First they exchanged some powerful moves, now their pokemon are competing against each other in terms of speed! Anabel and Alden are both having the time of their lives, drowning themselves in the joy of the battle! Hopefully, they can finally snap out of their battle lust and actually get headed on beating each other, or they'll be here forever.
Aquahaze675: Anabel is a "they" but yes.
KedharS: Assuming they get around to actually knocking each other's pokemon out.
Rowlets and Oshawotts: Makes sense, and she's a very skilled battler. Still, that doesn't account for the connection Anabel and Alden have.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 606
With a base speed stat of 119, Cinderace were one of the fastest species of pokemon around. But Weavile were faster. So when Tracey ran towards Eava with flames wrapped around her legs and her speed boosted by flame charge, she expected this raise in her speed would help her take care of her opponent quickly.
Unfortunately, Anabel was able to boost Eava's speed with their harmonia, allowing her to naturally outrun the Cinderace. And to make matters worse, they decided to increase their chances even more with another order.
"Weavile!" Eava jumped out of the way of Tracey's kick, her speed boosted with agility. Taking Tracey's back, Eava raised her claws and slashed at the Fire type with a powerful night slash.
"Tracey, bounce!" Alden shouted. As Eava swung at Tracey, she found her slash hitting no target. Tracey had sprung into the air, avoiding the move, and hovered above Eava's head momentarily, catching her breath.
"Nice dodge!" Anabel grinned. "Now Eava, icicle spear!"
"Weav!" Eava raised her head and held her claws up, forming a massive icicle in front of her. She fired the sharp piece of ice at Tracey, taking advantage of Tracey's Flying typing to strike at her with a super-effective move.
"Tracey, blaze kick!" Alden ordered.
"Cinder!" Tracey's leg was coated in bright flames, and she swung her leg down upon the icicle, the intense heat from the move melting through it as she dropped down upon Eava.
"Eava!" Anabel shouted. Eava jumped back, managing to avoid the direct hit from the blaze kick. But she couldn't dodge the extra effects. Tracey's leg smashed into the ground, sending a burst of fire out in a ring that hit Eava in the back as she tried to dodge.
"Weavile!" Eava cried out in pain, rolling forward. She snuffed out the flames and turned in Tracey's direction, growling angrily at her. "Weav!"
Eava charged forward, dark energy bursting through her claws. She leapt up and struck Tracey with a powerful night slash as the pokemon stood up. Tracey grunted and swung her leg, kicking Eava in the side and sending her flying away. Eava landed on the ground, panting, clutching her stomach and glaring at Tracey.
"Stings," Anabel winced, holding their side as well. "Your Cinderace is fast, Alden! And not only is she quick, she hits hard! But we won't go down so easily, right, Eava?"
"Weavile!" Eava nodded, narrowing her eyes. Anabel focused their harmonia and sent a burst of power into Eava, who shot forward with agility. Dashing across the battlefield so fast that she appeared at nothing more than a black blur as she approached.
Normally, I would boost Tracey's speed with agility, but that's not a good idea in this situation, Alden understood that. He wasn't about to risk Tracey turning into a Psychic type when facing off against a Weavile who was naturally faster than her and could unleash devastating Dark type moves. Tracey had taken a big hit from that night slash already, and he didn't want her to take another.
"What's the matter? Your Cinderace is moving kind of slow!" Anabel called out as their Weavile danced around the Cinderace, wary of getting close to Tracey, as Tracey watched her movements cautiously, looking for a chance to strike. "Libero's kind of working against you now, isn't it?"
Alden nodded sheepishly, that was absolutely the case. But he still cracked a smile.
"Alright, Anabel, you got me!" He admitted. "You win the speed battle! I could throw some flames at you, but at this rate, you'd dodge."
"Yup!" Anabel cheered, smiling at him and giving him a thumbs' up. "Like this! Eava, night slash!"
"Weavile!" Eava shot forward, raising her claw and striking Tracey across the chest with a savage slash, Tracey crying out in pain.
"Tracey, baton pass!" Alden ordered. Tracey leapt back into her pokeball, Alden quickly changing her out for another pokemon. "I can't beat you when it comes to speed, Anabel. Between your harmonia and your pokemon's moves and natural speed, that's pretty clear. So let's see how you do matched up against some real power? Finn, go!"
"Swampert!" Finn roared, emerging from the pokeball that Alden threw, landing on the ground and causing the battlefield to shake. He flexed his muscles and lumbered forward, knowing there was no chance of outrunning the Weavile and not caring if there was. He wasn't going for speed. He was going to smash through the Dark type with pure power!
"Eava, swords dance," Anabel ordered.
"Weavile!" Eava nodded, raising her claws and scraping them together, boosting her attack stat up even higher. There were two things Weavile did well, and that was run fast and strike hard. And Eava was about to do both.
Anabel focused their harmonia, their power surging as they connected with Eava, raising their pokemon's stats as Eava ran towards the Swampert. Darkness surged through her claws and she swung at Finn, already preparing herself to leap back as she hit. Anabel focused their reflexes. They weren't about to let Eava stay within range of the pokemon's strike. Eava would have to hit fast and hard, and then dodge before the Swampert could counter.
"Weav!" Eava swung her claw and struck Finn in the chest, leaping back. She dodged the wild swing that Finn retaliated with, the bulky pokemon not even close to laying a finger on the speedy Weavile, Eava putting more distance between the two of them and coming in swinging from behind.
"Water pulse, Finn!" Alden ordered. Finn pushed against the ground and released a shockwave of water out from his body, catching Eava off-guard. But a move like that wasn't a problem. Her special defenses were boosted due to her trainer's harmonia, and she pushed through the water and charged ahead, swinging her claw again.
But then, Finn tilted his head back and let out a loud yawn, surprising Eava. She blinked, stopping her attack, and then let out a yawn herself.
"Hey, what's… *yawn* with that?" Anabel yawned, rubbing their eyes. "Making me… *yawn* sleepy's no fun…" Anabel shared their senses with their Weavile, who was finding it difficult to stay awake herself. Because of that, they were having trouble keeping their eyes open, and wanted to just take a nap.
"Sorry Anabel, but it's a strategy," Alden replied. "I want a fair fight, and that Weavile of yours is a little too fast right now to be able to match it with my pokemon."
"…*Yawn*… Fair enough," Anabel admitted. They called Eava back to her pokeball, rubbing their eyes blearily as their body felt the effects of yawn start to wear off now that their connection to Eava was broken. Their tiredness fading away, they were quick to switch to their next pokemon. "Now then… you want to fight like that? Well, we can do that too. C'mon Norton…" Punctuating their statement with one final yawn, Anabel threw their next pokeball into the air.
"Snorlax!" The large pokemon emerged from the pokeball and landed on the battlefield, the ground shaking even more than when Finn had come out. The large pokemon looked like a big stuffed animal, or maybe a full bed. His big furry blue body was held up on two tiny feet, the large creamy belly looking so relaxing that Cynthia just wanted to-
Cynthia let out a yawn herself, rubbing her eyes. No sense in falling asleep herself, after all! She needed to keep watching!
"Well, that's one way to get around yawn," Alden laughed. "That's a pretty big guy!"
"Snorlax…" Norton yawned, his big body shifting as he sat, and then switched to a lying position, sprawled out on the battlefield. He let out another yawn, and with his eyes closed he looked like he actually was sleeping.
"Swamp…" Finn yawned, feeling the effects of the yawn himself for once. Now it was his turn to feel sleepy! But that wouldn't do!
"Finn! Use flip turn," Alden ordered. Finn nodded, pushing through the sleepiness. He charged at the Snorlax, water rushing around his body. He tackled the Snorlax with full force, practically bouncing off of the big pokemon's flab, turning back and returning to his pokeball. "Now, Eifa, go!"
"Espeon!" Eifa purred, emerging from her pokeball a second time, her ruby flashing.
"Well now, sent her back out?" Anabel grinned. "Nice! Now neither one of us can put the other to sleep! That means we can have a real fight!"
Anabel sent a burst of harmonia out to Norton. This was no time to be sleeping on the job! Norton tilted his head up to see the Espeon leering at him, and he let out another yawn, this time a yawn of the normal variety. He sighed, pushing off against the ground. Seeing a Snorlax try to stand was quite a feat, and Alden was content to hold back and watch the pokemon get into fighting form. Norton stood upright, stretching.
"Yeah, let's go, Norton, do some early-morning aerobics!" Anabel nodded, doing some stretches with their pokemon.
"Ready yet?" Alden called.
"Don't want to strain anything!" Anabel called back. "Now we're ready to go! Let's have some fun with this!"
"Fun, huh? I'm up for that," Alden nodded. "Eifa, psybeam!"
"Espeon!" Eifa's eyes flashed, and she fired a beam of crimson light from the ruby on her forehead, striking Norton in the stomach.
"Snor…" Norton lazily scratched at his belly where the psybeam attack had hit, the move barely making ripples in his belly flab. His special defenses were really high!
"Wooo, all tingly!" Anabel grinned, rubbing their belly as well. "Now, this is where the fun begins! You underestimate Norton's power, Commander, we've got all sorts of powerful moves!"
"Oh, really?" Alden grinned, leaning in intently.
"Yup! Why, if we really set our minds to it, we could beat you with one finger!" Anabel boasted, lifting their finger up and pointing at him challengingly. "But where would the fun be in that? We want a real fight!"
"A real right is all about not holding back," Alden reminded them. "So come on! One finger? Why don't you show me?"
Anabel grinned, their eyes shining. "Well, one finger, you asked for it!"
Anabel pointed towards the sky, and Norton did the same. Then, Anabel swizzled their finger around like they were stirring the air.
"SNORLAX!" As Norton did the same, his finger began to glow! Then, he opened his mouth and a massive blast of water shot out from it, catching Eifa completely off-guard! She hadn't expected that sort of move! From a Snorlax?! So startled, the hydro pump hit her square in the face, sending her tumbling backwards from the force of the pressurized water.
"What's up with that?!" Cynthia exclaimed, leaping to her feet in surprise. "Snorlax aren't able to use hydro pump! …Are they?"
"That wasn't hydro pump," Vic corrected her sharply. "…Okay, well, it was, but it wasn't because their Snorlax can learn hydro pump."
That was the sort of reasoning that made Cynthia's brain get all blurry.
"Uh…" Cynthia stared at her in confusion.
"Metronome."
The person who offered that answer was Ross, of all people. The soft-spoken redhead turned to Cynthia and smiled at her.
"It's a special kind of move," he explained. "Metronome is a move that gives the pokemon the ability to use any move there is, but they can't control which move they'll use. Quite an interesting little technique, wouldn't you say?"
It took Cynthia a moment to put it together, but when she did her mouth dropped open in shock at the possibilities.
"ANY MOVE?!" She shouted loudly enough to catch the attention of the two trainers on the battlefield, who both looked at her and chuckled a little. Realizing that she had just made a scene out of herself, the exact opposite reason of why she was here, Cynthia felt her face get hot. She looked down sheepishly and sunk back down into her seat, staring at her lap.
"Yes, any move," Anabel called out to her in confirmation before turning back to Alden. "Now, a guy like you, you've gotta admit, a move like metronome certainly makes for a fun battle, wouldn't you agree? We have no idea what's going to come up!"
"I gotta say, you're something else, Anabel," Alden admitted with a sheepish grin. "It's really hard to get a bead on you, you know that? Normally, my Sense is good for stuff like this, but with you it's like I can't tell what you're trying to get out of battles. Winning, having fun, doing whatever you want, it all feels great, doesn't it?"
"Exactly!" Anabel said, raising their finger again and giving him a wink. "I fight out of enjoyment of the fight! Just like you! And while you definitely love the thrill of the battle itself, just like me, I don't even mind if the battle isn't a battle at all! Just… mmm…" Anabel sighed, closing their eyes and letting their harmonia rush through them. "Just getting a chance to fight with my pokemon is enough fun for me, regardless of the form it takes."
Alden nodded, he understood that perfectly.
"You really are perfect," he admitted. "In fact, you're hired!"
"What?!" Vic exclaimed, leaping from her seat, her face going pale. No way was he actually going to hire this… this battle junkie!
"Oh?" Anabel blinked, surprised. They were ready to get back to the fight, but it seemed that the Commander had something he wanted to say.
"The Battle Frontier that I intend to build is a paradise for trainers like us," Alden explained. "A frontier of battles, where trainers can enjoy themselves to their fullest by battling their hearts out! And someone like you, who loves battles so much, you're the perfect fit for the Battle Frontier! That's why I want you to join!"
"Well, I appreciate it," Anabel smiled. "This battle, between you and I… it really speaks to me, in ways that I've been looking for for quite some time. I want more battles like this, I want every day to be like this, if I'm honest. So if you can promise me more stimulating battles, then I would love to join with you. But before we can work on the details… then please! Satisfy me more with this wonderful battle, Commander!"
Vic looked like she wanted to throw up. She didn't want to see Anabel any more than she had to, and was hoping that they would leave after this. Now, they were coming to join the Battle Frontier? It made her feel…
Vic quickly shook her head. She couldn't allow that. She was devoted to the Commander, and the Commander had determined that Anabel would be joining them in working in the Battle Frontier. Vic didn't like it, but she would never disobey the Commander's wishes.
So Vic would find herself having to tolerate this person for quite some time, it appeared. She forced herself to be okay with that.
"Now then, Anabel!" Alden called out to them. "Before we discuss terms, I think you're right! We need to finish this battle, and make it the best one we can! Eifa, since psybeam didn't work well, it looks like that Snorlax has a pretty high special defense stat! But let's try seeing how his physical defense is. Use psyshock."
"Espeon!" Eifa's ruby began to glow red, crimson lightning crackling around her body as she built up her psychic power. She released the psychic energy in a bolt of lightning, the current striking the large pokemon across from her, zapping him.
"Snorlax!" Norton roared, the shocks hurting quite a bit. Anabel winced, feeling the crackles of electricity, but they quickly shook it off.
"Yeah, you're not wrong, Alden, Norton has a lot of special defense, but his physical defenses aren't as good. So you used psyshock, to attack his defenses. Not bad!" Anabel grinned. "Now then, let's get back to the fun part! Norton, spin it again! Metronome!"
"Snorlax!" Norton roared, wiggling his finger along with Anabel. A light began shining on the tip of his finger, and he began to move sideways, creating multiple copies of himself that filled the battlefield with the images of the bulky pokemon.
"So it's double team!" Anabel gasped, taking a second to compose theirself. "That's something we can work with, Norton!"
"Espeon," Eifa looked around the battlefield, seeing that she was surrounded by a big hoard of Snorlax. But that wasn't a big deal. Her ruby flashed, and a bright red aura surrounded her. With a growl, powerful rays of crimson light shot out in all directions, piercing through the copies and striking the original, even though it didn't do much damage.
"Eh, that's no fun," Anabel pouted. "But no problem! Next time it's definitely going to work! Norton, try again!"
"Snorlax!" Norton waved his finger and it began to shine, and then he charged at Eifa, flames covering his entire body as he barreled right for her.
"Flare blitz, huh?" Alden said. "Well, that's a surprise! Eifa, use reflect!"
"Espeon!" Eifa's ruby flashed, and a large barrier of bright red light appeared around her, protecting her from the attack as best as she could.
"Snorlax!" Norton hit the barrier, the flames bursting off of the reflective screen as he threw his heft against it, pushing as hard as he could, struggling to break through. But even as the force of the flames and the impact burned against him, draining his admittedly high health reserves, he still couldn't break through.
"Now, light screen for good measure!" Alden followed, Eifa nodding in agreement. Her eyes glowed red and her ruby flashed, a matching screen protecting her from special attacks as well, just in case Norton's metronome had any bright ideas.
"Oh, two barriers now, huh?" Anabel grinned. They turned towards Alden, giving him a coy wink. "Well, I hate to break it to you, Commander, but Norton's got a powerful brick break that can smash those shields to pieces."
"Oh, really?" Alden smiled back, already suspecting he knew where they were going with this. "Well, go ahead, then."
Anabel winked.
"Come on now, where would the fun be in that?" They asked, giving a coy redirect of the Commander's words earlier. "This battle's for enjoyment, remember? And smashing through a barrier with the power of a move isn't half as fun as the thrill that comes from breaking through it with raw power! Just like this! Norton, use metronome!"
"Snorlax!" Snorlax raised his finger, wiggling it around. His finger began to glow. Anabel and the Commander both watched in anticipation, along with their audience, everyone interested in seeing what move that Norton would pull off this time.
Norton bounced up and down, not doing much of anything.
"…Snorlax used splash," Vic dryly noted.
Anabel blinked, their eyes glassing over as they stared at their pokemon flailing around helplessly.
"Well, that's something," they said, laughing. "Not every hand's a winner!"
Well, the important part is that they're having fun. As I feared, these two are enjoying the fight so much, no one's pokemon are actually fainting!