Misato wields her Aegislash like a sword and shield, and she's fighting Shinobu to a standstill! Will she be able to defeat the ninja girl? Or can a Mechadoll with a sword only do so much against a talented pokemon trainer? We'll have to see! The battle comes to a conclusion here!

KedharS: She was always this strong. Although yes, I would say that her abilities are constantly growing as she analyzes more and more information she's exposed to.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 908

The Wormadam was getting faster. Misato's processors were capable of tracking the pokemon's increase in speed, so to her it was obvious that the pokemon was reaching a point where it would be impossible for her to keep up using only the natural abilities of her Mechadoll body.

That meant she would need to take another approach. Using Sparky, she would be able to amplify what her body was capable of, and that would give her more than enough power to defeat the Wormadam, and any other pokemon that this ninja had up her sleeve.

But she couldn't do that.

The Phantom had given her explicit orders. She was to defend the Oracle and Ange from anyone who would attempt to take it from her, but she was not permitted to reveal her nature as a Mechadoll to anyone who did not know that information.

There was a question of semantics about whether or not the feats Misato had performed up until this point were things that would have revealed her to be a Mechadoll, but the computer that made up her brain determined that a question like that was unnecessary. She had not revealed that she was a Mechadoll. She had performed in a manner that only a Mechadoll could, but that was not the same thing as revealing that she was a Mechadoll.

For a human with a grasp of subtlety, that was a distinction without a difference. For a Mechadoll, that was difference enough.

Although she had utilized a technical loophole to aid Ange, her programming would only allow her to twist the Phantom's orders so much; she was still bound to his will, no matter how her software processed the implementation of the orders she was given.

There were countless things that Misato was better at than human beings. Her physical capabilities were superior, and she was capable of processing information better than any human brain or computer could hope to. In terms of knowledge potential and processing ability she was superior.

But she wasn't without her limits. For as strong and resilient as she was, her body was not invulnerable. She could be damaged, and even, ultimately, destroyed. And she was also limited by the fact that her form was a replica of human beings, which came with natural limitations as well. She couldn't breathe fire, she couldn't life rocks with her mind, she couldn't do the countless things that most pokemon were capable of doing. She could only do what humans and computers could do, simply better and more efficiently than them.

But she wasn't competing against a computer, or fighting against a human. She was battling a pokemon. And although her raw strength, adaptive abilities, and lack of pain had given her an advantage, she still had to contend with the fact that many pokemon were still capable of much more than her programming would allow, and that even with her capabilities, fighting a pokemon with just a sword and shield was still fighting a pokemon with just a sword and shield.

Which meant that if she wanted to win, she would need to get creative. Which could not be called her strong suit.

"Minori, I think that's enough," Shinobu said. "Use psybeam!"

"Wormadam!" Quickly leaping behind Misato, Minori raised her antenna, and a rainbow light began to glow at the tip of it. She fired that light in a beam that flew towards the Mechadoll.

Misato whirled around with her superhuman reflexes and raised her shield to deflect the beam, protecting herself.

Shinobu scowled. So it seems that even if she can't run as quickly as Minori can, those reflexes of hers are still insane… at this rate, even if she won't land a single hit, it's not like we can land a hit on her, either…

Minori was limited by the fact that, as fast as she could move now, her attacks could only travel so fast. And with Misato's computer brain processing the data immediately and moving to intercept the attacks, they didn't have a chance of landing.

Assuming, of course, that those attacks were physical in nature.

Shinobu was quickly picking up on the fact that while Misato had amazing strength and agility and an inhuman resistance to pain, not to mention whatever was allowing her to figure things out so quickly, there was one area that the girl wasn't fighting in.

She wasn't using any special powers.

…Which went without saying. No matter how skilled of a human this strange woman might be, she was still a human, after all. She didn't really expect this girl to launch a fireball at Minori or something like that.

Misato was using her shield to deflect any attack that Minori launched at her. But what about an attack that couldn't be defended against? Shinobu figured that was worth a shot.

"Minori, use psychic!" She ordered next.

"Wormadam!" Minori began glowing with a sandy-brown light, and a field of light appeared around Misato's body as well. She was lifted up into the air by the Wormadam's psychic power, unable to move a finger.

For Misato, this was a critical situation.

A pokemon might find a way to fight back. But Misato wasn't a pokemon. She wasn't even a human, she was a Mechadoll. It wouldn't be wrong to categorize her as similar to the rubble that many pokemon used psychic attacks to fling at their opponents in the first place.

"Slam her into that wall, Minori!" Shinobu ordered. Normally, Shinobu wouldn't have been so bloodthirsty as to send her pokemon to smash another human being with a psychic attack. But this Misato girl had proven time and again that she was no ordinary human being. So Shinobu braced herself for the worst, wondering if she might actually kill the girl, while at the same time dreading what might happen if she didn't.

Misato was slammed into one of the ruined buildings with the force of Minori's psychic energy, and was practically buried in rubble. A quick diagnostic informed her that none of her vital systems were damaged by the blow, and her skin hadn't even been compromised.

But she still couldn't move. Minori's psychic hold had yet to abate.

"Aegislash," Arms weakly cried, and Misato understood that there was a solution to this problem after all.

All of the pokemon that Misato had were for the purpose of working in unison with her. Sparky could inhabit her body and augment the machinery, Arms was a pokemon that she could use as a physical weapon, and Discord existed as a computer program that could hardly be said to operate without her as a medium.

Arms was the one she used most often in their "base" form, as a pokemon to fight, but right now was being used for their primary purpose as a weapon. Because of that, the idea of Misato fighting in conjunction with her pokemon had not crossed her mind as a possibility.

But now that it had, billions of ideas shot through her circuits in the blink of an eye.

"Shadow sneak," she ordered.

Arms began to glow with dark energy, and the energy surged down into the ground, traveling through the shadows and breaking up to strike Minori, slicing into her.

"Wormadam!" Minori cried out in pain, falling backwards. Her concentration broke and the psychic energy wrapped around Misato snapped out of existence, freeing her.

Misato burst from the rubble like a Butterfree emerging from a Metapod, sword shining brightly in the dark red light.

"Air slash," she said next. She swung her blade and cleaved through the air itself, a blade of wind carving into the startled Minori.

But it was going to take a lot more than that.

"Shake it off, Minori!" Shinobu shouted. She'd been expecting this level of combat ever since Misato had protected herself from the explosion with a king's shield attack, so it didn't come as a surprise to her. Minori may have been weak to Flying type moves, but she had boosted herself with quiver dance enough that the damage was still negligible.

"Minori, use rock blast," Shinobu ordered. She didn't expect the attack would do much, but she wanted to press Misato to keep her from advancing. And indeed, she was right. Misato raised her shield to block the barrage of rubble Minori launched at her, opening the avenue for another attack from the Wormadam.

"Excellent. Now, use psychic once again!" Shinobu followed.

Minori began to glow brown and concentrated her psychic energy at Misato, but this time Misato was prepared. She raised her shield once more, and a bronze barrier of light spread around her in the form of a shield, dispersing the psychic attack.

"King's shield," Misato answered. Even intangible attacks like psychic fell to nothing before it.

Shinobu was feeling pressed again. While the fact remained that it would be difficult for Misato to catch her, she was becoming less and less confident in Minori's ability to seal the deal and take care of this woman for good. She had been flung into a building, and had walked out with barely a scratch! It was madness!

But she couldn't lose her cool. Shima was counting on her to defeat this girl and retrieve the Oracle. And that meant she had to-

Wait. What?!

Ange was nowhere to be seen.

"What the fuck?!" Shinobu shouted, looking around. "Shima! Where did that girl go?!"

"Huh?" Shima had been so entranced by the battle, and curious to see how Shinobu would overcome this absurd girl, he had completely forgotten about their whole purpose for being here in the first place, the Oracle.

Now, both the girl and the Oracle were gone.

Ange paused to catch her breath at the entrance to the catacombs. She had run back the way she'd come, foregoing the alternate exit Misato had proposed.

When Misato had started fighting, Ange had watched, curious to see how the Mechadoll would work in unison with a pokemon.

But that curiosity died out a while ago. As advanced of a tool as Misato was, it was still a tool. There was a very real possibility that a skilled trainer would be able to win, a fact that had already been proven with the Commander's victory in the Phantom Cup.

So keeping that in mind, what fool would stay behind? Having a keen instinct for when someone was watching her, Ange waited until both of the bizarre ninjas were distracted and she was no longer the target of their gaze.

Then, as silently as if she was sneaking through the tall grass past an Alpha Pokemon, she left Misato to handle things and made her retreat.

She didn't feel even the slightest twinge of remorse.

Misato was a Mechadoll, a tool meant to be used by humans. The Phantom had given explicit instructions that Misato was to facilitate her escape and keep her safe. And that task was being performed brilliantly through playing the role of a decoy, at least that was how Ange thought about the issue.

What, was she supposed to feel bad about leaving behind some robot? Ridiculous. If Misato fell, then Ange would be next. The most logical answer was for Misato to do anything possible to let Ange get away, and that was precisely what was happening right now.

She would shed just as many tears for Misato as she would for a berry tossed in front of her to distract a wild pokemon.

Of course, Misato knew that Ange had escaped long before either shinobi realized it. Nothing escaped her sensors. In fact, Ange sticking around as long as she did was anomalous. All indicators suggested that Ange staying to this point in the battle would only occur 8.26% of the time.

Even if Misato were capable of bearing a grudge, she would not have done so in this instance. The reason she informed Ange of her duty to protect the girl and the Oracle was to let Ange know that she was the priority. Without saying it outright, Misato fully expected to be left to fend for herself the moment the opportunity arose; that was the mission that she had been tasked with, after all, and that was what she would do.

The response was instantaneous. Realizing that their prey had escaped in the heat of the battle, Shinobu was temporarily caught off-guard. That provided the perfect opportunity for Misato to come in and strike.

It would be tricky. She would be pushing her physical capabilities beyond the safety measures, and if she sustained serious damage in the process there was no mechanic around that would be capable of facilitating repairs as Oscar was still at the Pokemon Academy.

Misato calculated the risks and judged that the potential damage was an acceptable loss to facilitate the completion of her objective.

"Aerial ace," she ordered.

Arms shot forward at blinding speed, and took Misato with them. Pushing her body to its limits she momentarily increased her speed to levels that were usually only possible with the aid of Sparky or Discord.

Misato appeared behind Minori and raised her sword, bringing it down in a powerful slash that split the Wormadam down the back, slicing through her cloak and sending her sprawling into the dirt with a pained yelp.

The strike was enough to snap Shinobu out of her daze. "Minori!" She cried. "Quickly, get back up!"

Misato would not allow her to get back up. The damage she had sustained from pushing her legs was negligible, which was fortuitous. Barring any further strain, she would still retain 73% capability of function, damage that was firmly in the area of self-repair. And more than enough to follow the devastating aerial ace with a second strike.

"Head smash."

And this strike would be far more lethal.

With her Sandy Cloak shattered, Minori had lost the resistance that the Ground typing gave her, marking her firmly as a pure Bug type pokemon. This meant that she had regained her vulnerability to Rock type moves, and Misato was about to strike with a doozy. At this close of a range, with Misato's perception and razor-sharp reflexes, all the speed boosts in the world wouldn't be enough to get Minori out of the line of fire.

Misato raised her sword and swung it with all the force of a metal arm augmented by super-charged electronic circuit relays and hyper-compression hydraulic pressure. The blow was devastating, knocking the Wormadam out in a single strike.

But the recoil was serious as well. But it was not something Misato would have to worry about, because Arms had been the one to sustain the damage. Not that it made any difference, even if they were unconscious, Misato would still be able to wield them.

As a Mechadoll, the notion of such an act being "wrong" was impossible for her to understand. Another reason why Ange would have been disgusted by her.

Shinobu was furious herself. She'd let herself get distracted by the fight, and her target had escaped because of it. Then, she'd let herself get distracted by her target's escape, and because of that she'd lost the fight.

There was an old saying in the village, "he who chases two tailed beasts catches neither." Shinobu had split her focus like an amateur, and she was paying the price for it.

She could make all the excuses she wanted about how impossible such a fight would be against an opponent incapable of being read, or how it was difficult to understand the scope of what Misato was capable of given the fact that she was performing feats no human should have been capable of performing.

But at the end of the day, those excuses were just that- excuses. The truth of the matter was that Shinobu had fought her hardest and relied on her secret weapon, and had still lost because she wasn't strong enough.

Shinobu, the genius shinobi, the child prodigy, had lost in front of the one person she never wanted to lose in front of. And not only had she lost, she had failed their mission to retrieve the Oracle.

Wait… lost?

No. Shinobu hadn't lost yet.

"This… isn't over," Shinobu spat, recalling her Wormadam to her pokeball and reaching for another. She didn't care that Muramushi still needed time to rest. Now was the time for action, and she wasn't about to let this bitch get away with making her look like a fool in front of Shima! "I still have pokemon left, you know!"

"It would be pointless," Misato said, lowering her sword. "Even if you wish to continue the battle, there is nothing to be gained by your victory. Regardless of winning or losing I am capable of stalling the outcome for a suitable period of time as to guarantee the safety of the Oracle with a 98.4% probability of success. The chance of overcoming those odds is statistically insignificant. Further struggle is meaningless at this time."

In spite of saying that, Misato did not recall Arms. As much as her brain operated on absolute logic and probability, her studies of humanity assured her that humans did not do the same. Things like anger and pride were powerful motivators for humans, and she could expect that this woman would behave in a similar manner.

And indeed, her advice fell on deaf ears.

"So what?" Shinobu demanded. At this point, it was personal. All claims of being a ninja were tossed aside, she didn't need to be a professional or a genius. Right now, she just wanted to make this girl pay for making her look like a fool!

But she wouldn't get the chance.

"It's okay, Shinobu, stand down," Shima said.

"Shima?" Shinobu looked back to her partner in disbelief, staring at the smile on his face.

"She's right, after all," Shima explained. "Remember, we're not here to start fights. We came here to get the Oracle. That girl has already stopped us from doing that, continuing the fight will only waste more of our valuable time."

Shinobu understood what Shima was telling her, but the wound to her pride wouldn't let her just back down.

"Besides, I think you've done more than your best today, don't you think?" Shima added, walking over and patting her on the shoulder. "That girl… I hate to say it, but she's awesome. I don't know how she can do half the things she can do, but she's definitely no ordinary girl. And against an opponent like that, you fought your hardest and scored some serious victories. That's more than enough, don't you think? Pushing on after that would be pointless."

Behind her mask, a smile blossomed across Shinobu's lips. He was right. She had done her best, hadn't she?

"Let's retreat for now," Shima advised. "We can think about what to do after that."

He turned to Misato. "…Assuming that's okay with you, of course."

"My orders are to protect the Oracle and Ange. I have no instruction beyond that, including giving pursuit to those who would do her harm," Misato said plainly. She had neutralized the threat, there was no longer a need to concern herself with the actions of the two shinobi if they did not mean to press their assault.

"…Orders, hmm?" Shima mused. "Orders from whom, I wonder?"

"That information is classified," Misato replied automatically.

Shima laughed. "Yes, I'm sure it is. Well, no matter. But if I were in your position… thinking about how hard you fought, and how much you've been through, all under someone else's orders… before I go, tell me, sky girl, wouldn't you enjoy some freedom?"

There were two anomalies in the words Misato registered. The first anomaly, "sky girl", she interpreted as an epithet bestowed in regards to the color of her hair.

The second anomaly was more puzzling however. "Freedom" was a word that Misato had heard used in various contexts. A word that she, of course, knew the definition of, given her memorization of the dictionary.

But this was the first time Misato had heard the word "freedom" used in reference to herself.

"Clarification required," Misato said. "What is the meaning of this 'freedom' you refer to?"

Shima raised a curious eyebrow. Then he smirked. "Well, I wonder… unfortunately, I'm not in a position to help in that regard. Why not think about it yourself? I'm sure a capable girl like you can figure something out."

Leaving Misato alone in the Under to mull over the concept of "freedom", Shima turned toward the exit and left with Shinobu at his side. He had no idea who that girl was, or what "orders" she was under, but she was definitely a curiosity. He wondered briefly if she might come to see things his way, and find a little happiness without putting herself at risk like this.

So Misato has won the battle, helping Ange get away while fighting off the two ninja! And as a result of her victory, she's gained a little something in return- an idea about freedom. What will that seed sprout into, I wonder?