem cried in pain, but it wasn't nearly enough to stave off the pokemon's heavy fall, Shocker slamming right down upon the Fairy type pokemon, shattering the stick and smashing her flat.
"Golem…" Shocker panted, picking himself up. He held his side and winced. The wood hammer had done some serious damage in the end, he was barely holding on. But Mimi had been flattened against the ground, just the disguise, really. Her ghostly body was nowhere to be seen, all they could see was the cloth.
"Mimikyu is unable to battle," Lila judged with a sigh. The fairy pokemon had barely been out for a second. "Golem is the winner."
"Now they're both down to two pokemon," Akira judged as Alden recalled his Mimikyu quickly.
"That's fine," Alden said, the light in his eyes not dying down for an instant. "Our Sense of victory is just getting started! Now, Corin, finish it with bullet punch!"
Corin emerged from her pokeball, ignoring the diamonds slicing into her, ignoring the stunning effects of the trick room, ignoring the heavy collar weighing her down. She shot forward at blinding speed, striking Shocker in the back with a powerful bullet punch, the round pokemon letting out a final gasp of pain and falling to the ground, unconscious. Corin panted, standing over him, feeling the tug from everything set in as she struggled to raise her head, glaring at Gerard.
"That's the last of your pokemon, Gerard," Alden called out, his eyes shining wildly. "Now, come on! Let's see that Diancie in action!"
The battle approaches the climax! Now, Gerard only has Diana left!