Wes began a pokemon battle with the Commander as a test for his daughter, and that battle is just getting started! Alden's a tough trainer, but Wes is a veteran of double battles with a proven team of powerful pokemon! Will the Commander be able to keep up with him?
KedharS: Wes is certainly a very powerful trainer, but Alden's no slouch, ether!
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 942
Alden was pleasantly surprised by the corner he had been put into. He certainly hadn't expected Wes to overwhelm him with physical attacks from his pokemon. An Umbreon, sure, but an Espeon? It was definitely surprising.
But it only sent his Sense surging. This battle was already off to a great start!
"Jaune!" Alden shouted. "Use bug buzz on that Espeon!"
"Vikavolt!" Jaune buzzed, flapping his wings and spreading his mandibles wide. A loud screeching sound rang across the battlefield, overwhelming Solaris's senses. She winced, bracing herself against the screeching.
"Nice! Now Eifa, use shadow ball!"
"Espeon!" Eifa nodded and opened her mouth, firing a pulsing orb of ghostly energy at the stunned pokemon.
"Solaris, use quick attack to dodge," Wes ordered. Solaris tucked her head in and clung to the ground, darting forward. She swiftly dodged the shadow ball and charged at Jaune, leaping into the air and scratching him.
"Shake it off and use x-scissor!" Alden shouted. Jaune ignored the minimal damage from the quick attack and spread his mandibles, swinging them shut on Solaris to slash into her. But his jaws clapped shut on a thick red barrier, not strong enough to break through them.
But that was fine with Alden. Because, in Solaris's present condition, there was nowhere to run. She might not have taken damage from the attack, but she was still stuck suspended in the air inside the barrier.
"Now, use zap cannon!" He ordered.
Jaune's mandibles began to crackled with electricity and he opened his mouth. An orb of lightning so tightly compressed it was black appeared in from of his fangs, right in the center of his jaws. It shot forward, traveling down his mandibles like a train on a track.
Wes's response was immediate.
"Solaris!" He shouted. "Use ally swap! Then, Lunet, use protect!"
A veteran of countless double battles, Wes knew how to make full use of his pokemon's teamwork. He was the one who taught Vic all that she knew, after all.
The gem on Solaris's head flashed red and she disappeared, Lunet appearing in her place. And the second he did, the golden rings on his fur began to glow, and another barrier of light appeared over the red one, colored bright gold and stronger than ever. The zap cannon struck this new barrier and bounced off without a scratch.
"Whoa! That was so cool!" Callie marveled.
"Oui," Alcea nodded in agreement. "It was an excellent use of teamwork between his two pokemon. I wouldn't have expected any less, is it?"
"My father is a master of double battles," Vic said, her voice filled with awe and frustration. "The Commander is strong, but he'll have to use everything he has to beat him."
It made her feel sick to her stomach to admit that. She respected her father's skill as a trainer, but she was devoted to the Commander. Having to acknowledge that Wes was probably stronger than him hurt her down to her soul.
But it was still the truth.
Not that Alden cared about the truth, of course, he was having too much fun for that!
"Nicely played!" He laughed. "But we're just getting started! Jaune, fling that Umbreon into the ground!"
"Vika!" Jaune tilted his head up and flung Lunet down towards the grass, but the Dark type pokemon quickly recovered, landing agilely on his feet.
That put him right in the path of an attack from Eifa, however.
"Dazzling gleam!" Alden ordered. Eifa's eyes started to glow red, and a wave of blinding scarlet light emanated from the jewel on her forehead. It hit Lunet, giving him pause as he withstood the damaging effects of the fairy light. It was just the opening that Alden had been waiting for.
"Nice! Now, Jaune, use thunder wave!"
"Vikavolt!" Jaune began to build up electricity through his body, releasing it in a shockwave at the blinded Umbreon. Alden was seeking to paralyze one of his opponents, to reduce the threat against his team. But it wasn't going to go as he wanted.
"Solaris, use ally swap again," Wes quickly ordered. Solaris's ruby flashed and in an instant she switched places with Lunet, putting her right in the path of the thunder wave herself.
But anyone who knew Eifa's abilities knew that it wasn't going to work. Eifa had Magic Bounce, an ability that reflected all harmful status moves back at their user. Which meant that Solaris, her mother, had the same exact ability.
A veil of scarlet light began to glow around Solaris, and when the thunder wave struck her it curved around her like a ribbon before bouncing back and slamming into Jaune, startling him. As an Electric type pokemon it wouldn't paralyze him, of course, but it was shocking enough that it through him off-guard, giving Lunet the chance to recover and strike back.
"Umbreon!" Lunet leapt into the air and raised his claw, the muscles in his body surging as he slammed into Jaune with everything he had. He smacked the Vikavolt so hard he knocked the pokemon right in the grass, the force of the attack so strong that he hurt himself from the recoil.
"Jaune!" Alden shouted. "Are you okay? That was a powerful double-edge attack"
"Vika…" Jaune panted, flapping his wings and flying up into the air again. There was no denying that he'd taken some serious damage from that move, Wes's Umbreon was powerful. And while Jaune's defenses were okay, they weren't enough to guard against attacks of that level forever.
Fortunately, Lunet had been struck hard by the recoil himself, and was injured. Which gave Jaune the perfect opportunity to strike back.
"Use bug buzz!" Alden ordered. Jaune opened his mouth and clapped his mandibles together like a tuning fork, releasing a shockwave of sound that echoed through the village, slamming into Lunet and dealing some serious damage.
"Solaris, use baton pass!" Wes shouted over the buzzing, surprising everyone. Solaris wasn't even being attacked at the moment; but he was still calling her back, instead of the weakening Umbreon that was directly under attack.
With a nod, Solaris returned to her pokeball in the place of Wes's new pokemon.
"Typhlosion!" A large, furry pokemon stood up on his hind legs, a mane of fire bursting out below his throat. He tilted back his head and roared.
"A Fire type?" Maddi said, raising her eyebrow. "Certainly a good choice against that Vikavolt, but very odd timing…"
"Bagun, use eruption!" Wes ordered.
"TYPHLOSION!" Bagun reared up and his mane surged high into the sky, burning brightly in the morning sun. A massive eruption of flame burst from his body, rolling over the battlefield and slamming into Jaune and Eifa. It stuck the barrier form Eifa's light screen and pressed right through, the heat of the flares dealing massive damage.
By some miracle, the grass remained unsinged by the powerful fire attack.
"What the fuck!?" Callie exclaimed in shock, falling over as she saw the damage that had been inflicted. Neither Eifa nor Jaune was moving, badly stunned by the attack.
"That was… through light screen, is it?" Alcea gasped, a little lost for words herself. She knew that eruption was one of the most powerful Fire type moves there was, but to do this much damage this easily…"
"Eruption is a move that grows more powerful the stronger the pokemon who uses it is," Wes calmly explained, nodding to his Typhlosion. "At full health, it's as powerful as it could ever be. And not only that, but hits all the opposing pokemon. Quite a nasty trick to bring into a double battle, wouldn't you agree?" The boost from Solaris passing on her helping hand bonus didn't hurt, either.
"Oh, for sure!" Alden grinned. "That was amazing! But it's not going to be enough! Without your Espeon, you don't have Magic Bounce anymore, which means Jaune's got the opportunity to strike back at you! Go and use thunder wave!"
"Vika…" Jaune panted, flapping his wings and taking to the air. He began to build up electricity, but instead of releasing it in a paralyzing shockwave, he fired a bolt of lightning directly at the Typhlosion instead.
"Jaune?" Alden gasped in disbelief.
"Quick attack!" Wes ordered. Bagun dropped down onto all fours and swiftly evaded the thunderbolt, charging at Jaune.
It only took Alden a second to realize what Wes had done, and he decided the time had come to switch things up. "Jaune!" He shouted. "Use volt switch!"
"Vikavolt!" Jaune's body began to crackle with electricity. When Bagun collided with him, the electricity he built up released itself, shocking the Typhlosion and knocking him backwards, while at the same time sending Jaune back to his pokeball.
"Go, Finn!" Alden shouted, sending out his Swampert. The perfect matchup to a pokemon as powerful as that Typhlosion.
"Not bad, you realized the danger of the matchup and took advantage," Wes said, nodding in approval. "But that won't be enough. Your Espeon is in very bad shape."
He was right. Eifa had already been on the receiving end of some seriously brutal attacks, and that eruption had been the cherry on top. If it hadn't been for her light screen, she would have been knocked unconscious right away.
"It wasn't just about the matchup," Alden smirked. "You had your Umbreon use taunt, didn't you? When I wasn't looking."
A wicked smile curled up Wes's lips.
"Very well done. So you figured that out, did you?"
"It was easy to see," Alden shrugged. "Instead of thunder wave, Jaune used an attacking move. So I figured it was better for him to get some time to cool his head, while I handle things with Finn over here!"
"Swampert!" Finn bellowed, pounding his chest.
"True, a Water type pokemon is what you'd want to do," Wes said, nodding in approval. "But that was something I was expecting! Bagun, use sunny day!"
"Typhlosion!" Bagun rose onto his hind legs and tilted his head towards the sky, his mane of fire leaping and burning. A surge of energy shot up, intensifying the sun's rays.
"Oh, great, just what we needed, more fucking sun," Mason groaned, startling everyone. It was the first time he'd said anything all day.
"Nicely done!" Alden grinned. "Using sunny day to weaken Finn's Water type moves! But that was actually what I was hoping for!"
Wes raised his eyebrow. "Oh, is that so?"
"You bet it is! Eifa, use morning sun!"
"Espeon!" Eifa panted, the ruby on her forehead flashing. Her entire body began to glow red as she drew in energy from the sunlight, beginning to restore her health.
"Oh! Magnifique!" Alcea gasped in surprise, resisting the urge to applaud the maneuver. "Oui, with the benefit of harsh sunlight, the restorative powers of moves like morning sun and synthesis significantly rise, is it?"
Eifa had taken a serious beating in the previous bouts, but that was all left behind her as she restored her health.
Was seemed pleased by this, actually. "Well, I must say, that's quite a clever plan," he nodded approvingly. "But you'll need to do much better than that! Because you see, something like that… we're capable of doing that, too!"
"Umbreon!" Lunet growled, nodding. Like Eifa, he had taken a serious beating over the course of the fight, and was prepared to undo all that damage. The rings on his fur began to glow gold along with his eyes, and a veil of golden light appeared around his body. Just light Eifa, his wounds began to heal themselves.
"Nicely done, Lunet," Wes said, nodding in approval.
"Wait, what's that Umbreon doing?" Callie sputtered.
"Moonlight, is it?" Alcea explained. "Exactly like morning sun, a restorative move that gets stronger the more intensely the sun's rays shine down."
"That… doesn't make any sense," Callie said, flummoxed by Alcea's explanation. "I mean, shouldn't it be, like, weaker? Because the light of the sun is blocking out the moon, or something like that? Since it's daytime?"
Alcea only shrugged. "The moves of pokemon are quite confusing at times, is it," was the only explanation she could offer.
Alden didn't mind Wes's play in the slightest. "Hey, that's really good!" He laughed. "I knew there was a reason I was looking forward to this battle so much!"
Wes cracked a grin, nodding back to him. He'd been looking forward to this too. "We're just getting started," he agreed. "Now, Lunet! Use feint attack!"
Lunet charged forward, the rings on his body glowing. Then he turned pitch black for an instant and disappeared. Seconds later, he reappeared behind Eifa, slamming into her from behind and sending her skidding forward across the grass. But Eifa could take a hit now. Snarling, she leapt to her feet and turned back towards Lunet, her eyes flashing in preparation for a dazzling gleam.
But that wasn't what Alden wanted. "Eifa, hold," he snapped, and she cut off her attack immediately. Then her turned to his Swampert.
"Finn, use earthquake!" He ordered.
"Earthquake?!" Callie cried, already bracing himself for the attack.
"Yeah, that's what you'd want to do," Vic said, nodding. "In a double battle, earthquake is a move that's hard to beat. Causing massive damage to all the pokemon involved. Sunny day might have stopped Swampert's Water type moves, but Ground type attacks will be just as effective."
"But what about his Espeon?" Callie asked.
Answering her question, Alden ordered Eifa to return. He called her back to her pokeball, and was quick to replace her with another pokemon; his old friend Jaune!
"Vikavolt!" Jaune buzzed, coming back out to continue the fight. He wasn't as badly injured as Eifa was, and more importantly, he had a serious advantage.
"Nice!" Tommy laughed. "Thanks to that Vikavolt's Levitate ability, the earthquake won't do anything to him! Way to go, Commander!"
"Swampert!" Finn bellowed, lifting his foot and stomping down on the grass. A shockwave of energy shot through the ground, and the village began to shake.
"Umbreon!"
"Typhlosion!"
Crying in pain, both of Wes's pokemon faced the brunt of the earthquake attack. It was impossible for them to remain standing, and even though they had the protection of the stolen reflect, they were still thrown off-balance.
Which was exactly what Alden was waiting for.
Jaune was the only pokemon unaffected by the earthquake, and that put him in the perfect position to strike. And with Lunet and Bagun occupied, neither would be able to stop him.
"Thunder wave!" Alden ordered, intent on going through with his original plan. Lunet had been an annoyance, and if the Umbreon was paralyzed then Jaune might have the time to fire off a second attack to boot!
But the thunder wave never made contact, because Wes had been anticipating it from the moment Alden sent out his Vikavolt again.
"Lunet!" He cried. "Use your baton pass!"
Like his mate, Lunet knew when it was time to withdraw. In a flash of light he returned to his pokeball, and Wes sent out another pokemon to take the force of the thunder wave attack.
"Go, Megan," Wes said, his Meganium emerging from her pokeball. The electricity hit the large green pokemon, paralyzing her before she even had a chance to breathe.
"Meganium?" Megan sputtered in disbelief, glancing back at her trainer to see what was going on. Wes nodded, and she smiled.
"So, that's the plan, huh?" Alden smiled. "Gotta say, I love it! Boosting your leads with helping hand, and then passing those benefits off to even stronger pokemon with a double baton pass, that's what I like to see! And not only that, but you're using a Grass type to counter Finn, as well! Very nicely thought-out, especially with the foresight of setting up sunny day!"
This was the kind of battle that Alden lived for! Training his pokemon to fight tooth and nail against the very best there was! His 'Sense' was charged with excitement!
Vic was less excited. Although she was pleased by how much fun the Commander was clearly having in this battle, she knew how important this was. Alden needed to win, not just enjoy himself. But she didn't know if he was going to. Her father was fighting his hardest, using combination after combination to make the most out of his pokemon.
Did the Commander even have a chance at winning, when faced with the power that was Wes?
Startled, she slapped her cheeks. What was she even thinking?! Why was she doubting him? This was Alden! An amazing trainer that she respected, someone who could go toe to toe with the best trainers the world had to offer, the strongest trainer in the entire school! If there was anyone who could defeat her father, it was definitely him!
"Come on, Commander!" She shouted. "Show him what you can do!"
But her words didn't even reach his ear, he was too focused on the fight itself.
"Finn!" Alden shouted. "That barrier's been around long enough! Let's plow through it with your brick break!"
"Swampert!" Finn roared in agreement, lumbering forward and lifting a massive fist to smash through the reflect.
"I expected you'd do something like that," Wes smirked. "Bagun, use smokescreen!"
"Typhlosion!" Bagun growled, opening his mouth and flaring up his mane. A massive cloud of smoke covered Wes's side of the battlefield, obscuring both of his pokemon from sight.
Finn screeched to a halt, stopping at the edge of the smoky veil. Without a target to hit, the brick break would do nothing.
Alden had a plan for that, though.
"Jaune!" He shouted. "Use flash cannon to light up that smoke!"
"Vikavolt!" Jaune nodded, building up energy into his mandibles. He fired a compressed beam of light directly into the cloud, lighting up the smoke with a series of flares that illuminated where both of Wes's pokemon were, which was all Finn needed.
Because Megan was paralyzed and thus not a problem, Finn decided the better target was the Typhlosion. He charged at the silhouetted Fire type and raised his fist, preparing to strike. But again, that opportunity was taken from him, this time by the force of a massive solarbeam that broke through the cloud and hit him directly.
"SWAMPERT!" Finn bellowed in pain. The light screen managed to blunt most of the damage, but certainly not all of it. He clutched his chest and staggered back, falling to his knees.
"Finn!" Alden cried. But to his relief, his Swampert was mostly unharmed.
Alden turned to Wes, genuinely impressed. "That was quick a swift solarbeam," he complimented. "How'd you fire that move off so fast? Even with the intense sunlight, your Meganium was still paralyzed."
Wes smirked. "Oh, was she?"
The smoke cleared, revealing Bagun and a very much not paralyzed Meganium.
"So that's it!" Alden grinned, putting it together immediately. "You weren't just using smokescreen to stop Finn's attack! It was a cover so I wouldn't catch your Meganium using aromatherapy to heal herself from the paralysis, and that way you could catch Finn and I off-guard with a solarbeam we wouldn't have time to dodge!"
He whistled. "That's just… amazing! My 'Sense' is stronger than ever! I've been waiting for a match like this ever since I got to the Orre Region!"
The battle had just gotten started, neither trainer had even lost a pokemon yet. And yet, to Alden, it was already amazing, he couldn't wait to see what Wes did next!
Alden and Wes's battle has gotten off to a great start! Both trainers are doing their best and trying to use their pokemon to the best of their ability! Alden's been able to hang on and roll with the punches, but will he be able to keep up with a trainer of Wes's caliber?