Akira managed to defeat Misty's Seaking, but it took a lot of effort and all of his pokemon. And Misty's just getting started! What else does she have up her sleeve? Will Akira be able to stand up against her next pokemon, or will she easily sweep him away? Let's root for Akira and Nami to make a come-from-behind victory!

The Harmonium: Those are definitely some interesting comparisons, I'll give you that much.

KedharS: Yes, it definitely is exciting.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 827

Misty was all smiles as she recalled her Seaking back to her pokeball. "That was great, Akira! You've really got some talent! You could still use some polish, but in terms of battling ability you're definitely a cut above the usual apprentice students I've worked with!"

Sylvia was a little miffed that she hadn't received the same compliment. Although she supposed that she hadn't managed to defeat any of Misty's pokemon, so that was a little understandable. Although if she were using her entire team, she had no doubt about her victory.

"As acknowledgment of your ability, I'm going to show you one of my favorite pokemon up close and personal!" Misty said, flashing a piece sign. She reached to her waist and picked up a pokeball, winking at Akira and flinging it into the air. "Come on out, Starmie!"

A familiar pokemon came out of the pokeball. Akira's Starmie had their chance to shine, and now it was time for hers. "Starmie!" The pokemon cried, landing in the water.

"Well, Akira, you had your Starmie, take a look at mine!" Misty grinned, winking at Akira.

When Akira first set out to be a pokemon trainer, he only had Satsuki by his side. And in spite of how docile and affectionate Satsuki was, raising a Gyarados was still difficult. So he had done a lot of research on famous figures who trained Gyarados.

Misty was one of them. He didn't have a significant attachment to the Water type in specific, but he still felt drawn to her.

Being a cute redhead had helped some. He couldn't help it, his emotions were kind of messed up after what happened to Satsuki, so maybe he had a fantasy or two. A guy going through puberty couldn't be blamed for that!

But he admired her. And she always shined the brightest with her Starmie. That was one of the reasons why he caught one for his own team. And he was happy that he had, Starla was a strong and valuable addition, and he cared a lot for them.

Now he was facing down that same Starmie he had admired, and it was just as dazzling as it had been before.

Only this time he felt an intimidating pressure pushing against him.

Misty was a master of the Water types, and Starmie was her ace. Could he and Nami even begin to put up a fight against the two of them?

That question was answered pretty damn fast.

"Starmie, use thunderbolt!" Misty ordered.

"Starmie!" Starmie cried, spinning the star on their back. A current of electricity sparked through their body, discharging out into the water as they concentrated it upon their topmost point, releasing a powerful bolt that arced right towards Nami.

Nami couldn't begin to dodge. She tried, the poor thing, but being in the water as she was, with her body already liquidized from her acid armor, and there wasn't much she could do to evade the electric attack.

"Vaporeon…!" She whimpered painfully. The first discharge through the water paralyzed her, and kept her from dodging the inevitable bolt that followed. It struck her directly and her painful whimper turned into an agonizing cry.

"Nami!" Akira shouted.

"Yikes," Sylvia winced sympathetically. "You've both got a Starmie, but hers is a lot scarier than yours is, yikes."

Akira didn't even hear her. He was too focused on the pain Nami was in. "Nami!" He cried desperately again, seeing how her crumpled form was starting to sink.

The electricity finally died down. Nami struggled to the surface, groaning, and pulled herself onto the shore.

Akira winced at the sight of her present condition. She wasn't unconscious, but she only had a little bit of health left. And considering how resilient Nami usually was, the power of that thunderbolt must have been immense.

It certainly was. Starmie was Misty's strongest pokemon, and their thunderbolt attacks were an excellent tool for clipping down most Water type pokemon that tried to match against the gym leader. That's why it was such a surprise to Misty that the Vaporeon was able to stay conscious and even escape the water after taking a direct hit like that.

"I've gotta say, Akira, your Vaporeon is excellent," Misty applauded him. "There aren't a lot of pokemon who can walk off a blow like that one."

"…She really is special," Akira had to admit. But even as he said that he could tell that Misty was just being polite. Nami may not have fainted outright, but with barely any health remaining and being paralyzed from the attack to boot, the chances of her winning were zero.

But they were still going to try.

"Nami!" He shouted. "Use shadow ball!"

If Akira had expected to catch Misty off guard with the sudden attack, he was in for a rude awakening. Misty might have been surprised that his Vaporeon had been able to withstand a thunderbolt, but even from her she could see the look of defiance burning behind the pokemon's eyes. Even as wounded as she was, Nami still had some fight left in her. So when the pokemon rose up on her unsteady feet and opened her mouth to attack, Misty was prepared.

"Starmie, dodge it!" She ordered. Nami fired a large shadow ball at Starmie, but it didn't have a prayer of hitting. Starmie was just too fast.

The starfish pokemon spun to the side, the shadow ball flying wildly off into the distant parts of the gym and dispersing harmlessly. Nami's last move had done nothing.

But even if it had missed, it certainly wasn't meaningless. Misty applauded the courage and strength Akira and his Vaporeon had displayed. That wasn't an attack of desperation, a struggle from someone who couldn't accept their own defeat.

It was a show of defiance.

Akira knew he was going to lose. Misty could see it all over his face. But even if he knew the battle was lost, he wasn't going to give up. He was going to go down fighting until the end, and show her his courage.

It was commendable, and Misty could respect it. And that's why she was going to end this match with her strongest, and give Akira all the respect he was due.

"Our opponents fought excellently, Starmie!" She shouted. "So let's honor them by doing the same! Finish them off with another thunderbolt!"

"Starmie!" Starmie agreed, building up another discharge of electricity to finish Nami off.

Akira could have given her orders to dodge, but he knew that it would be pointless. Nami wouldn't be able to move in time, the paralysis was crippling. Compared to Starmie's blinding speed, she couldn't do anything.

"Vaporeon," Nami sighed, resigned. But she kept her eyes focused forwards, glaring at Starmie even as the lightning fell down upon her.

Akira closed his eyes. At least it was quick. "I'm sorry, Nami. You did the best you could. Return." He recalled her to her pokeball, looking at it longingly.

He raised his head and smiled at Misty. "Thank you for that battle, Misty," he said. "I really learned a lot. You're an amazing trainer."

Misty smiled, scratching her hair and laughing. "Thanks yourself, Akira!" She recalled Starmie back to their pokeball. "It's not every day I get to fight against trainers like the two of you! I had a lot of fun, and I hope we'll do it again soon!"

The battle complete, Misty walked around the pool to the two students. "You guys both performed admirably. I do have some pointers for ways you can improve, if you like. We can talk about it over dinner tonight!"

"There's no need for that," Sylvia said, waving her hand and standing up, stretching. "I know what I can improve on. I'm quite clever, after all."

She glanced at Akira and smirked. "This guy, though, he's a different sort. He definitely needs help, as much help as you can get him."

Akira glared at her.

Misty kept her mouth shut. She wasn't the type of person to play favorites, even if she did agree with Sylvia that, between the two of them, Akira was the trainer who had more to improve on. Sylvia was talented and smart, and her skills were unquestionable. Her only real mistakes were in underestimating her opponent.

Misty was actually a little intimidated if she was being honest. When Sylvia said she was clever, she wasn't joking. During her fight with Akira, Misty had felt Sylvia's eyes the entire time. She was focused on the battle completely, studying everything that Misty did.

Next time Misty fought against her, there was even the chance that she could win. That was a scary thought. She hadn't even seen Sylvia fight again, but the air around her already seemed like she was stronger.

Someone who improved that rapidly would make an amazing trainer.

Comparatively, if Misty had to sum up Akira in one word, it would be "potential". She'd seen lots of trainers like him before. They come from the Pokemon Academy or other schools, thinking that they have what it takes to go toe to toe with a gym leader, but their knowledge of the Water type was very superficial. It was clear that Akira didn't have the dedication to Water types that Misty did, he obviously had other pokemon he used.

Not that there was a problem with that, of course. Misty wasn't some zealot who believed that if you wanted to specialize in a specific type of pokemon you couldn't train pokemon of other types. But it did reveal a weakness in him. He was talented, and he had the potential to be an excellent trainer. But he needed to do more than scratch the surface. Just like with Chinchou, he needed to learn about his pokemon and what they were capable of. They were strong, but not as strong as they could be. If he really wanted to make the most out of his time here, then he would need to dig a little deeper.

Misty was happy to help with that.

"Akira, I think you're doing a great job," Misty assured him. "I can't wait to fight with you again. We can start training tomorrow, and I'm thinking it would be good to start off with your… err, I mean, your friend's Chinchou. See what we can learn about the little guy."

Training in this case meant homework. Lots of homework. But she didn't want to crush his excitement on the very first day.

She smiled. "I think you're going to be a great Water type trainer, Akira." Although it was clear that Akira didn't share in her love of Water types, that didn't really matter to Misty. Because he definitely shared in her love of pokemon. He loved his pokemon for who they were, and that was enough to be a respectable trainer. Now she just needed to improve his knowledge and teach him how to make better use of his pokemon and their abilities.

"But before we get to that, I think we need to pack it in for today, okay? You guys must be tired, why don't I have Diana show you to your rooms, and then you guys can unwind and unpack. Then we can head out for dinner, what do you guys think?"

If Sylvia had any pride she would have been miffed by Misty's insinuation that she didn't think Sylvia was going to be a great Water type trainer. But she didn't really care, because that wasn't one of her goals. So she shrugged her shoulders and nodded.

Time for some fun and games instead. "You got my request from campus, right?" She asked, smiling sweetly at Misty. "For a shared room and a double bed?"

Akira's heart dropped in his chest. Wait, what the hell was she saying? "Sylvia?!" He sputtered, turning to her with a look that was a mixture of fury and confusion.

Misty was just shocked outright. Her jaw dropped and she looked between the two of them. "Uh… I mean, that's…" No, she hadn't gotten any such request. And even if she had, there was no way she was going to allow that. There weren't going to be any shenanigans happening in her gym's living quarters, not while these two were her responsibility.

But… did they really have that sort of relationship? She hadn't gotten that vibe at all from the two of them, in fact, she'd sensed some tension. Maybe they were fighting? Or maybe…

Misty's own bias towards the fact that her love life was fruitless was coloring her objectivity, so she had no clue that Sylvia was messing with her and Akira. But Akira knew damn well what she was up to, and was quick to put a stop to it.

"Sylvia, shut your mouth," he scowled. "There is NO WAY that I would EVER share a room, or anything else, with you."

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "God, Akira, you are just the most BORING guy in the world, you know that?" She scoffed.

Misty blinked. "Oh, so… the two of you aren't… together." She sighed in relief, glad that she wasn't losing to a couple of kids in the love department.

Sylvia picked up on that immediately and wasted no time twisting the knife in.

"Nope, but he does have a girlfriend!" She gleefully chirped. Before Misty could respond Sylvia turned to Diana, who was trying to keep a straight face. "Now then, I believe you were going to show me to my room?" She asked, and the swimmer led Sylvia toward the back of the gym while leaving Akira alone with Misty.

"…So, a girlfriend, huh?" Misty asked, staring coldly at him.

Akira didn't think he'd done anything wrong, so feeling Misty's glare aimed his way was a little unnerving. But he also knew this wasn't about him, so he was quick to deflect the topic, even though it was true.

"My relationship is… complicated," he said, and that was putting it mildly. "Sorry, I'm just not very comfortable talking about it."

Misty softened immediately, and nodded. She may be easily angered, but she definitely wasn't going to bite the head off of a teen who wanted to keep his romantic life private. She was an adult after all, even if she was only 20.

She'd just enviously seethe in her room instead.

"Can I see your pokemon?" She asked, holding out her hand. "I'd like to take them to go get healed up, if you don't mind."

Akira was glad to, happy just that the subject had been changed. He gave Misty the three pokeballs and she turned and followed after Diana, clearly expecting Akira to follow her into the back, either to look after his pokemon or go with the two girls to check out his room.

But Akira did neither of those things. Instead, he turned and walked over to one of the pools, the largest one he could find. He had another pokemon he wanted to see.

Satsuki emerged from her pokeball with a roar, staring down cheerfully at Akira. But she could see that he wasn't in a "cheerful" mood.

"Gyarados?" She leaned down and stared him in the eyes. She could see how frustrated he was, and that was making her mad.

Akira didn't want her to lose her cool, though. He smiled at her. "Hey, Satsuki, sorry. I know I just let you out and you need your rest, but I wanted to see you again."

"Gyarados," Satsuki huffed. She didn't think it was that big of a deal.

"I just fought Misty, you know," he said, explaining to her what she had missed while she was resting in the pokeball. "And she completely destroyed me. It took three of my pokemon to take down one of hers, and even when I did she beat Nami with just a couple of thunderbolts. It really sucks, you know, we tried our best."

Akira understood why he lost, and he could accept it. He had too much respect for Misty and appreciation for everything he had learned from her to get angry or bitter at his loss, he was a better trainer than that.

But he couldn't help the frustration he felt.

"Gyarados!" Satsuki growled insistently.

"What? No, of course I wasn't going to use you!" Akira said. He didn't know what she was saying, of course, but he had a pretty good idea. It wasn't the first time Satsuki had insisted on wanting to battle with him when he'd been against it. It had happened all too frequently.

Satsuki sank back into the water. She understood why Akira didn't want to use her in battle, but she didn't understand what was wrong with her. She wanted to fight, but the last time she had responded to his emotions and fought, well…

The damage had been catastrophic. And Akira definitely didn't want that to happen again. And that wasn't the only problem, either. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she felt like something was different.

It was like her body was changing. Like something had happened to her, and was still happening, even though she looked normal.

She could see it in Akira's eyes, and he'd said as much several times already since the incident. He didn't want to fight with her anymore, because he was afraid that what had happened to her before would happen again.

It had been an awful experience. More painful than any attack or loss she'd felt in a pokemon battle. For Satsuki, it was like her entire body was breaking apart from the inside, like she was dying and being reborn simultaneously, with the strength being drained from her.

Honestly speaking she didn't want to go through that again, either. No matter how much she loved her trainer, that experience was painful and she was frightened of it.

But if Akira wanted her to fight, then of course she would. She was his pokemon, after all, and she loved him.

Akira reached up and cradled her face, running his fingers across the scars on her eye.

"Satsuki, you're important to me," he reminded her. "I don't want you to get hurt. That's another reason… why I came here. Professor Decker… he took samples of your DNA, but he never told me anything about what he found out. But if these people Sylvia was talking about… if they're real, and they're geneticists… then maybe they'll know something. Maybe they can stop it, or reverse it, or whatever. Find some way to help you."

Satsuki didn't feel like she needed help. She didn't feel that energy drain even now, and she didn't think it would happen again if she battled. She was scared of it, certainly, but she wasn't going to let it control her.

She growled at Akira. She wanted to fight!

Things are going pretty roughly for Akira. Not only did he lose to Misty, and his girlfriend is in a coma, but he's also dealing with the fact that his favorite and strongest pokemon might not be able to fight due to the strange genetic problem Professor Decker found. What will happen to Satsuki? Is there some way to help her? Now that we've settled into the gym, what secrets await in Cerulean City and Kanto for us to discover?