Wes has unleashed his trump card, a devastatingly powerful Tyranitar! But not only is it a strong pokemon, but he also has a significant amount of control and composure, being able to even stop his ability! Will the Commander stand a chance against this pokemon? Or will he be overwhelmed by it, and lose the battle?

In other news, it's time for the annual Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest, where we get to vote on who the "Best Girl" of the Pokemon Academy is! For those who remember from last year, there was a Nomination Round, followed by three month-long rounds; an Elimination Round, which narrows the girls down to the five that will make it to the main competition, also known as the Semi-Final Round, where those five girls will be voted for to determine the top three that will move on to the Final Round, where each person votes for one girl of the three finalists. Our previous two winners were Ayame and Sylvia, who will win the third contest?

So, we'll be starting the Nomination Round again. I want each person to nominate their top 3 choices for the role of Best Girl. Any girl who gets a nomination will be included in a poll on my profile for the Elimination Round! The Nomination Round will last until July 1st, when we move to the Elimination Round, so that leaves around two weeks to get those votes in! Choose your Best Girls wisely and show your support for your favorite!

KedharS: Wes is fighting seriously now, that's for sure.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 948

Alden stared at the Tyranitar with a wild smile on his face. He didn't care about anything they had said about Giraud being in control of his faculties, or being able to keep his ability from running rampant. None of that mattered.

What mattered was that he had an incredible foe right in front of him, and he and his pokemon were going to give it their all in order to meet that challenge.

"Corin!" He shouted to his Lucario, and Corin's aura flared up.

"Lucario!" She howled, a blue veil of light wrapping around her body, to the point that she was glowing so brightly the audience had to avert their eyes.

"Yikes!" Callie howled, squinting at the corona. "That's a huge aura!"

"This is gonna be fucking sweet!" Tommy cheered, his face wild with excitement. "Come on, Commander, show him what's what!"

Vic watched cautiously, her chest brimming with hope.

"Now we're going to show you just what we're capable of, Wes! With an attack filled with our steely resolve!" Alden shouted across the battlefield. His "Sense" was surging, it was like he was right there with Corin, his own aura flaring up just as strongly as hers. It was ludicrous, of course, something like that couldn't be possible. But from where he was standing, it truly felt like the two of them were one being.

Perhaps it was the closest that a normal person could come to having harmonia.

Rui baulked, stepping backwards on reflex. The amount of power burning in front of her was terrifying. Unlike the Commander, she did have harmonia. Which was why she could sense exactly how powerful this move was going to be. The Lucario was putting everything she had into the attack, even burning away what health she had left for one final strike.

"Have a taste!" Alden roared. "Corin, use your steel beam!"

"LUCARIO!" Corin howled, flinging her palms forward. The brilliant blast of energy that exploded out of her grew brighter and brighter until it burned white, forming a massive beam that engulfed the Tyranitar, burning through the air and shaking the entire mountain.

The light faded, and Corin fell to her knees. She pitched forward, unconscious, having put everything into that attack.

Everyone squinted, trying to see what had happened.

But no one expected what they saw.

Giraud had not been the victim of Corin's blast. He may have been the target, certainly, but when the beam struck he was not the pokemon that had taken that hit.

Instead, Solaris had taken his place. By using her ally swap one final time, she switched positions with the Tyranitar, sacrificing the remains of her own health in order to protect her partner. She had been flung nearly across town and been slammed into the cliff face, but in the end, unconscious though she may have been, she was still, in a way, the victor.

"Tyranitar!" Giraud roared with triumph, standing over the felled Lucario.

"…So that's it," Alden said, his grin not shaking for a second. "Guess that one's… on me. Wasn't even thinking about that, I just wanted to… match that pokemon's strength with Corin's. Sorry partner… guess we got a little caught in the moment, huh?"

"That was… a magnificent attack," Wes calmly replied, recalling Solaris to her pokeball as Alden did the same with Corin. "I got a good… what was it you said? 'Sense' of you and your pokemon's natures and abilities from that last exchange? Willing to put everything on the line for a good battle… excellent."

Just like that, it was like Vic lost all feeling in her legs. She dropped to her knees and her face went pale, and she began to tremble.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Callie asked, running over to her. "I know that was a shocker, but hey, these things happen."

Vic didn't even reply. How could she? That foolish girl had no idea what was going on here, or what the stakes were. She had no clue that Vic had been betting her all on this fight, and that her hope had just lost his strongest pokemon without even making a scratch against the Tyranitar.

She was staring at the end of her world.

"Stand up, Victoria," Rui said, pained by the strictness in her voice. She didn't want to take that attitude with her daughter, but she had no choice. "The battle isn't over yet. If you're going to believe in him, then believe until the very end."

Vic swallowed, her heart wavering. She had to believe. She knew she did. But she couldn't find the strength to stand, not after what she'd just seen.

Her plight went unnoticed by her father and the Commander. Right now, the two of them were lost in the battle.

"Megan, come back," Wes said, sending his Meganium back out. He was down to just two pokemon now.

Alden had slightly more, at three. But even if Wes only had the Tyranitar left, his "Sense" was telling him that beast would be more than enough.

His hands were shaking with excitement! Finally, the exhilaration of a real fight! "Tracey!" He shouted, flinging his pokeball into the air. "You're up! Take these two down!"

"Cinderace!" Tracey growled, emerging from her pokeball. She landed on the ground and immediately charged, flames kicking up around her paws.

"Going straight into flame charge? Quite good," Wes complimented. "Now Giraud… I think it's time we got started, don't you?"

"Tyranitar," Giraud nodded. He threw his head back and summoned giant stones from the mountainside, raining them down upon the approaching Cinderace and the Mimikyu.

"Mimi, use phantom force," Alden quickly ordered. "And Tracey, I trust your speed will be more than enough!"

"Cinder!" Tracey nodded, flashing him a smile. She picked up speed and dashed through the grass, her flames not even singeing it. While Mimi vanished into the shadows to avoid the falling rocks, Tracey made full use of her agility, maneuvering around each one.

"Look at that speed!" Tommy crowed. "Maybe he can handle this after all!"

Always the optimist, Tommy was seeing this situation as a positive. But Alcea wasn't so sure. It was clear how powerful that Tyranitar was; there was no such thing as a weak Tyranitar! And it hadn't even taken a scratch. She greatly doubted if the Commander's Cinderace would be able to do anything to that monstrosity.

Tracey felt similarly. Because when she charged head-on at Giraud, daring him to strike her, she suddenly changed course, leaping off one of the incoming rocks and taking to the sky.

"She's bouncing up!" Callie marveled, surprised that the pokemon would take this opportunity to turn skywards.

At that moment, Mimi reappeared. But like Tracey, she advocated not to come in and strike the Tyranitar, no, her target was someone else.

Megan had exhausted a lot of energy in her previous fights, and she was already getting a little tired. She'd been preparing a synthesis to recover some of her health, but Mimi wasn't about to give her the opportunity for that, appearing on her back and striking her right in the back of the neck.

"Meganium?!" Megan coughed, stumbling forward. That was when Tracey chose to land, tumbling through the air and holding one of her long legs out, bringing it down on the neck that Mimi had just exposed.

It was a solid one-two punch that left Megan struggling for breath, not that either pokemon would give her a chance. Mimi swung with her shadow claw and Tracey struck with a blaze kick, the barrage of attacks knocking her out for good.

In a flash, the battle had shifted to three of Alden's pokemon versus Wes's last, and that meant it was a two-on-one.

Wes didn't show any signs of being bothered by this change. He simply returned Megan to her pokeball as quickly as he'd sent her out.

"I didn't want… to rely on her to begin with," he explained. "She went through enough already, but… those are the rules."

"I can't believe it went that simply," Maddi murmured with surprise. "Those two pokemon were incredibly fast."

"It's definitely the speed," Callie nodded in agreement. "Tyranitar are really scary, for real. But they're also not very fast!"

A gleeful expression crossed her face. "All he's gotta do is run circles around them, and he'll be totally fine! Don't forget, that Mimikyu is also a Fairy type pokemon!"

"Mimi, use play rough!" Alden ordered. "While she's handling that, Tracey, use your agility to boost your speed!"

"Cinderace!" Tracey nodded, dashing across the field. She seemed to take Callie's suggestion rather literally, as she was running in wide circles around the Tyranitar, preparing herself for the opportunity to land a blow.

Meanwhile, Mimi was taking on the far more dangerous role. She had to be the one to engage the fearsome Tyranitar herself!

But the ghost pokemon wasn't afraid. Even without her disguise to protect her, she had the strength to handle this Tyranitar!

Mimi scurried across the field, her body glowing. She raised her stick, and swung it at Giraud's legs in an attempt to knock him over.

"Giraud, iron defense," Wes ordered.

Tyranitar might have been very slow pokemon when compared to the likes of Mimikyu or Cinderace, but you didn't need to be exceptionally fast to raise a good defense. His green scales began to glitter brightly in the sunlight, hardening to become as sharp as steel. Mimi's strike all but bounced right off of them, the Tyranitar barely flinching.

"…Well, that's not a good sign," Alden mused. "Mimi! Quick, get back!"

Mimi jumped back just as Giraud released a powerful shockwave of dark energy, but she didn't get out of the way fast enough. The dark pulse slammed into her and knocked her through the air, scoring a serious hit on the already-injured pokemon.

"And now for the real fight," Wes glared. "Giraud, time to use your earthquake attack!"

"Tyranitar!" Giraud roared, stomping on the ground with enough force that the entire village began to shake. The force of the earthquake rocked the battlefield, disorienting Mimi and keeping her from getting back up.

"Tracey, use acrobatics to dodge it," Alden quickly ordered. He had to prioritize protecting at least one of his pokemon. "Mimi, use substitute!"

"Mimikyu!" Mimi nodded, and her body began to collapse in on herself. Her disguise fell flat on the ground, unused, ready to take the full brunt of the quakes.

"If he's relying on stuff like substitute then he really must be desperate," Callie said anxiously. She'd been so confident a second ago, but now it looked like that confidence had been unfortunately misplaced.

"Wes was holding back on using this move," Rui said. "After all, he would hit his own pokemon if he tried to. But now that it's just Giraud, they can fight with everything that they have."

Vic nodded with a sullen glare. She didn't like this one bit.

But Alden and his pokemon weren't about to give up just because things were getting dicey. To prove that, Tracey sprung up into the air, her powerful acrobatics turning her into a Flying type and allowing her to avoid the effects of the earthquake.

She closed the distance between herself and the Tyranitar in a flash, unleashing a series of punches and kicks that felt like a brush of feathers to the armored Giraud. The Tyranitar turned to her with furious glare and raised his claws, ready to summon more rocks.

Alden was prepared for that. "Tracey! Time to break out the double kick!"

"Cinderace!" Tracey nodded, changing into a Fighting type as she prepared to take on the Tyranitar with the strength of her legs. Even as the mighty pokemon dropped large boulders on top of her she turned the focus onto the offensive, delivering two powerful kicks into Giraud's chest and stomach, respectfully.

The attacks were strong enough that they actually staggered the beast.

"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Tommy grinned.

"You said it!" Callie nodded in agreement. "That Tyranitar may be tough, but he's still got a four times weakness to Fighting type moves! How's that double kick feeling, huh?!"

It clearly wasn't feeling very good. It hadn't done a lot of damage, but if she kept doing it then Giraud would be in a rather tough situation. Which was why it was fortunate that Tracey wasn't in any state to keep pressing the attack.

In the heat of the moment, an all-out offensive with double kicks looked like the right call. But even a slow pokemon like Tyranitar could land a hit when his target was right in front of him, and that's exactly what had happened.

Tracey had been a Fighting type at the time, so her wounds weren't as severe as they could have been. But at the same time, they were nothing to scoff at, either. She was feeling a little woozy and her fur was patchy with blood from the stone edge.

Resistance or not, that Tyranitar was a monster. Tracey was already struggling to stay conscious against her foe.

Mimi, meanwhile, was still a little stunned. She'd had her substitute broken, meaning her body wasn't in the best of shape. But she was still hanging on just as much as Tracey was.

"Mimi," Alden said, glancing towards his Mimikyu. "Use copycat."

"Mimikyu!" Mimi chirped joyfully, bobbing the staggered head of her disguise up and down. She turned to the Tyranitar, and began to use a move that he had used. It hadn't been the last move, the stone edge, however. She'd used this copycat before Giraud had a chance to drop the stones on Tracey, when he was attacking her.

The ground began to rumble again.

Tracey immediately knew what to do. She shifted out of her double kick stance and prepared another acrobatic assault, charging the Tyranitar and unleashing another wave of swift punches and kicks. With acrobatics increasing her agility, she was able to stay out of range of Giraud's attempts to punish her, while keeping him distracted so he couldn't go after Mimi, either.

And now that she was a Flying type, she was immune to the effects of Mimi's earthquake herself. But Giraud certainly wasn't.

"Tyranitar!" Giraud roared, feeling his body struck by the power of the earthquake. It was his own move being used against him, and he certainly wasn't pleased about that fact.

Alden was more than happy to take advantage of the opportunity, however.

We're not doing as much damage as we could be, thanks to that Tyranitar's iron defense. He's still got quite the edge on us. None of us can take much more… but at the same time, I just can't get enough! Alden was thrilled at what was happening. He and his pokemon were fighting with everything they had, trying to get that Tyranitar to fall. It was like an army trying to topple a tower.

Finally, Giraud had enough. With a ferocious roar he released a powerful tremor of his own, while at the same time lunging out his arm and catching Tracey by the throat.

"Cinder?!" Tracey coughed out in surprise.

"Smack down," Wes ordered.

Giraud slammed Tracey into the ground with so much force that it removed the advantage of the Flying type. Now that she was grounded, Tracey took on the full brunt of the earthquakes, and the damage was severe.

"Tracey!" Alden shouted.

She wasn't done yet, though. She bounced up high into the air, relying on another Flying type move to take her out of Giraud's range for the time being, giving her the chance to catch her breath and come up with a counter.

Mimi wasn't so lucky. The earthquake that she had received in turn was far more brutal than the one she'd unleashed, and she was already on her last slivers of health.

Alden had to think quickly. Fortunately, Mimi had the perfect move for a situation like this.

"Mimi," he called. "Use pain split! Take some of that Tyranitar's health and heal yourself with it, quickly!"

"Mimikyu!" Mimi nodded, and began to glow. Light shot out of her body and engulfed Giraud, and the Tyranitar's strength started to drain away.

"Oooh!" Maddi gasped, interested.

"What? What's she doing?" Rui asked. The way it looked, Giraud was somehow getting weaker, but what was causing it?

"Pain split is a move that splits the health of the user and the target," Ross informed her. "So a pokemon with barely any health like that Mimikyu can recover a great amount of strength by taking it away from a healthy pokemon like that Tyranitar."

Of all the moves that Alden's pokemon had used against Giraud, the pain split Mimi had just performed was by far the most effective. Giraud was weakening, and with that loss of strength came rage, for both him and his trainer.

"Oh, you're going to stop that right now," Wes snarled. "Giraud!"

"Tyranitar!" Giraud roared, and released another earthquake. This one was so powerful that it knocked Rui right off her feet, and several others in the audience as well. Callie managed to stay standing due to her training, but she could feel the strength behind the quakes.

Even with the health that she had recovered, Mimi didn't have much of a chance. She was so stunned by the shockwaves that she couldn't do anything to dodge the hulking Tyranitar lumbering towards her, or the orb of dark energy forming in front of his mouth.

"Tyranitar!" With a roar, Giraud unleashed a devastating dark pulse, the compression of dark energy condensing into a beam that hit Mimi directly, popping her disguise like a balloon. She deflated and sunk into the ground, knocked completely unconscious.

Panting, Tracey dropped down on the ground just as the shaking stopped. Her eyes were filled with awe and excitement. She glanced back at her trainer. If either one of them cared about winning the match, then this would be cause for concern. But to them, the only thing that mattered was the battle. Everything besides that was just a show.

"That was strong," Alden said, returning Mimi to her pokeball. He was down to his last two pokemon now. "Finn, come back out! I'm going to need both you AND Tracey to handle this guy!" He tossed out his pokeball, and his Swampert emerged with a roar.

Vic swallowed. This was it. Everything was going to come down to this.

So Alden's down to his final two pokemon, while Wes just has his Tyranitar! It seems that now that the big guns have come out, their pokemon are dropping pretty damn quick! The climax is upon us; which trainer will emerge the victor? Will Alden be able to defeat Wes and his Tyranitar? Or is Giraud too fearsome to be stopped? Remember to get those nominations in as well!