Misato has transformed into her perfect form, and taken the fight to Eve! But will the combined powers of her pokemon be enough to fight against the evolution variance enhancement? Or will the versatility of Eve's ability to turn into any pokemon and use any move prove to be too much for Misato to handle? This is going to be an intense showdown to say the least, which of these weapons will prove to be the better fighter?

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: That's definitely true, I'm expecting it to be quite a showdown! They both have incredible power, and this is definitely one of the turning points in the Orre Region arc! What will happen with Eve?

Bchdsbfjh: No thank you, not interested, sorry!

Hyphenman: There's been quite a lot of buildup that went into this. Eve was one of the original enemy ideas that I developed way back at the beginning of this story, so I've been laying out the pieces for some time now. Hopefully, the payoff will be well worth it. She's certainly going to shake things up, hopefully.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 975

Wes had no idea what the fuck he was looking at.

From what he could tell, a girl who he was pretty sure was a robot had just merged with her three pokemon to turn into some sort of lightning angel, and was currently battling against another girl who was able to transform into any pokemon.

What the fuck happened to the old days where pokemon just battled each other like normal? Had he grown that out of touch with society?

He didn't have time to concern himself with that right now, though. He needed to focus on putting pressure on the professor's wound. It was a nasty stab that Wes wasn't even sure if the old man would survive, and if he was being honest, a part of him was questioning whether or not he even deserved to in the first place.

Professor Decker had been an immense help against the Shadow Pokemon 25 years ago. Wes would never have imagined that he would do something like this. But the evidence was all around them, destroyed as it was, and he'd heard it from the professor's own mouth. Genetic tampering. Mad experiments. Creating a pokemon out of nothing.

These weren't the actions of a kindly old man, a generous scientist with a love of pokemon. It was the product of an insane mind, there was no doubt about that. In another lifetime, maybe Wes would have been fighting to stop whatever the professor was planning to do with this "Eve" of his. Maybe even fight against Eve herself.

But now wasn't the time for that. What mattered was saving the lives that could be saved, and fortunately, in the chaos, no one was paying attention to what he was doing, meaning he was able to make a covert call to the authorities. The Orre Region might have a significant crime problem, but things had greatly improved over the last 25 years, and at least the police were willing to do their jobs. He didn't know if they'd be able to help stand up against either of the two monsters fighting it out right now, but at least they would come with an ambulance to get the professor to safety.

If only Wes still had his pokeballs… it would only take a minute or two to retrieve them, but that was time he didn't have. And even he did, who would he fight? Eve? That girl Misato? They were both problems in their own ways, and if worst came to worst, he might find himself on the receiving end of a beatdown from both of them.

Not to mention that the only reason he was still alive right now was because he was keeping his head down and staying out of the way. With the insane level of power these two were leveling at each other, the room was practically tearing itself apart. He didn't want to risk running for the door and being vaporized by a stray blast.

Wes took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Right now, he just had to focus on helping the professor. And hope that those two didn't end up destroying the entire lab.

It was quite a surprise, but Wes wasn't the only one concerned with getting caught in the crossfire. When Valon had sent Misato out after Eve, he'd anticipated that Misato would be able to make short work of the girl. Even though the artificial Mew clone had incredible power, she had just woken up a few minutes ago; surely she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against a tested weapon like Misato, armed with all three of her pokemon together!

But she was doing a lot more than that.

Eve's hand shifted into the long, whip-like tail of a Seviper, complete with a sharp, glittering blade at the end. She cracked her tail forward, arcing right for the approaching Misato, who raised her shield to deflect the attack. But that was just the beginning. As the tail bounced off Misato's shield, it shifted into the large hand of an Aipom, grabbing the rim of the shield and holding on tight. Eve pulled herself forward, returning her hand to its normal state and catapulting her right at Misato even as her other hand shifted into an Escavalier's lance again.

Misato was no slouch either, though. She channeled the electricity surging through her body into a shockwave that raced up Eve's arm and electrocuted her, causing the girl let out a gasp of pain. But only for a moment. It wasn't long before her arm shifted a second time, into a different type of weapon, the bladed fin of a Garchomp. By becoming a Ground type, Eve was able to easily shake off the electric charge, and swung her blade right for Misato's exposed throat.

Metal struck scales as Misato twisted the plasma arm she'd manifested, bending her sword back in a way that would be impossible for a normal human. She parried Eve's strike and raised her leg, kicking the girl in the stomach and sending her flying backwards with the force of a Mechadoll.

Even as Eve flew through the air, she was already transforming herself. Her back broke open and long writhing tendrils shot out, ending in flat spiky discs. The viney protrusions of a Ferrothorn dug themselves into the wall behind her, providing a soft cushion to minimize the damage while also serving as an excellent springboard to launch herself forward again.

And neither girl had even used a single attack.

Misato was quick to change that.

"Zizizi!" She cackled, opening her mouth wide. Light began to glow between her teeth, and she fired a powerful flash cannon. Electric type attacks were off the table, of course, as were Normal type and Ghost type attacks. She couldn't rely on anything with a type immunity, because Eve was capable of changing her typing as easily as a normal girl changed her clothes.

"Protect," Eve said simply, raising her hand as she flew forward. Her tentacles were already shrinking down into a pair of Ninjask wings to turn her forward charge into guided flight, and now her arm was turning into a Bastiodon's faceplate. A silver barrier appeared around her body and the flash cannon bounced off of it, harmlessly skimming through the lab and tearing through one of the walls. The building shook again.

Not good, Valon scowled. This girl was a lot of trouble. I can't believe that foolish old man could actually create something like this… a pokemon capable of adapting to any situation? Capable of turning into any pokemon whatsoever? Imagine that power under my control… but…

He glanced at Professor Decker and the pool of blood the decrepit scientist was lying in. It was a stark warning to anyone who attempted to control Eve's power for themselves. All he'd done was greet the girl, and she'd attacked her own creator without hesitation.

There was definitely something wrong with Valon's head considering that he saw that as a vindication of his own ideals. He couldn't help the smirk that came to his lips.

You see, old man? This is what happens when you consider pokemon to be better than what they really are. A pokemon is a weapon, nothing more. And your inability to understand that is why you've found yourself here, bleeding to death in your own ruined lab. A pokemon is just a weapon. And you've created an amazing one. But the problem was, you gave it the power to think for itself. And it looks like your little weapon decided it wanted to do something else with its life. How unfortunate. Valon had to admit, it was amusing.

The real danger though was just how effective of a weapon Eve was. Mew was a pokemon with limitless potential, he'd understood that since he began working on its DNA. And the result of that, their first creation, Mewtwo, was a testament to Mew's incredible psychic power. But Valon had always thought that there was something more to be done with it. After all, Mew could learn every move, couldn't it? So wouldn't it be an excellent test subject?

Apparently, Professor Decker had agreed.

"Misato!" Valon shouted. "You need to do better than this! I don't remember ordering you to be so pathetic!"

"Zizizi!" Misato cackled, barely registering the Phantom's words. She had some measure of control over her programming, but at the moment, Discord was firmly in the driver's seat, and the corrupted data pokemon had its hands full.

As much as he hated to admit it, Valon didn't like their chances. Misato had done an exceptional job at fending off Eve's attacks, but he wondered if she really had the power to finish the job. Even as strong as she was, this thing, this Mewthree, Eve, just had so much potential. The evolution variance enhancement allowed her to adapt perfectly, turning into pokemon capable of repairing their injuries, or even just a brand-new body.

Was something like that really able to be defeated?

Well, if she was, then Misato would certainly find a way.

It was at that moment that Maddi broke into the room, startling not only Wes and Valon, but Eve, as well. Everyone turned to see the new arrival, with the exception of Misato. She used that moment to strike, swinging her sword with devastating power and nearly cutting Eve in two.

Maddi screamed at the sight. A river of pink blood sprayed out of Eve's stomach and stained her dress, the girl stumbling back and falling to the ground. She looked down at her wound and began to scream as well.

It wasn't good.

Misato had scored some hits on Eve already, but this was the first time that the artificial pokemon had been seriously injured. And she immediately switched tactics from attacking the girl, to preserving her own safety.

The first measure of that was by transforming her arms and legs into armor. Taking on the appearance of an Aggron, she covered herself in iron plating to prevent any future attacks. At the same time, the center of her body began to glow. She unleashed a powerful shockwave that sent Misato flying back, the Mechadoll crashing through the wall and landing in the hallway. And after a second devastating explosion, the room finally gave up trying to remain stable.

When the professor had built his laboratory underground, he had spent a considerable investment in making sure that the structure was reinforced to withstand the weight of the ground overhead. But Eve's relentless blasts combined with Misato's attacks had weakened the surrounding structure quite a bit, and now the walls were starting to buckle.

The room began to collapse, sand tumbling in from up above as the room began to fill up. But Eve didn't notice. She was too busy regenerating her wound to pay attention to any of that.

And of course, the Phantom saw that as an opportunity.

"Misato!" He shouted, turning to his Mechadoll servant. "She's healing herself!" He didn't need to explain what that meant. If Eve was repairing her body, then she was capable of being damaged. If Misato could hit her enough times, do enough damage to her over and over to the point where she was forced to continuously regenerate, then that might be the only way they had to take her down. It was the best plan they had, anyway.

Maddi, meanwhile, was still totally shocked by what she was seeing. Was that… Dakota Evans? The annoying reporter girl from school? Hadn't she gotten attacked and was in the hospital? What was she doing here? Fighting against Misato? And what the hell was up with Misato's transformation? It was even more extreme than the Phantom Cup, she was swinging a sword and shield with plasma arms and flying through the air and it just…

This is insane. This is totally freaking insane. Maddi didn't know how to explain it any better. She was dazed and confused as Misato flew past her, not sparing her a moment's thought, cackling like a lunatic and heading straight for the transforming pokemon.

Finally, Maddi's eyes landed on something she understood.

"W-Wes!" She sputtered out, running over to her sort-of guardian/chaperone. He was covered in blood, and she was starting to panic. Then she noticed the professor, and she nearly threw up. "Is… Is that… Professor Decker?"

"It's bad," Wes said grimly. "I don't know if we can move him in his current state. I called the authorities, but who knows if they'll get here in time…"

He glanced up, staring at the ongoing battle between the two monsters.

"…Who knows if this place will even be intact by the time they get here, for that matter…" He mumbled to himself.

Maddi didn't like the sound of that. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't have the time to ask. There was only one thing she could do, she decided.

"Wes," Maddi said, looking him directly in the eye. "What do you need me to do right now?" She needed to help. Any way that she could.

Wes glanced at her, a shadow crossing his face. "Go get my pokeballs. They're in the hallway. And be careful! Those two…" He glanced at Misato and Eve. Misato was swinging her sword at Eve, who was countering with a sword and shield of her own. It seemed the Mechadoll wasn't the only one who had access to the weapons of an Aegislash.

"Please, just… be careful."

Maddi swallowed and nodded. She made use of her small form to crawl along the ground, approaching the door while keeping her head down.

Then something struck her hard in the side and she cried with pain, doubling over.

"Hack… what?!" Maddi glanced up to see the Phantom standing over her, leering down menacingly from behind his glasses. He pulled his leg back and kicked her in the side again, and Maddi just barely managed to twist her body out of the way to keep her ribcage from caving in.

"Valon… you… why…?" It was a rather foolish question, she recognized. After all, the Phantom was her enemy. But he'd seriously chosen NOW to attack her?

"I heard Wesley asking you to retrieve his pokeballs like the good little girl that you are," Valon said, crouching down next to her. "But you see… I'm not interested in giving that fool any more control over the situation than he has right now. This is going just as I want, Madison, and I have every confidence that my Misato will emerge victorious. And when that happens, I'd prefer if there wasn't anything to get in the way."

He pulled his gun out of his pants pocket and pointed it at Maddi, pressing the barrel against her forehead.

"I really hate to do this, but I'm afraid you leave no choice," he murmured. "I'll have you send my regards to your folks in the next world."

Maddi's blood went cold. But she didn't panic. Maybe a couple days ago she would have, and she would be lying dead on the floor of the lab right now. But she'd already faced one life or death situation and come out of it alive, and on top of that, she'd just gotten a new lease on life thanks to the professor's treatment. So when the Phantom took out his gun and prepared to shoot her, she reacted immediately, surprising even him.

"Eevee!" Vee leapt out of his pokeball, the closest of Maddi's pokemon in reach. He bit down hard on the Phantom's hand, with enough power that she could hear the bones crunch.

"Yeaaaaargh!" The Phantom wailed in pain, his hand flying open and the gun clattering to the ground. Maddi quickly kicked it away, leaping to her feet.

"Go fuck yourself," she spat. "And fuck your regards."

She socked him in the jaw, knocking his sunglasses off his face. He stumbled back, clutching his bleeding wrist as Vee growled angrily at him.

THAT caught Misato's attention.

While she was under orders to retrieve Eve, her primary orders remained the protection of the Phantom and insuring his safety. Seeing that he was under attack, she immediately switched targets and turned towards Maddi, swinging her sword at the girl.

Maddi grabbed Vee in her arms and leapt out the door, ducking under Misato's slash as the Mechadoll practically slashed the wall in half. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she ran down the hallway, holding Vee tightly to her chest.

Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck is going on?! She still didn't understand a damn thing, she just ran blindly through the hallway, keeping her eyes open for Wes's pokeballs and praying to whatever gods were listening that Misato wouldn't follow her.

She was in luck, because Misato had other problems to contend with right about now. Because she'd gone to protect the Phantom, she'd taken her attention away from Eve. And Eve was about to capitalize on that mistake in a big way.

At the moment, Eve's primary goal was escape. Escaping this lab, and finding the voice of the boy who had been calling out to her in her dream. But she recognized the only way to escape was to eliminate all the threats around her.

She leaned forward and her back stretched, two large cannons jutting out of it and turning towards Misato. She fired two blasts of compressed water from her hydro cannons, hitting the Mechadoll directly and causing her electricity to backfire on her.

Misato let out a wail that sounded like a computer blowing up, and she flew forward, hitting the wall hard. She fell to the ground, twitching and seizing, the electric field covering her body dying down as her weapons clanked to the ground.

Eve rose to her feet, triumphant.

Uh oh. That's not good. Or is it? What even constitutes "good" in this scenario, anyway? Eve and Misato both fought, but it looks like Eve is the one who has emerged victorious! What does that mean for everyone else? Is Misato okay? Or did that attack damage her? We'll have to find out!