Vic lost another pokemon! Ayame's definitely taking the lead in this battle, and it seems the weaknesses in Vic's reliance on double battles is starting to show! But even then, it's impressive to see just how strong Ayame really is! If not for her love of Pokeathlons, Ayame could probably have done wonders in the Battle Course! But will it be enough to win?
KedharS: I hope this chapter is exciting too!
Guest: Every fight Vic has with a girl is personal.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 914
Vic was seething. But she wasn't going to let her anger get the better of her. She still had pokemon that she could fight with, and so she would fight. She would avenge Dash and Ellie through raw power, that's what her harmonia was saying.
"Theo, go," Vic said, sending out her next pokemon. It was another surprising choice. The pokemon in question was a Gastrodon, and its body was bright pink with a brown mantle sitting on top of it. His three eyes blinked as he gurgled, seizing up and launching a burst of water at Rhox.
Ayame grinned. "A little water? That's nothing! Rhox! Plow right through and use earthquake!"
"Golem!" Rhox bellowed, lumbering forward. The water pulse smashed into him and he shrugged it off without even breaking his stride, lifting his leg and slamming it into the ground, sending a shockwave through the sand, the force of the earthquake striking the Gastrodon hard.
Vic clicked her tongue in frustration. "I forgot. You trained your Golem to withstand water, isn't that right? For your Pokeathlon crap."
"Pokeathlons even have swimming events," Ayame explained with a shrug. "And having one of my strongest pokemon not able to endure the water would be critical. Rhox might be weak to water, but he won't get hurt by it!"
"Golem!" Rhox nodded in agreement.
"Now Rhox, use stealth rock," Ayame ordered. While it was true that Rhox wasn't as vulnerable to Water type attacks as the average Golem would be, that didn't mean it was a very good matchup. So before she called back Rhox for another pokemon, she wanted to make sure that her side would have the advantage.
"Golem!" Rhox roared, stones ripping off of his body and hovering in the air around the Gastrodon, hemming in Vic's side of the field.
Vic wasn't bothered by a few puny rocks, though, she was already focusing her energy into Theo for a major attack. Theo wasn't the fastest pokemon on her team, but he was one of the bulkiest. So while he wasn't suited for attacking swiftly the way Dash or Valkyrie were, he could definitely take a few hits. He worked best with a fast partner, and Vic was forcing herself to adapt to a situation where Theo fought on his own.
At least he had the type advantage, and the advantage in terms of attacking style. She didn't care what that Golem's "condition" was, or whatever that crap Ayame wanted to spew meant. What she knew was that Golem were a species of pokemon with naturally weak special defensive stats, and Theo was special attacker.
If water wouldn't work, then there were other methods she could use; she sent energy into her Gastrodon, compelling him to use earth power.
"Gastrodon!" Theo bellowed, teaming with harmonia. He gathered his strength and sent the energy into the beach, releasing a pulse up into the sand that caused the ground beneath Rhox's feet to begin to boil and erupt.
"Rhox, dodge!" Ayame ordered. Rhox curled up into a ball and rolled to the side as the sand erupted into an explosion, raining silt down on his hardened shell as he tried to avoid the damage. That was enough time for Ayame to recall him to his pokeball before more earth powers could erupt.
Vic called off her assault as there was no longer a target, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Okay. Let's get going," Ayame said, fingering her pokeball. "Dana! You're up next!"
"Eldegoss!" Dana chirped, emerging from her pokeball and taking to the sky, bobbing up and down with the aid of her cotton crown. The tailwind had long since petered out, but there was still a pleasant breeze for her.
"Magnifique!" Alcea smiled. "A Grass type is the perfect pokemon to handle a Water/Ground type pokemon like that Gastrodon!"
"So Ayame's got the advantage!" Callie cheered, punching her hand gleefully. Then she caught herself. She was supposed to be getting along with the Commander's group, not rooting against them. But the Commander didn't seem to mind.
"It's an interesting matchup, to say the least," Alden admitted with a smile. "And I must say, I'm looking forward to seeing how Vic responds to the challenge.
Just hearing that was enough to send Vic's spirit soaring. A smile broke out across her face and her harmonia surged. "Just you watch! Theo, use ice beam!"
"Gastrodon!" Theo bellowed, opening his mouth and firing a blast of icy energy at the Eldegoss.
"Dana, dodge," Ayame ordered.
"El!" Dana nodded, bouncing to the side. The ice beam sailed harmlessly past her. It seemed that even if Theo had powerful Ice type moves to counter his Grass type weakness, he still didn't necessarily have the speed to keep up with Dana.
Which made sense to Ayame. Dana's speed condition wasn't the best. But when it came to jumping, there wasn't a pokemon to be beat! She could easily coast on the winds to avoid any attacks coming her way.
"Now Dana! Use leech seed!" Ayame followed, planning to take advantage of the Gastrodon's lack of speed.
"Eldegoss!" Dana fired a barrage of seeds at the pokemon, and they dug into Theo's squishy body before taking root. Tendrils of leafage spread out and wrapped around Theo, beginning to drain his strength away and encumbering his movements even further.
"Gastrodon!" Theo bellowed, thrashing against the vines as Dana began to sap away his strength. He had a lot of health to give, and Dana was drinking it up.
Vic grimaced. She could feel Theo's energy getting sucked away, and it wasn't just Theo's. Her energy was getting drained as well. She wiped her forehead, feeling a little fatigued. Using harmonia was taxing on her body, but having it drained from her…
No! She wasn't going to just meekly roll over! Theo was completely fine! She flared up her harmonia again and directed it into her Gastrodon, forcing him to fire off another ice beam.
To Ayame's surprise, this one was faster than the previous one. It hit Dana directly, and the Eldegoss cried out in pain.
"Dana!" Ayame shouted.
"El-El…" Dana whimpered, shivering from the force of the ice beam. It was a powerful hit, but it wasn't enough to knock her out. Not when she was gathering strength from the leech seed, and not when she had her own method of healing as well.
"Synthesis next," Ayame ordered her Eldegoss, keeping a wary eye on the Gastrodon, who was already preparing an ice beam. "And make sure to be ready to dodge, in case that Gastrodon fires another ice beam, Dana!"
"Eldegoss," Dana nodded in agreement, and began to gather energy from the sun. Ayame would have liked to set up a sunny day first, but at the moment there wasn't the time to waste. One wrong move and Dana would be frozen solid. She'd have to be satisfied with what health she could gather the normal way.
Vic was expecting the Eldegoss to use synthesis, it was what Grass pokemon always did. And right now, she was in a bit of a bind. She had taught ice beam to her Gastrodon for coverage so that Theo wouldn't be totally useless against Grass types, but that still didn't mean that it was a matchup that she wanted her pokemon fighting in.
In most instances, the right move was still to have Theo's partner handle the Grass types, while Theo focused on providing support. But in a single battle, that wasn't an option. So Theo needed to fight in a different way.
And to start, Vic would have to conserve their ice beams.
But there were other methods to fight against Grass type pokemon. "Theo!" Vic ordered. "Use your sludge bomb next!"
"Gastrodon!" Theo fired a blast of poison at Dana.
"Ice type moves and Poison type moves, is it?" Alcea said, raising her eyebrow. "That is quite a well-prepared Gastrodon."
Of course Theo was prepared. Vic had always seen Alcea as one of the opponents that she would have to defeat. Even before she had joined their group, Alden had always had an eye towards Alcea as a potential rival.
And any female trainer that the Commander admired was someone that Vic considered an enemy. So yes, she had trained her Gastrodon to be prepared against Grass types, for the same reason she had taught Ellie sunny day, to help her pokemon prepare to fight in the sun.
But in this instance, Vic's preparation wouldn't be enough. Dana dodged to the side after finishing up her recovery, still as swift as ever. Ayame cracked a smile. Now was the time to fight!
"Dana!" She cheered. "Use energy ball!"
"Eldegoss!" Now that she didn't have to focus on recovery, Dana could begin fighting for real. She began gathering her energy, a green aura surging around her. She generated an orb of green energy in front of her mouth and spat it at the Gastrodon, hitting Theo directly and knocking him back. It was a powerful attack, and one that shook Vic even with the power of her harmonia.
Theo may have been very vulnerable to Grass type moves, but he was incredibly bulky. Ayame could see just how well-trained his defenses were, and she knew that even a move that strong wouldn't be enough to overcome his natural endurance.
But it was a start.
"Keep it up, Dana!" Ayame shouted. "Follow the energy ball up with a leaf tornado!"
"Eldegoss!" Dana nodded, spreading the leaves that made up her body out, summoning powerful winds and leaves that swirled across the battlefield and engulfed Theo, cutting into him and obscuring his vision.
But he didn't need to see clearly to strike back. Because his senses were linked to Vic's, and Vic could see the Eldegoss clear as day.
Dana's guard was down because she assumed that Theo wouldn't be able to see her through the tornado of leaves. And that was exactly what Vic was going to take advantage of.
"Sludge bomb!" She ordered.
Ayame didn't expect it, and neither did Dana. But Theo turned his head towards Dana, even with his vision obscured, and fired a blast of poison out of his mouth, hitting the Eldegoss directly.
"Dana!" Ayame cried in disbelief. "What the fuck?! That thing can still fucking see?!"
"Of course Theo can see your Eldegoss!" Vic snorted, pointing to her eyes. "After all… I can see her. And our senses are linked. What we feel… what we see… everything is shared between us. And there's nothing you can do to block my eyes!"
"This is not good, is it?" Alcea scowled. "That attack was serious."
"Elde…" Dana gasped, shaking off the poison. But it had already sunk in.
"Dana, use aromatherapy to cure your infection," Ayame ordered. She couldn't afford the poison to drain her strength away. Luckily, she still had the leech seed to restore her health. And in the meantime, she could keep fighting.
Vic wasn't impressed.
"You've been having great fun healing yourself at the expense of my Theo," she scoffed. "But don't think you're the only one who knows how to heal her pokemon! Theo, use recover!"
"Gastrodon!" Theo gurgled, and began to glow with pink light. The wounds inflicted on him by the energy ball and leaf tornado began to recover, restoring his health.
"This is a pretty tricky situation, huh?" Callie said, frowning. She was used to her pokemon hitting fast and hard, but even she could see that a fight between two pokemon who were capable of restoring their health, bulky pokemon like Eldegoss and Gastrodon…
It was going to be a long battle, that was for sure. They would have to either start hitting a lot harder to wear down their opponents faster, or they would be chipping away at each other's strength.
Ayame chose the second option.
"You want to play with fucking poison?" She scowled. "Fine, we can play that game! Dana, use poison powder!"
"Eldegoss!" Dana's cotton puff flared, sending purple pollen drifting across the sky, mixed in with spores of poison.
Vic rolled her eyes. Theo was slow, but he wasn't THAT slow.
"Theo dodge it," she ordered, sending her energy into Theo and compelling him to scuttle back to a safe range. But she could see that might not be enough to avoid the attack completely, so she sent a silent impulse to her pokemon.
"Gastrodon!" Theo raised a surge of water that swirled around him, conjuring a wave of muddy water that washed across the battlefield, smothering the poison powder and washing towards Dana, who managed to bounce up above it.
Landing down on the wet sand, Dana began to glow orange. She nodded to Ayame, who nodded back to her.
They had been training for years to work in synchronicity. They didn't need harmonia to understand what each other were thinking!
"Sunny day!" Ayame said, Dana launching an orb of sunlight into the air to light up the sky. Now was the time; she needed more brute strength to take down that Gastrodon, and that meant their team would need the sun on their side!
"Like I would let that happen!" Vic snapped. "Theo, use rain dance!"
"Oh, no!" Callie gasped. That wasn't good at all.
"I've prepared Theo to handle pesky Grass types!" Vic chortled. "You think I'll just let you set up the sun like that?!"
Indeed, Theo wasn't about to give Ayame's pokemon an advantage like that. He summoned rain clouds to blot out the bright sun, covering the sky with darkness as rain fell down upon the battlefield to weaken the Eldegoss.
"Without the sun, your Eldegoss's synthesis will be much weaker," Vic said. "The rain has a nasty disadvantage to you, doesn't it? This land doesn't get much of it, but here we are. And now, there goes your last chance!"
Ayame glared. "Not a chance! We won't give up just because you can control the weather!"
Again, Olivia was grateful for the cover of the umbrellas. The weather had been changing so much in this fight, she wouldn't be surprised to see a sandstorm summoned next.
But for now, the rain was here to stay, and that meant things were going to be tricky for Ayame and Dana. But neither trainer nor pokemon looked worried.
"Dana, hyper voice!" Ayame ordered.
"ELDEGOSS!" Dana howled, sending a shockwave of sound across the battlefield, deafening Theo and pushing him back. Theo winced, barraged by the attack, and Ayame clutched her ears in pain. The attack on her senses was overwhelming, hearing the deafening noise twice over.
"You share senses with your pokemon, right?" Ayame called across the battlefield. "That means this attack must be fucking painful for the both of you, isn't that fucking right?"
Truthfully, Ayame felt awful about taking advantage of harmonia's weakness like this. She wanted to fight against Vic's pokemon, she didn't want to fight against Vic herself. It made her feel like Elaina, attacking her opponents so ruthlessly, and she didn't like that comparison.
Theo was weakening, his strength was being drained from the leech seed, and there wasn't much he could do to fight back. Ayame knew that now was the time; the only way to keep him from recovering his strength was to continue with the barrage, dealing damage until he wouldn't be able to keep fighting back.
"Use cotton spore," she ordered.
The first step of her barrage was to weaken Theo even further. Cotton sprayed out of Dana's cotton puff, drifting and wrapping around Theo. It was supposed to weigh him down and reduce his speed. Ayame knew how important maneuverability was, and she knew that the Gastrodon was already lacking in that regard; this would be even better.
It was having an even stronger effect. The rain had moistened the cotton, causing it to be even heavier and bulkier, weighing him down even further as it turned into a moist and sticky paste that practically glued the Gastrodon to the sand.
Now that Theo would have even more difficulty moving, it was time for Ayame to begin her attack.
"Start off with a leaf tornado!" She ordered, and Dana summoned a tornado of wind and leaves to carve Theo up. "Then, hit with energy ball!"
"Eldegoss!" Dana nodded, following the tornado with a blast of energy that hit Theo in the face, badly damaging him even further.
Vic glared angrily, wiping her face in frustration. She could feel how badly Theo was getting hit, and she was focusing all of her harmonia on reducing the damage. She needed Theo to pull through this, she couldn't afford to lose another pokemon! Not to a pokemon like this!
"Now, finish it!" Ayame shouted over the rain. "Use leaf storm!"
"Eldegoss!" Dana shouted, and she created an even larger tornado. The hurricane of razor-sharp leaves swirled across the battlefield and engulfed Theo, cutting into him from all sides.
"GASTRODON!" Theo roared in pain, trying to withstand the attack as best as he could. But with his quadruple weakness to grass and all the energy being drained from him, it was clear this attack would be the end.
"That's amazing," Alden said, raising his eyebrow in surprise. "I wouldn't have expected that girl to coordinate an attack like that. Quite impressive! It must be because of her experience with Pokeathlons that they can work so well together!"
Vic was less convinced.
"No!" She shouted, blood trickling down from her nose. "No, no, no!" She forced the flames of her harmonia to flare up even higher, whipping them into an inferno. She gathered all the energy she could and pumped it into Theo's defenses, forcing him to be okay.
The tornado died down and Dana slumped into the sand, exhausted. Firing that many consecutive attacks so fast would have winded anybody.
A beam of ice ripped across the sand, hitting Dana directly.
"What?!" Ayame sputtered in disbelief as Dana was frozen solid.
Vic looked like death. Her face was soaked in rainwater and blood rolled down her lips, her eyes glaring with fury.
Theo was still conscious. Vic wasn't going to let him fall, even if it meant she would take the brunt of the damage.
"One more time!" She roared into the storm. "Ice beam!"
Theo fired a second ice beam more powerful than the first, striking the Eldegoss and shattering through the frozen shell wrapped around her to hit her again, knocking her unconscious.
Ayame couldn't believe what she had just seen. Alcea couldn't believe it either. With that many Grass type attacks, any pokemon should have fallen.
But Vic just refused to give in!
Wow. Vic's definitely got determination, that's for sure! It seems that no matter what they try, there's just no overcoming her! Ayame's lost her best weapon against her Gastrodon, so what will she use next to fight?