The professor's ultimate creation has been revealed, and it's a girl named Eve! And not just any girl, a girl who's the spitting image of Dakota! Created from Mew's DNA, what could this strange girl want? What is she capable of? What will happen when the Phantom gets his hands on her? Things are about to get really serious, that's for sure! Hopefully Wes and Maddi will make it out of this!

The Elimination Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has started! Make sure to get those votes in, we've only got a couple of people who have voted so far! Please, make sure to get those votes in! You can vote for up to 5 girls, so make sure your favorites have a chance to shine!

Nominated: Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Chloe, Cynthia, Donoma, Elaina, Kate, Maddi, Marion, Misato, Ryoko, Sango, Satsuki, Sylvia, Vic

KedharS: And a clone of Dakota, to boot.

Hyphenman: Well, if there's an Adam, then there needs to be an Eve, right? That's only natural, wouldn't you agree?

Tambry96bj: What you should really be concerned about is how the clone will react if she ever meets Dakota.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 974

Maddi heard the loud BANG of a gunshot, which caused her to freeze. Whatever was happening, guns were involved. Not good. What followed was nothing but silence. She waited, holding her breath with each passing second as her heart pounded in her chest.

Then there was a crash, followed by lots of shouts. She couldn't make out the voices. Was it Wes? The professor? Or someone else…?

Meanwhile, in the other room, things had escalated severely.

The Phantom wasn't sure what to make of what he was seeing. When he'd heard the rumors that Professor Decker had completed the evolution variance enhancement, he'd thought that finally the old man was useful for something, and had come to steal his research.

But this hadn't been what he'd expected. Not only was the research completed, but it was in the form of another artificial pokemon. And one that had just woken up, as well. It took a moment for him to process this.

He recovered from the initial shock rather quickly. Even if this creature was the spitting image of Dakota Evans, that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that she was a prime research specimen, and the Phantom was going to make full use of her.

While these thoughts were occurring to the Phantom, the girl in question was getting acclimated to her new world. She looked around, seeing everything for the first time like a newborn baby. Her fingers were twitching and her hair was practically floating as her blue eyes danced across the laboratory, absorbing everything.

Professor Decker approached her.

"Eve… you're awake… you're finally awake…" the old man had tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe his fortune. Even though his creation had been completely stable, she had refused to wake up, and he wondered if there was some other problem in her composition. But no, she was finally awake, and he wasn't about to ask why.

The girl stared at him, her mouth struggling to make sounds. "E… ve…" She finally said. The professor smiled.

"That's right. That's your name, Eve."

"Eve… is… my… name…" Eve raised her hand to look at it.

"Yes. You are Eve, the evolution variance enhancement. The pinnacle of all pokemon life, my beloved daughter!" Professor Decker proudly declared, approaching her.

"Dakota…" Eve whispered, and the professor froze.

"…What did you say?" He asked.

"I heard that name… when I was sleeping…" Eve murmured. Her lips turned up in the softest of smiles, and she placed her hand over her chest. "A voice was… calling out to me… that voice… who was it?" She turned her clear eyes upon the professor, who looked a little stunned.

"I-I don't know what you mean, but…"

"Excuse me, Johannes," Valon growled, shoving the professor aside. He fell over, crashing into some of the lab equipment. "If you don't mind, I would like a word with your creation."

Eve blinked, unconcerned by what happened to her "father" and by the man's approach.

"You fool!" Professor Decker spat. "You don't know a damn thing about what you're dealing with! This isn't some paltry pokemon, this is Eve! Show her a little respect!"

Valon snorted. "Respect? For a pokemon? Ridiculous. Come along, missy. I'm just dying to get to see what you're capable of."

He extended a hand, seeing no need to be violent just yet. Eve glanced at his hand, but didn't say anything.

"Well?" Valon asked expectantly. His patience was running thin. "Come along, and be quick about it, I'm a very busy man."

She shook her head. "I don't want to go with you."

Valon's eyes narrowed into a sharp glare behind his sunglasses. "…What was that?" He growled. He wasn't used to people rebuffing him.

"You aren't… the person whose voice I heard… where is he? The one who was calling out to me?" She asked, looking around. Her face was apathetic, but there was almost a tone of hopefulness in her voice. And the slightest of blushes on her cheeks.

Valon sighed. Well, so much for diplomacy. He raised the gun and pointed it at her, cocking back the hammer.

"Fine, let me make things clearer," he said calmly. "Come with me, or I'll shoot you and drag you out, understood?"

Eve blinked.

"No."

Well, he wasn't bluffing. Unique as the girl was, a little violence was necessary. So he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"No!" Wes gasped, horrified that the Phantom would shoot what appeared to be a harmless little girl in cold blood.

He needn't have worried. Eve raised her hand, and it began to stretch. Her hand transformed into a large boxy shield, and the bullet harmlessly bounced off of it.

"What the hell is that?" Valon snarled in disbelief.

Professor Decker laughed. "You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you, Gleiss? I told you, that girl is the pinnacle of all my countless years of research! The evolution variance enhancement… and you thought you could defeat her with just a gun?"

"…Fine," Valon said, slipping the gun into his waistband and taking out a pokeball. "That isn't the only weapon I have on hand. Shade!"

He flung the pokeball into the air, sending out his Gengar.

The professor just shook his head. He crawled to safety behind Eve. "Of course you would do that. You, relying on your pokemon… your tools. But Eve is stronger than any pokemon could ever hope to be, even your Shadow Pokemon, Gleiss!"

Eve lowered her shield, staring calmly at the Ghost type pokemon in front of her.

"Even if she looks like a human, she's still a pokemon created with Mew's DNA," Valon calmly said. "Which means she's a Psychic type. Shade, use shadow ball."

"Gengar!" Shade opened his mouth and formed an orb of ghostly energy, firing it at Eve. Eve didn't even raise her shield to defend herself, instead it reverted back to being a normal hand. Her hair twitched, twisting together, forming a single thick cord with a fat end, that bobbed behind her like a bizarre sort of tail.

Then a pattern of thick dark stripes began to spread out across her pale skin. It was bizarre, like she was growing fur. As she did, the shadow ball passed right through her.

"What?!" Valon gasped in disbelief.

Professor Decker smirked. "You see now? This is what my Eve is capable of. Nothing you do will have any effect on her. Those patterns? The stripes of a Linoone from Galar, a Dark/Normal type pokemon. Completely immune to Ghost type moves, while also…"

"You're attacking me…" Eve murmured. "So you're my enemy." She darted forward, her hand extended. It shifted into a set of striped claws, and dark energy began to surge through them. She slashed with everything she had, knocking Shade back with a devastating night slash. She jumped back and landed on her feet, returning to her normal appearance.

"Do you see now, Gleiss!?" Professor Decker cackled, half-mad himself. "This is the evolution variance enhancement! The shield of a Bastiodon! The claws and fur of a Linoone! And that's not all! Eve, next use… a Fire type!"

Eve nodded, holding out her hand. It stretched into the hand of a Magmortar, the hole spreading open and glowing with heat. She fired a massive burst of flame that engulfed Shade, lighting the Gengar ablaze.

"What… is this…?" Valon stuttered, completely shaken. He'd never seen a pokemon that could do this sort of thing before. It was a complete affront to everything he knew.

"Allow me to explain," the professor stood up, straightening out his labcoat and adjusting his glasses. "Eve here is the evolution variance enhancement. She was created from the DNA of Mew, stabilized with the µ Gene and Dakota Evans' DNA. Now, Gleiss, do you remember what the unique quality of Mew's DNA is? We went over it quite a lot back in the day."

Valon said nothing, glaring impotently at the old man.

Professor Decker sighed. "I suppose you're no longer in the mood for scientific discourse, then. Well, Mew's DNA is unique because it contains fragments of DNA of every species of pokemon that exists. All pokemon are said to descend from Mew, and because of that, locked deep in its genetic code, it has traces of every single pokemon that ever lived. Now… what if it was possible to access this DNA? To adjust a portion of the DNA and transform it? I theorized that, using the µ Gene, you could create a pokemon capable of altering their DNA at will, taking on the characteristics of any living pokemon. It should be possible, right? Ditto exists after all. But Ditto is… incomplete for my purposes."

He approached Eve, and placed his hand on her shoulders.

"Eve here is capable of transforming all or part of her body into that of any pokemon that exists. Allowing her to assume their types, their abilities, even their moves. And unlike Ditto, she isn't restricted to transforming into just one pokemon at a time, no. The wings of a Salamence combined with the mighty arms of a Machamp? An Aggron's armored body with the speed of a Rapidash's legs? The ultimate hybrid pokemon, capable of assuming the best qualities of any and all pokemon by accessing their genetic code and replicating it within her own, perfectly adapting to any foe! And when the battle is over, she can return to being a simple ordinary girl!"

He reached out and patted her on the cheek. "My perfect daughter, Eve. Completely different from your worthless tools, your 'Shadow Pokemon'. Don't you see, Gleiss? True perfection doesn't come with uniformity. What use is there in turning a pokemon into a killing machine? Eve isn't my tool. She's not a weapon to be wielded. She's my beloved, precious daughter. Perhaps if you were capable of love, you'd understand just how important that is."

"Save me the speech," Valon snarled. "She's still just a pokemon! Sure, she can do some neat tricks, but don't think that's enough to defeat me!"

"Gengar…" Shade rose to his feet, that dark miasma surrounding him nullifying the pain. It didn't matter that the foe in front of him was a terrifying monster, to Shade, the only thing that mattered was the battle. That's what he was built for, after all.

Professor Decker sighed and shook his head. "It appears you'll never understand, Gleiss." He turned to Eve and gave her a warm smile. "Eve, sweetheart, will you do your father a favor and educate his old colleague? Show him just what you're capable of."

Eve blinked, and turned to the professor. Her gaze was inscrutable.

"Father…?" She asked, the word sounding strange on her lips.

Professor Decker brightened. "Yes, that's right! I'm your father! I was the one who created you, my pride and joy! The perfect pokemon! Now, show that fool who would insult you just what you're capable of!"

Eve blinked again. She raised her hand, and it transformed into the lance of an Escavalier.

She jammed it right through the professor's stomach.

"Professor!" Wes exclaimed.

"Wh… What…?" Professor Decker looked at the huge metal spear piercing his gut. He began to shake, blood rolling past his lips.

"You aren't… the person who was calling to me…" Eve murmured. She pulled her hand back and blood spilled out across the laboratory. The professor stumbled back, clutching his open wound. He collapsed on the floor.

Wes ran over to him. "Professor!" He shouted. "Professor!"

But Professor Decker wasn't listening. He was going into shock. "Eve… why… tell me, why?"

Eve had no answer for her "father". She had no interest in him, nor in anyone else here. The only thing that mattered to her was finding the person who her heart was aching to see.

But to do that, first she had to get out.

She charged at Valon, wielding her bloody lance. The Phantom just barely had the time to dodge the thrust, panicking. This wasn't at all like he'd expected.

"If… Even if you have access to every type, that won't matter!" He spat, leaping behind his Gengar. "There's nothing you can do to resist a Shadow Pokemon! Shade, use shadow fire!"

"Gengar!" Shade opened his mouth and spat a blast of shadowy flames. Wes growled. Shadow moves were super-effective against any type of pokemon.

Assuming they hit, of course. Before the flames could hit Eve, she disappeared in an instant.

"What the hell?!" Valon looked around frantically for the girl, when he heard the flutter of wings overhead. He jerked his head up to see Eve floating above him, thin transparent wings flickering out of her back.

"Ninjask wings," Wes noted, narrowing his eyes.

Aided by the wings of a Ninjask, Eve's speed was unreal. She was practically a blur as she approached Shade, her hand transforming into the long, wicked blade of a Scyther. She struck with a devastating night slash, knocking the Shadow Pokemon unconscious with a single stroke.

Valon couldn't believe this. His Shadow Pokemon, defeated so easily?

"This isn't possible," he muttered, shaking his head. "This simply isn't possible…"

Eve landed on the ground, her wings shrinking back into her body. She didn't really care what the Phantom found to be possible. Right now, her only concern was escaping this prison of a research laboratory.

Her body began to glow. She released a massive burst of light and sound that caused the tanks filling the lab to crack and explode, and the energy of the blast shot up, smashing through the ceiling, the ground, and ultimately piercing the sky.

All of the professor's work was obliterated in a single explosion. But Eve didn't care. All she cared about was the sunlight. She could finally see it.

She raised her hand, and her body began to shimmer. A white dress like that of a Gardevoir covered her naked form, and the white wings of a Pidgeot spread out of her back. She flew into the air like an angel, hand extended towards the sun.

But she didn't get far.

"Like I would let you go!" The Phantom roared. He'd sent out his Cofagrigus now, and tendrils of shadow stretched out of the ground, tying Eve back to earth. "You… you are a pokemon… even more powerful than the one I seek… I will take you… make you mine… the perfect weapon! MISATO!"

"Affirmative." Misato charged at the girl, leaping into the air. A well-placed punch to Eve's midsection knocked her down, and she rolled across the laboratory floor, crashing into some of the ruined equipment.

She didn't stay down for long, though. She rose to her feet, looking almost uninjured.

"Phantom. Stand back. Analysis shows that you are not capable of defeating her with any degree of statistical significance," Misato warned, placing herself between the Phantom and her foe.

Notably, she did not disclose what her own chances of winning were.

Valon relaxed, turning to the bleeding form of Professor Decker. He smirked. "Well, professor? What do you think?" He asked. "I wonder, my girl against yours, who do you think will emerge successful?" Now that he was assured of his victory, he was acting rather arrogant.

Not without reason, though.

Misato raised her hand. All three of her pokeballs were in it. She threw them into the air.

Her Rotom, Sparky, and her Aegislash, Arms, both emerged. Her third and final pokemon, her Porygon-Z, Discord, was a little different.

Misato's stoic face broke into a cracked and twisted grin. "Zizizizizi…" She cackled as she allowed Discord to take over her programming, amplifying and distorting her. As her body twitched and shook, a compartment on her back opened up and she shifted forward, two long orange tubes jutting out between her shoulder blades like a backpack.

"Rotom!" Sparky buzzed, zigzagging through the air. He merged with Misato, covering her body in a bluish-white field of electricity that made her hair stand on end. Orange markings spread across her skin as large wings of plasma spread out behind her, lifting her into the air.

"What the hell is going on?" Wes breathed in disbelief. That girl… she was some kind of robot, what… he couldn't believe his own eyes.

Misato turned to Arms, her eyes crackling with madness. She held out her hand.

Arms split into a sword and a shield. As they did, a hand of lightning extended out from Misato's body, surrounding the sword and charging it with electricity, lifting it up into the air. She did the same with her other hand, seizing the shield.

Then her eyes snapped over to Eve, and she began to laugh.

"Zi! Zizizizizi!" Misato laughed like a lunatic. Through the laughter, a distant and hollow voice, garbled with static, spoke. "Misato: Battle Angel Perfect Mode."

She'd combined the powers of all three of her pokemon. Discord had seized her mind, while Sparky supercharged her body. And finally Arms floated in her grasp, the perfect pair of weapons.

Flapping her plasma wings, she flew towards Eve with a wild look in her eye, slashing at the artificial pokemon.

So Misato has achieved her perfect form! But will that hold a candle against Eve, and her ability to transform into any and all pokemon at will? Whatever will happen from this, you can be sure that the battle between these two will be suitably intense.