Dokukage and Shinobu are relying on their strongest pokemon. But which one of them will emerge the winner? Who has the better cards up their sleeve? Will Shinobu be able to overcome Dokukage's Scizor with her naturally superior abilities, or will Dokukage manage to outthink her?

KedharS: Oh, trust me, we're just getting started.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yep. Dokukage misjudged the situation pretty hard there, because he wasn't expecting a move like that to come. As a guy who's gotten comfortable with the safety of his strategy, it was shocking to see it undermined.

Omesta: Dokukage just had too much faith in his Ninjask's capabilities. He's a coward so he plays cowardly, but until this point substitute had been working out pretty great for him. If only he was more of a coward, he might not have gotten greedy. He definitely won't make the same mistake twice, that's for sure.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 890

Dokukage and Shinobu's battle was raging with intensity, growing more and more ferocious and brutal the longer it drew on.

That was because neither of them had the strength to give up.

Dokukage would not give up because Shinobu was his sister and he wanted to prove not only that the way his village did things was correct, but also because he wanted to convince her that it would be okay for her to return home.

Shinobu, on the other hand, would not give up because Dokukage was her little brother, and she didn't want to show him a performance that confirmed all the things he had said about her. Her pride was on the line and she wouldn't relinquish it over something like this.

Dokukage would not give up out of family, and Shinobu would not give up out of pride. Between family and pride, it was clear which of the two was a stronger motivation that would drive trainer and pokemon to put in their best effort.

The fact that Shinobu could fight Dokukage equally in spite of that, and even with a slight edge in her performance when compared to his, was simply a testament to how much more skilled she was than her opponent.

"Heracross!" Muramushi bellowed, pulling back his fist and delivering a powerful brick break attack in Muramasa's direction.

"Sci-!" It was only due to Muramasa's intense training with his trainer every day that he was able to avoid the blow with an agility maneuver and keep his distance from the towering Heracross. In a situation like this, Muramasa's speed and maneuverability should give him the edge over a more bulky pokemon like Muramushi, but that was only under normal circumstances.

The fact remained that Muramushi was not average when it came to Heracross, and that wasn't something that could be easily accounted for. He was nearly double the average size of a pokemon of his species, and exuded a wild aura that added to his ferocity. Because of this his charges were like an airplane barreling forward and his punches had the force of a cannon ball.

For a pokemon like Muramasa who specialized in evasion, it was really bothering that he was only able to evade within an inch of his life.

Both Dokukage and Muramasa were aware of the destructive power that Heracross possessed, it had been ingrained in their minds many years ago. And against a pokemon like that, they knew that even Muramasa's lauded steel-hard scales would dent and break after too many blows of that caliber, so they were being extra cautious.

Of course, Shinobu recognized her brother's trademark caution well, and was accounting for it in her plans.

Muramushi has the strength to do some serious damage to Muramasa. But it's not like the reverse isn't true, either. Muramasa really has grown a lot stronger since the last time I fought Dokukage… no, it's not only that, my little brother has grown very strong as well. It pained Shinobu to have to recognize her brother's increase in skill, but she would be a fool to do otherwise. She had already underestimated Dokukage several times today, after all, and she wasn't about to let another misjudgment cost her the battle and tarnish her position.

I just have to win. And the way I can do that is by not letting up on the pressure even a little! Shinobu decided. At the same time, she was aware of what her opponents were capable of, so she wasn't going to be reckless, either.

Even if we manage to land a powerful blow, there's a very real chance that Muramasa would strike back with a counter attack and the effects of that would be devastating. That's a situation I would like to avoid at any cost. Shinobu was thinking clearly about the issue at hand, and the Scizor's previous counter was sticking out plainly in her mind. As a trainer of a Heracross, Shinobu had a first-hand understanding of just how powerful counter could be, she had even used the move in this very pokemon battle to defeat one of Dokukage's pokemon.

Muramushi's immense strength could be relied upon to defeat most opponents, but that was a different story if one of those opponents was a pokemon with the move counter. Then she would have to be very, very careful, just like her brother.

Muramushi was strong, but not strong enough to take out Muramasa in a single hit. Well, maybe from a close combat attack, but that was even more of a gamble. So she wouldn't do anything reckless. Because if Muramasa got the edge and reversed the damage with a counter, then it was very likely that her strongest pokemon would be reduced to a state where he would be unable to resist Muramasa's follow-up attacks.

And that was a situation that Shinobu wanted to avoid at all costs. It was no mistake to say that the winner of the exchange between Muramasa and Muramushi would be a determining factor in who would win the pokemon battle itself.

If Muramushi was successful, then that would basically be it for Dokukage. None of his other pokemon would have the endurance to withstand Muramushi's assaults afterwards. That was evident from the moment he sent out his trump card to stop her. She didn't know specifically which pokemon he was using, but she knew him, and she knew that he was likely going to be fighting with fast pokemon capable of stacking buffs and using baton pass quickly.

Those were the kinds of tactics that were passed down in their village, after all, and Dokukage was the epitome of a staunch traditionalist.

This meant that his strategy was one that prioritized speed over power and defense. And if that was the case, then things wouldn't be so easily handled if he was put in a situation where power and defense were necessary. Shinobu had proved that by defeating his Ninjask. It was the best pokemon for that strategy, and it hadn't been enough.

So without his Scizor, Shinobu was confident that Dokukage probably would not have any means of fighting against her.

But on the other hand, if Muramasa triumphed over Muramushi, things would go in the other direction. It wouldn't be as devastating, of course, because Shinobu still had other bug pokemon available to fight with. But at the same time, it would open up the rest of Dokukage's team, and he could then begin using his baton pass strategy without any fear of her smashing through his pokemon, because while her team was skilled, she wasn't underestimating Dokukage anymore, either.

And because she wasn't underestimating him, she doubted that any of her remaining pokemon would have the raw brute strength necessary to match what Muramushi was capable of. She knew her team well.

It was a complicated situation, there was no doubt about that. And she was thinking about what to do when the choice was taken out of her hands.

"Muramasa, slash!" Dokukage ordered.

Muramasa shot forward and drove down his claw in a powerful slash. While normally an attack of that level wasn't something to be concerned about, this wasn't a normal circumstance. Shinobu had been counting on Muramushi's hardened scales to be able to endure the hit and fight back, which was why she gave the following order.

"Muramushi! Endure the hit and strike back with your counter!" With an order like that, then even if Muramushi had been dealt some serious damage, the blow inflicted on Muramasa in turn would be even stronger. It was a move that had a good chance of paying off.

But luck wasn't on Shinobu's side in this exchange. Muramasa brought his claw down on Muramushi as the pokemon lowered his horn to prepare to counter. But instead of the pincer striking Muramushi's horn, it glanced off the side of it and continued down, striking the Heracross right in the face, just over his eye.

It was a critical hit, as slash was often responsible for. And the result was immediate.

"HERACROSS!" Muramushi roared with pain, staggering backwards. He didn't have the energy to pull off the counter after an exchange like that, he barely at the strength to keep standing. And while the attack, critical as it was, wasn't enough to paralyze him for the rest of the fight, the damage was enough to stun him.

And that was just the opportunity that Muramasa was seeking.

"Nicely done!" Dokukage cheered. "Now, hit with x-scissor!"

"Scizor!" Muramasa nodded, raising both of his pincers this time and bringing them down in and "x" slash across the injured Muramushi's chest.

Following up the slash attack with a swift x-scissor was enough to turn the tide of the battle in a serious way. Seeing no other options, Shinobu was forced to give Muramushi the order to fall back and regroup lest he get struck with even more serious injuries.

And that was the opening that Dokukage was waiting for. As Muramushi flapped his wings and retreated, he could now order Muramasa to begin their strategy.

"Nice work, Muramasa, now use swords dance!" Dokukage ordered.

"Scizor," Muramasa nodded in agreement, and began swaying from side to side. He sharpened his claws while keeping his eyes trained on the Heracross, preparing for the pokemon to do something as he increased his attacking strength.

Shinobu was not pleased. Although she was glad that Muramushi wasn't seriously injured even after taking two powerful attacks back to back like that, she had been forced to give up a major advantage in this fight by letting Muramasa have the opportunity to buff his stats like this. Part of the reason she had been fighting him so intensely while putting Muramushi at the risk of using counter was because she had wanted to force Dokukage and his Scizor onto the defensive. She didn't want to leave them with an opening that they could use to buff themselves with swords dance or iron defense, because that would leave them even more vulnerable should the unthinkable happen and they get the upper hand in the fight.

But that chance had been forced from her due to that lucky crit, and now she was being forced further by needing to rethink her plans. She didn't want to risk things with further recklessness now that Muramasa's attack stat had increased, but at the same time, it wasn't like she could just launch rubble at him from far-off like she had with Higurashi.

The only reason that tactic had worked in the first place was because the Ninjask had been caught off-guard and was behind the substitute, which had reduced his evasive abilities. There was no way that a rock blast would have hit under normal circumstances, and that was even more the case for a Scizor like Muramasa who could likely smash the rubble with his pincers.

All in saying, Shinobu was in a situation where if she wanted to maintain the upper hand and not open up further opportunities for her brother to pull ahead, she would need to be just a little bit more reckless than she wanted.

Admitting that fact to herself actually brought forth some pride in her little brother's abilities. Although she knew his position was a misguided one, there could be no mistaking how proud of him she was to be able to get this far.

Before, she had underestimated him. She had thought that he was the same little brother that she remembered, mirroring their village's tactics without thinking about the reasons behind those moves in greater detail.

But she didn't think that now. Now, she could see Dokukage as a trainer worthy of her respect, and that made her pride as a big sister swell.

In the end, though, it didn't change anything. Shinobu wasn't aware of it, but Dokukage was. Even across the roof, even in the dimness of the early rising sun, he could see the pride in his sister's eyes, and he knew how hollow it really was.

Shinobu was just doing what she always did. She was subconsciously mirroring herself to match the expectations of the people around her. As Dokukage revealed more of his capabilities as a trainer, his esteem and pride in himself would naturally increase in spite of his repeated moments of self-doubt and insecurity.

And Shinobu, who was an expert at reading people, could subconsciously sense that in him, and was tailoring her reactions to match what was expected of her in the given moment.

It was the reason she had underestimated him in the first place and still thought of him as that helpless little brother. Because when he had first appeared in front of her, that was how he perceived himself. And even now, he thought that was to a degree. But the repeated victories he'd accrued over her, small as they might have been, was increasing his confidence, and with it came a change in Shinobu's demeanor to match.

Wow, I really am getting a little full of myself, huh? I wonder if that's a problem in me getting to arrogant… should I really be acting like I'm all that? Or is this some new problem that I'm dealing with, and I'm just trying to make myself seem like I'm bigger than I actually am? Graah! This is all so confusing! I hate thinking this way! Try as he might Dokukage could not stop those moments of self-doubt from rearing their ugly heads.

Although it was clear that they were markedly different people, Dokukage and Shinobu were actually very similar at their core. They both tended to overthink things. But because of the difference in their abilities and circumstances this had taken them to very different places in their lives.

Shinobu, as the dutiful elder sister who had always been capable of doing anything she was told, tended to overanalyze a situation and think that she knew what was going on. She attributed quite a lot to her own personal beliefs and intuition, and while she was not wrong to do so, she was often ignorant of the source of that intuition. As someone with her remarkable level of perception, she often ended things at what she consciously perceived to be the case, and was often unaware of how much of her behavior was really subconscious; she would sense the expectations of those around her and tailor her performance to match, while attributing it to her own abilities and overthinking about the reasons for her decisions later, often leading her to the wrong conclusions. It was only a result of her sheltered nature and supreme talent, that is to say, pure luck, that she had not yet found herself in a position where she were faced with a challenge no one expected her to overcome, and seen her abilities and thus her faith in herself plummet.

Whereas Dokukage, who had always grown up in the shadow of being compared to his older sister, had developed an insecurity complex that led him to constantly question his decisions at every turn in order to prevent himself from failure. Because he was, at his nature, a coward, he didn't want to do anything that would lead others to accuse or blame him, and so he made sure that his actions were always carefully and meticulously planned out to get the best results. But while a cautious and meticulous nature was admirable for a ninja, the root of it was cowardice and insecurity, and that was unthinkable. So to prevent people from reaching that conclusion and seeing, for lack of a better term, his perception of "the real him", he put great care in developing the capabilities to hide it. Projecting an outer aura of stoicism that caused people who didn't know the real him to misjudge what he was capable of, leading them to put upon him the pressure of their expectations in a way that forced him to be cautious and overthink things even more.

Needless to say, the two siblings were at their best when they were together. Dokukage's cautious cynicism was the perfect stone to temper Shinobu's misattributed confidence, and would have made the siblings a formidable duo that would likely face no situation that they would find out of their hands. By using the benefits of their complimentary natures, they might have reached a level of connection beyond what normal siblings or trainers were capable of.

But the tragedy was, Dokukage's relationship with his sister was a dark parallel to that of his reluctant student.

Just like Blake, Dokukage's sister had been seduced down a path that had forced them apart due to an unfortunate mix of her own warped personality flaws and a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of both her ability and her desire.

Dokukage and Blake were, in fact, far similar than either of them were aware. Dokukage, of course, did not know the nature of Blake's sister, or even that Blake had a sister at all. If he had known of that, then perhaps he would not have been so reluctant in his training. After all, it wasn't like Dokukage was entirely unsympathetic to Blake's situation.

When Blake had come to him for help in defeating Elaina, Dokukage had tried to deflect. And although he had eventually given in and agreed to do it, it had only been for reasons that he ultimately wasn't convinced by.

It was only after he had witnessed the match itself and seen what Blake was fighting for and what he was capable of that Dokukage alighted on the real reason he had agreed to train the boy.

Blake had wanted to save Elaina from herself the same way Dokukage wanted to save Shinobu from herself. And now that Dokukage could see his sister's nature clearer, it was even more apparent justhow true that was.

Just like how Gerard had been using Elaina, Dokukage felt that Shima was using Shinobu. Of course, there were probably differences. As someone who had a good sense of what both of them were capable of, Dokukage knew that Gerard was probably the worse of the two. Dokukage might not have agreed with Shima's principles, but he knew, at least, that his childhood friend was still acting on them. Even now, he didn't doubt that.

Shima was using Shinobu to further his own goals. That was true. But it was also the case that Shima really did treasure his sister. Unless the boy had been exceptionally warped in the time since their last meeting, Dokukage was confident this was the case.

But maybe he was giving him too much credit. Maybe because deep down, Dokukage still thought of Shima as his friend.

Whatever the reason though, Gerard was just using Elaina. And Dokukage wanted to stop him. So he'd helped Blake. It was as simple as that.

It could be that Dokukage sensed a deeper connection with him, and understood Blake's family troubles in a way that he wasn't consciously aware of. Maybe Blake had an aura about him that said "my sister is a nutcase but I still love her" that Dokukage internally resonated with. Maybe it was the fact that they both trained Scizor.

But at the end of the day, fighting with Shinobu like this had made Dokukage resolve that when he returned from the Orre Region, he was going to make a change. He wasn't going to keep deflecting Blake and resisting, he was going to have an honest conversation with the guy and help him train seriously.

If he did that, then maybe he would be able to hold his head up a little higher.

But even as these thoughts went through Dokukage's mind in the fraction of a second, some consciously and some unconsciously, it didn't change the nature of the struggle in front of him. Shinobu was still there as a wall for him to defeat, and even if he loved her that wasn't going to change.

Blake had beaten Elaina and gotten through to her. Would Dokukage be able to do the same with his own situation?

He hardened his resolve.

Shinobu, in turn, found some resolve of her own. There was no use in playing cautiously, not when the situation had turned around like this.

You pushed me quite far, little brother, but it ends here. I'm proud of you, but I'm still going to maintain my pride as your sister until the end! Shinobu felt herself growing more confident in her ability to pull this off, unaware it was because Dokukage himself was reminiscing on the fight between Blake and Elaina and wanting a similar thrilling climax. She strove to meet his expectations, albeit consciously unaware of them, and barked her next orders.

"Muramushi! Use close combat and finish that Scizor off!" She shouted.

"Heracross!" Muramushi had been waiting for an order like that. While he knew it would open himself up to defeat and pain, he had as much faith in his trainer's abilities as anyone else did, and believed that if this was what she thought was for the best, then it had to be the right decision.

Dokukage, in turn, was freaking out.

Fuck! I should have known that if she was pushed into a corner she'd use a bold move like that!

For Shinobu, a person whom "failure" was a foreign concept, for who "loss" was more of an abstract thing that occurred with others, she would use risky tactics and dangerous moves like they were nothing. The minute she judged it the right course of action, she would go for it immediately, because she had not faced a situation where such a thing had backfired.

Dokukage's caution told him that it was suicide to risk it all under similar circumstances. When it came to raw strength, even with the swords dance he doubted Muramasa's ability to come out on top. But at the same time, it wasn't like a strategy could really get the better of a situation like this, either. Maybe if it was a different trainer, or a different pokemon, but all the technique in the world couldn't defeat Shinobu when she was absolutely certain she would win.

Of course it was Dokukage's own doubts that were making such a thing possible. On a subconscious level, he knew that, of course. But he also knew that Shinobu wouldn't expect him to make a reckless move, either.

Shinobu could afford to be reckless. Dokukage could not. That was the nature of their relationship.

So what if he just said "fuck it" and let his inner freak-out handle things for a while? Be reckless and nuts, and just throw himself head-on into danger?

It was stupid and suicidal, but it was definitely not something Shinobu would see coming. And throwing her off-guard was the only method he could think of to ensure his victory.

So he gave the order.

"Muramasa!" He shouted. "Counter with bullet punch!"

"Scizor!" Muramasa flapped his wings and charged at the incoming Heracross with his pincers raised, preparing to meet the close combat with an attack of his own.

Dokukage and Shinobu's ideals have come to a head in this clash! Their strongest pokemon are going in recklessly, which one will emerge the victor? What will be the result of this battle? Find out in this upcoming climactic chapter!