Kate's taken out Roxie's Scolipede and incapacitated her Weezing! But Roxie's got one more pokemon up her sleeve, a trump card! What pokemon could it be? And will Kate's Amoonguss be enough to take it down? We'll have to hope it'll be enough!

KedharS: Hopefully she can. But I don't think it's going to be easy, that's for sure.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: She'll need all the help and support she can get against Roxie's trump card.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 857

The roar of the crowd was reaching a fever pitch as they waited for Roxie to send out her final pokemon. Kate felt herself getting swept up in the excitement too, but her anticipation was tinged with anxiety. Whatever Roxie's trump card was, it would definitely be a hard pokemon to beat.

"Let's rock, Kurt!" Roxie called, tossing her pokeball out into the air. The pokemon that emerged from it was a pokemon Kate was aware of, but knew little about.

"Toxtricity," the pokemon rumbled, staring calmly at Kate. He landed on a field of spikes and they hurt quite a lot, but he didn't seem to mind. The pensive energy emanating from him was more than enough to identify what Kate was dealing with.

"Toxtricity!" Kate gasped. Roxie's last pokemon was a Toxtricity, how fitting! The poison pokemon was part Electric type, as someone could tell from the two frills of blue lightning that sparked on his neck and back. His chest was also surging with blue electricity, drawing a bright contrast with his purple scales. Four organs pulsed with sound on his chest, like the strings of Roxie's bass guitar.

"Toxtricity ain't just any ordinary Poison type," Roxie proudly proclaimed. "It's a Poison type that can really get in the spirits of my music, ya dig? Kurt here can match the low key rumble of my bass and deliver a sonic shock straight to yer heart! Let's go, Kurt!"

"Toxtricity," Kurt growled, narrowing his eyes. The frills on his back surged up and he released a discharge of electricity that struck Bareru, stunning him.

"Bareru, don't worry!" Kate encouraged her Amoonguss. "Just because they look intimidating, that doesn't mean they're anything we can't beat!"

"Moon!" Bareru nodded in agreement, raising the caps on his arms out like shields.

"That's the spirit, Katie Girl!" Roxie cheered, nodding excitedly. "Let's have match that'll really get us all pumped to the max!"

"Bareru, start with your spore attack!" Kate ordered. As a pokemon that was Poison type AND Electric type, Roxie's Toxtricity was immune to both poison and paralysis, two of the three status conditions Bareru could inflict with his spores. But that was just fine, sleep was a deadly affliction in a pokemon battle like this!

Bareru released a cloud of green spores from the cap on his head and sent them towards the Toxtricity to take him out of the fight the way he had with Roxie's Weezing.

"Knew ya'd try to do something like that!" Roxie grinned. "But we ain't about to let ya take us out of commission so easily, right Kurt?"

"Tox!" Kurt snarled in agreement.

"That's right! Let's show that girl how we rock it with an uproar!" Roxie ordered.

"TOXTRICITY!" Kurt roared, the organs on his chest flexing. As the spores landed on Kurt's scales, their sleeping effects should have kicked in and put the pokemon under. But they didn't have any effect! Kurt's music was too loud, the sound he was making was keeping him wide awake!

"Sorry Katie Girl, but Kurt's uproar really knows how to raise the roof!" Roxie shouted across the battlefield. Her voice was drowned out by the roars of the crowd, but Kate could get a good idea of what was happening.

She didn't like it. She bit her lip in frustration and clenched her hands into fists. She'd been counting on Bareru to weaken Roxie's pokemon with status ailments, but…

Poison wouldn't work.

Paralysis wouldn't work.

And now, not even SLEEP would work!

"No tricks on this one!" Roxie called as the noise died down. "Most of my pokemon are like yers, they just love to wear down my opponents! But Kurt here's like me, he doesn't want to rely on things like toxic and venoshock, he just wants to rock it out! Now Kurt, show these two what it really means to be the center of the stage! Use hyper voice!"

"Toxtricity!" Kurt shouted, falling down onto all fours. His organs inflated and he opened his mouth wide, releasing a shockwave of sonic power. "TOXTRICITY!"

"Amooooooon!" Bareru wailed as the sonic forces slammed into him, nearly deafening him. Kate was getting pushed back from the force of the move herself, the shockwave was devastating.

"Bareru!" She cried helplessly, but her words had no chance of reaching Bareru.

When the hyper voice died down, Bareru wasn't in very good shape. His brains felt like they were spinning and he could barely hear his trainer's voice calling out to him.

"Bareru! Snap out of it!" Kate wailed.

"Good luck!" Roxie chortled. "That's the signature ability of my Toxtricity, Punk Rock! It maximizes the power of sound-based moves, giving them quite a bit a the ol' shock an' awe! Now, need a little to get yer bearings back, Katie Girl?"

Kate understood what Roxie meant. Bareru wasn't the only one that had taken a bit of a beating from the Toxtricity's hyper voice, she'd been caught up in it as well. Her head was pounding out a strong bass beat in her brain, and it felt like her eardrums were going to burst! Roxie really hadn't been holding back.

Luckily, as a gym leader, Roxie knew when enough was enough. If she kept pressuring Kate with more hyper voices while Kate was in her condition, that wouldn't be a battle, it would be bordering on assault with a pokemon. So she waited until Kate's mind cleared and her ears were back to normal before they continued the fight.

That gave Kate some time to think about her next moves.

I can't rely on Bareru's status, which is bad, Kate thought, wracking the scrambled mess of her brai for solutions. Bareru wasn't the strongest of her pokemon, but he made up for it by flinging spores and powders around to wear down his opponents. But that wasn't a strategy that would work on the unique combination of Toxtricity! She'd managed to get some ground with the painful effect of spikes hitting him on the switch-in, but that wouldn't be enough to capitalize on.

"Bareru!" Kate shouted, hoping her pokemon's hearing at returned. He glanced back at her, and she knew it had, which was a relief.

"Amoon?" Bareru asked questioningly.

"We're not going to rely on your spores anymore," Kate explained, cracking a grin. "We're going to take Roxie head-on, just as she suggested."

Roxie gave her a wild smile in return. "That's the spirit, Katie Girl! Fight it to yer best and let's give these guys something they can cheer about! Kurt, that's your cue! Give 'er another hyper voice to scramble them a little!"

"Toxtricity!" Kurt nodded, preparing another hyper voice. But this time Kate was ready.

"Not a chance!" She snapped, nodding to her Amoonguss. "Bareru, let's go full power! Hit him with your solarbeam attack!"

"Amoonguss!" Bareru growled, the cap on his head glowing green as he absorbed energy from the sunlight still burning brightly overhead. The power of the intense sun meant that he could build up the energy in a flash, releasing it in a powerful beam of light in seconds.

The solarbeam burned across the battlefield and slammed into Kurt, knocking him off his feet and disrupting his attempt to use hyper voice. It wasn't very effective, but because of the natural power of the move, that didn't matter much.

"Whoa, Kurt! That was a toughie alright! Ya good?!" Roxie cried.

"Tox…" Kurt panted, rising to his feet and nodding.

"Guess it was too much to hope that we'd be able to take it down with a solarbeam!" Kate growled. "That's fine, there's more where that came from, right, Bareru? Go and launch another one!"

"Amoonguss!" Bareru bellowed, gathering in more sunlight for another solarbeam attack. Another blast of light shot across the battlefield, but this time Roxie and Kurt were ready.

"Sorry, but that's the only one ya get!" Roxie crowed. "Kurt! Dodge it and use overdrive!"

"Toxtricity!" Kurt roared, the organs on his chest throbbing. He dodged to the side, causing the solarbeam to harmlessly hit the ground he'd been standing on. Evading without a scratch, he released another sonic shockwave teaming with the vibrations of a bass guitar.

"Bareru!" Kate cried out, the powerful pulse slamming into her pokemon and causing him to tip over. She could tell right away that we wasn't in good condition. "Quick! Use your synthesis to recover your health!"

"A… Amoonguss…" Bareru panted out, starting to glow with a green light. He began to absorb energy from the intense sun to heal himself, but Roxie wasn't about to allow that.

"Oh, no ya don't!" Roxie shouted. "Time to finish 'em off, Kurt! Use yer best one, boomburst!"

"TOXTRICITY!" Kurt shouted, his organs pounding out vibrations at maximum power. He gathered up sonic energy so loud that even the roars of the crowd were drowned out by the powerful pulse, and then released it all in one compressed blast of sound that nearly tore the gym apart.

"AMOOOOOOOON!" Bareru wailed, and Kate actually felt her feet lifted off the ground by the force of the sound attack. She was sent tumbling as Bareru was knocked over once again, losing consciousness in the face of the deafening assault.

Kate stared up at the dimly lit ceiling. There was a dull echo in her ears that she couldn't get to settle down, and the music club was spinning around her like a typhoon. Her head was swimming and she couldn't get her balance enough to stand back up. She felt like if she tried to move then she would get sick all over herself.

Gradually, her hearing returned, and the cheers of excitement reached her ears. The audience was going wild, celebrating their hearts out. Kate's realization of her loss hit her as strong as the boomburst had. She'd been beaten by Roxie.

And knowing that made her want to cry.

But she had to be strong. She wanted to be cool and chill, like Roxie was. Roxie wasn't the kind of girl who would burst into tears if she lost a fight. She'd just take it on the chin, because she was awesome like that.

They were almost the same age, but Kate couldn't imagine taking things as well as Roxie could, could she really grow up to be like her.

"Hey! Katie Girl! Ya okay?!"

Kate tilted her head up slightly to see Roxie running over to her, her face white with fear.

"Y-Yeah, I… I'm fine…" Kate mumbled, even though she knew sitting up would lead her to vomiting. "I'm just a little dizzy, that's all…"

"Oh, phew," Roxie said, sighing in relief. "Ya really got me frightened there, Katie Girl! I thought I'd hurt ya bad!"

"N-No, I'm just… well, that attack was a little…"

Kate could hear Roxie's apologies, but her ears were still ringing. She wondered if that sensation would ever go away.

"Yeah, I'm still training Kurt," Roxie apologized, helping Kate to her feet. Kate was relieved that she didn't barf over her idol.

"R-Really? But… he's so strong…" Kate couldn't imagine the Toxtricity needing more training, not as powerful as he was.

"Yeah, he's strong, but it's more'n that," Roxie groaned. "When ya got a pokemon as strong as 'im, ya gotta make sure he don't lose control, ya feel me? And I've got a hard time keepen 'im from goin' all wild an' all, his sound attacks are devastating."

Kate could definitely believe that, she'd just been on the receiving end of one.

"I'm not supposed to use Kurt in gym battles, see," Roxie said, smiling apologetically. "I might hurt a challenger. But ya were so filled with excitement I couldn't help it! I just had to test ya with the best I had!"

Hearing that blew all of Kate's frustrations away. Roxie had used a dangerous pokemon like Toxtricity because she was so excited to face Kate with her best? It made Kate feel better, knowing her idol wasn't perfect, because that meant Kate could be like her without having to be perfect herself. And it also served as a comfort to know that Roxie thought so highly of her.

"Thanks, Roxie, that makes me feel a lot better, actually," Kate said, smiling at her. "I really tried my best, and… Bareru!"

Kate realized her Amoonguss was still unconscious, and quickly rushed over to his side.

She made it about three steps before she pitched over. The music club was still spinning, and her legs felt like jelly.

"Whoa! Careful, Katie Girl!" Roxie said, running over. She helped Kate stand back up, and recalled her Amoonguss for her.

"S-Sorry," Kate apologized, shaking her head and trying to clear away the fog. Roxie dismissed her concerns quicky.

"Nah, I'm the one who should give ya an apology, it's all 'cuzza Kurt. Ya just take a load off, an' I'll find ya somewhere to sit," Roxie assured her, leading her off the battlefield.

Roxie smiled, and looked around the room at the people who were still cheering.

"In the meantime, I suggest ya perk up those earsa yers and give the crowd a listen, 'cuz it sounds like they really liked what they saw outta ya!" Roxie grinned, patting her on the back.

Kate heard the cheers, and they soothed her heart. She felt herself smiling too. It was nice to be cheered on in a fight, for once.

Roxie took Kate to a side room, sort of like a waiting area. It had a bed, which was good enough for Kate, and the room was soundproofed too, meaning when Roxie went back up onstage, Kate could drift off to a peaceful sleep without having to worry about anymore sonic disruptions.

Kate was shaken away a few hours later. The sleep had done wonders for her thoughts, and she no longer felt overwhelmed or sick or anything. She was totally healed! Which was good, because it was Roxie who had woken her up.

"Ya feeling better, Katie Girl?" She grinned.

"Y-Yeah, I feel fine," Kate said, nodding.

"Great!" Roxie chirped. "Then let's get ya to the Pokemon Center!"

Kate blinked, apparently still a little disoriented. "P-Pokemon Center? Huh?"

"While ya were sleeping, I had yer pokemon taken over to the Pokemon Center," Roxie explained, gesturing at Kate's belt. She was right, Kate's pokeballs were gone! She gasped and sprung out of bed, reinvigorated.

"Oh! Then they're getting healed!" Kate was nearly out the door in a flash, Roxie following after her with a laugh.

After a few minutes Kate realized she had no idea where she was going, and her map was gone, having been forgotten somewhere. Embarrassed, she followed Roxie to the Pokemon Center.

After picking up their pokemon, Kate wondered what the next step of her training was going to be. Then Roxie reminded her it was like two in the morning. Nicky and Billy Jo had already gone home for the night, and she was turning in herself.

"You guys don't sleep at the gym?" Kate asked, confused. She thought that every gym came equipped with sleeping facilities.

"Nah, we can't," Roxie said, waving her hand. "Something about health codes, I dunno. All a buncha technical stuff. But anyway, we needa find where yer gonna sleep, Katie Girl!"

"W-Wait, what?" Kate had been expecting to stay at the gym. She had no idea that Roxie expected her to find her own place to sleep!

"The Pokemon Center doesn't offer facilities to sleep in either," Roxie informed her. "Something about the motel owners not wanting a center to put 'em all outta business or something, I dunno. Not a problem for me, I'll go an' crash with my dad."

"So I have to stay in a motel?" Kate whimpered. Suddenly, the dark streets looked a little more grim and dreary. The buildings on this street didn't seem the friendliest, or all that safe. There wasn't a single fancy hotel anywhere, it reminded Kate of the dilapidated apartment she'd grown up in before her dad made it big.

She also wasn't looking forward to having to call up her folks and ask them for money to stay at a seedy hotel. That didn't sound like something she'd enjoy at all.

"Ah, don't worry about the funds," Roxie laughed. "Remember, yer school paid for this practicum, so we're furnishing the lodgings for ya! Right here!"

Roxie stopped outside a particularly horrid-looking hotel.

Kate was used to foul odors and stains, being around Poison type pokemon. But the room that the motel clerk showed her to was particularly miserable-looking, and she had to resist the urge to throw up. The bed looked threadbare, the carpet was filled with gross discolorations, and the walls were stained with something that looked vaguely like a dangerous mold.

Not exactly a great place to stay. But she didn't have a choice, either. She let out a sigh and tried to breathe through her mouth.

"Sorry, Katie Girl," Roxie said, smiling apologetically. "But this is the nicest digs in Virbank City, I promise ya!"

Kate didn't know if that was supposed to sound reassuring, but it didn't.

"It's… fine. I guess." Kate didn't want to snap at Roxie, not after all the girl had done for her. "I've definitely stayed in worse places…"

"That's the spirit, Katie Girl! I've stayed in terrible motels myself back when my band was on the road! It'll be fine!" Roxie chirped. She turned to leave, but Kate quickly stopped her.

"Hey, um… about tonight…" Kate was having trouble articulating what she wanted to say.

Roxie looked at her with confusion. "Tonight? Oh, ya mean the battle?"

"Yeah! Well… any… any thoughts?" Kate wanted to know what Roxie thought about her performance. She'd been oddly evasive about the whole thing on the walk through Virbank. Kate had given it her all, and the battle had been for the purpose of appraising her, right?

But Roxie hadn't shared any thoughts.

"Hmm… well, ya've definitely got what it takes, that's for sure," Roxie mused, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Honestly, ya've got some great pokemon there, Katie Girl! Nicely raised, and ya know what they're capable of! Yup, ya've got all the makings of a great Poison type trainer, that's for damn sure!"

"Really?!" Kate gushed. "Oh, thank you Roxie, that's so sweet of you to say!"

"But!" Roxie interrupted her, holding her finger up. The look on her face nearly broke Kate's heart in two.

"B-But?" Kate whimpered.

"But, that ain't all ya need to do!" Roxie said. "Yer biggest weakness was the fact that yer pokemon didn't have enough variety among 'em. Ya've got three Grass/Poison types out of five pokemon, that's not gonna be enough fer type coverage, ya feel me?"

Kate winced. Yeah, she'd expected that. It was true, due to her training with Alcea, most of her team were Grass types.

"So… what, what should I do then?" Kate asked.

Roxie cracked a wild grin. "I got an idea. The next step of yer training, or more like, the biggest thing ya need to do first? That's gonna be catchin' ya a new pokemon!"

So! Kate's going to be catching a new pokemon? What kind of pokemon is it going to be?