We reach the conclusion of the battle between Blake and Cynthia! It might just be for fun, but it's still important to the two of them. Will Cynthia manage to win? Or will Blake defeat her? Why isn't she using Tristan? It seems like she's handicapping herself. Hopefully, the final moments of the battle will be able to get to the bottom of this!
The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! Get the votes in! There's less than one week left and there are three girls in the finals! Who's going to win? Chloe? Cynthia? Or Vic? One of those girls will become the third best girl, so get those last votes in! Can we get a climactic victor? You've only got one vote this time, so make it count!
Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic
KedharS: Yep. She's definitely acting off for some reason. Hopefully we can find out what the issue is, and how to fix it. Because Cynthia behaving like this is a little weird. I'm used to her clever strategies and cheerfulness.
B1ackJ4k: I'm not sure you understand how the character creation works.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1051
"Cynthia, what's going on?" Blake demanded.
Cynthia raised her eyebrow. "Oh? What do you mean?" She smirked. "I'm pretty sure 'what's going on' is that my Rose just wiped the floor with your pokemon. So come on, send out the next one already! See what happens!"
"I mean, why are you using Rose?" Blake clarified. "Or Aud, for that matter? Why aren't you using Tristan? Isn't he your strongest pokemon?"
Cynthia's eye twitched. Then she did something completely out of character: she shouted in frustration. "What do you know, huh?!" She demanded, startling everyone.
"Cy-Cynthia?" Blake stuttered, taken aback.
"I'm doing the best I can!" She shouted. "So stop pretending like you know my pokemon better than me! This is my fight, Blake, and I'm going to fight it the way I see fit!"
Blake wasn't the only one caught off-guard by Cynthia's outburst. It just wasn't like her. Whenever Cynthia fought, she was all smiles and goading, filled with excitement. Nobody had ever seen her get angry in a pokemon battle before, not like this.
"Send out your next pokemon!" She shouted.
Blake nodded dumbly, taking out Ruru's pokeball. He sent her back out.
"Gal?" Ruru glanced back at her trainer. There was a different tension in the air than the last time they had fought, and she wasn't sure how to feel about things.
That unease gave Cynthia the edge. Quick on the draw, she shouted to Rose, "Rose! Use your psybeam, full power!"
"Kirlia!" Rose raised her hands, firing a beam of psychic energy that hit Ruru head-on, badly hurting her. And as weak as she already was from her previous fights, she was in pretty bad shape.
"Ruru!" Blake shouted. He'd anticipated that, but he'd sent out Ruru for a reason, even as weak as she was. She had the tools to do some serious damage. "Use your agility to speed up first!"
"Gal," Ruru nodded. Ruru dashed ahead and darted around Rose, who was trying to hit her with another psybeam. Cynthia judged that even if the magical leaves would track the Bug type pokemon, they wouldn't do enough damage to really hamper her. Instead, she'd rather focus on the psychic moves Rose excelled at.
"Use psychic," Cynthia ordered. Rose concentrated her mental powers and tried to snag Ruru with a grasp of psychic power, but Ruru was swift. She managed to scuttle away, rendering her efforts pointless.
"Bug bite!" Blake shouted. Ruru shot forward with her high speed and opened her jaws, biting down hard on Rose's back and shoulder. Rose let out a wail of agony and fell to her knees, trembling. She tried her hardest, but her concentration was broken from the super-effective move.
Ruru's bite was strong; but Rose was stronger. She rose to her feet and concentrated her power, sending a blast of psychic power that hit the startled Ruru directly. The Galvantula hadn't expected her foe to shake it off so easily, and was knocked unconscious.
"…Sorry, Ruru," Blake apologized, returning her to her pokeball.
Cynthia laughed. But it wasn't her usual laugh. There was an un-Cynthia harshness in her tone, and the look on her face was one of desperation and a slight tinge of madness.
"You see?" She cackled. "I don't need Tristan to beat you, Blake! You've only got one pokemon left, see?!"
"…Yeah but his last pokemon is his Scizor," Reiner said, shaking his head in confusion. No matter how he looked at it, Cynthia was fighting from a bad position.
"Why's she so focused on Tristan?" Julia wondered.
"I don't know," Will said, shaking his head. "She didn't use him against me the other day, either. And that would have been a good matchup."
Blake squinted at his friend's face, reading her desperation. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Cynthia… are you… scared of using Tristan or something?"
Cynthia blinked. "Scared? Why would I be scared?" She asked. "Of course I'm not scared! I just don't want to use him!"
"But he's your strongest pokemon," Blake said. "Why would you handicap yourself by not using your strongest pokemon?"
"You just don't get it!" Cynthia shouted, shaking her head. "TRISTAN is the handicap! Every time I use him, it's because I can't win without falling back on him! And that's not what a strong trainer does! A strong trainer can't just fall back on one pokemon when things are getting rough! They need to learn how to win on their own!"
Blake could understand the logic in her words, but he still disagreed. He shook his head. "Cynthia, it's not that simple," he said. "There's no way you're a weak trainer just because you count on your Breloom, that's stupid!"
"You just don't get it! If I can't win against even you with my other pokemon, then how could I beat anybody?" Cynthia demanded. "There's no way I'd be good enough for the Battle Frontier if I just rely on my best pokemon to win every match!"
Blake shook his head. "No, you're-"
"You're wrong!"
The voice that called Cynthia out came from a suprising source. It was Julia.
Cynthia turned to her roommate, surprised that Julia, who normally minded her own business, had spoke up on her behalf.
"What would you know?" She spat.
Julia raised her eyebrow. "Really? Are you kidding me right now? You think I don't know what it's like to rely on one pokemon's strength?"
Julia's Houndoom flashed through Cynthia's head and she shut her mouth. "W-Well…"
"It's not being weak to take advantage of your strongest pokemon," Julia said, shaking her head. "The only problem comes when you rely too much on your strongest pokemon! Roden's my ace, but I'm not going to use him for everything. My other pokemon are tough too, and even if Roden faints, they'll still put up a fight!"
"Julia's right," Blake agreed. "Tristan is your strongest pokemon, and you should be careful about overrelying on him. But that's not the same thing as just refusing to use him altogether. That's just being an idiot."
Cynthia ground her teeth and winced, averting her eyes. She wanted to become stronger and not just rely on Tristan. But maybe Blake was right. Maybe she was so desperate to prove to everyone she could do it without him that she was making reckless and stupid decisions.
Blake exhaled and stared at the pokeball in his hand. "Cynthia… you're tough. You're my rival, after all, and that's why I don't want to hold anything back against you. I want to fight you with my strongest pokemon, because I want to give you the best fight I can. Don't you want the same thing, Cynthia? Aren't we rivals?"
Cynthia sniffled. Tears… was she crying?
"That's… I-I do want that," she admitted.
Blake nodded. His face hardened with resolve. "Then I'll give you what you want. Go!"
He flung his pokeball into the air, filling the battlefield with light.
Cynthia's jaw dropped and she fell back, shocked. Everyone else was just as stunned by Blake's decision.
"Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Sarah flapped her wings and took to the sky, letting out a triumphant roar. The Salamence glared down at them, and roared once more for good measure.
"Sarah?! He used his Salamence?! Here?!" Reiner sputtered in disbelief.
"This is my strongest pokemon," Blake said confidently. "And she's definitely a risky choice. But I'm not holding anything back, Cynthia."
Cynthia tried to seem tough, but she was shaking in her boots. "Th-That's… that's going to be your mistake, Blake!" She shouted. "You should have you're your Scizor! You just sentyou're your strongest dragon against a Fairy type!"
That wasn't the only reason Blake's decision was a questionable one. Something that Sarah proved immediately.
"That… that pokemon…" Elaina stuttered, taking a step back. Sarah turned towards her, eyes wide as she sensed the harmonia coming off of her body.
"Shit!" Julia cursed. "I almost forgot!" Instinctively, her hand shot to her waist to call out Roden to protect Elaina in case Sarah decided to attack.
But Sarah didn't do anything. She stared at Elaina, who was soaked in a cold sweat, and… turned away with a huff. A flap of her wing sent a burst of air that fluttered Elaina's hair, confusing her completely, and everybody else.
"Uh… what?" Elaina blinked, not sure what to make of what just happened. She looked to Blake for clarification but he didn't say anything. He was as confused as she was, but he was still grateful that Sarah hadn't gone on a rampage.
"Stop looking away!" Cynthia shouted. "Rose, use dazzling gleam!"
"Kirlia!" Rose nodded. She began to glow white, and released a burst of light that formed into hundreds of rays arcing towards Sarah.
The rays struck Sarah and she barely even flinched. With a roar she tucked in her wings and flew towards Rose, slamming into her with a devastating double-edge.
Rose was unconscious before she hit the ground.
Cynthia stared numbly at her partner, quickly processing what had just happened. Without a word, she recalled Rose to her pokeball, stunned into silence.
"Anyone else get the feeling that this just ain't fair?" Reiner asked, looking to the others. They all nodded in agreement.
"Cynthia, you've still got Aud, right?" Blake asked. "Want to send her out?"
Sarah had just smashed through a Fairy type while barely processing the damage Rose had inflicted. Blake was curious to see if Cynthia would use her Ice type next.
But Cynthia wasn't an idiot.
"…Yeah, you got me," she admitted, raising her hands in defeat. "I'm not so thickheaded that I'd let my precious little snowflake get slaughtered by Sarah, so I'll forfeit the match."
"…Sorry," Blake apologized. He'd given her the fight she'd wanted, but he felt a little bad about sending out Sarah to prove a point. He was just glad that his Salamence had listened to him. Or, at least, not rampaged through the inn.
"It's fine," Cynthia shook her head. Her smile was a lot gentler than it had been earlier, but it was clear she was trying not to cry.
"Hey, this one doesn't have to count," Nick suggested. "After all, there were a few factors that aren't the usual for you too."
"Plus, it was a pretty anti-climactic match," Reiner added. "I have half a mind to ask for my money back."
"Absolutely not!" Blake snapped. "This one absolutely counts! My win/loss record is now 3-1! Take that, Cynthia!"
"No way!" Cynthia protested. "Your victory in the Winter Tag Team tournament didn't count! You only beat me because you had Elaina and her harmonia!"
That was Elaina's moment to chime in. "What's THAT supposed to mean?!" She demanded. "Are you telling me you're your battle didn't count because I was there?! Ridiculous! If that's how you feel, why don't you you're your strength against me yourself?"
Elaina narrowed her eyes and a powerful wind swirled up around her, whipping her hair and nearly pushing Julia over.
Cynthia began to sweat. "H-Hey, let's not get crazy…"
"Oh, I think it's a perfect matchup," Blake smirked. "After all, I just beat you. And since I beat Elaina, I suppose that makes you two about evenly matched."
Julia slapped her face in frustration and Nick winced, while Reiner broke out laughing. Even Will could tell that was the wrong thing to say.
"What?! You can't be serious!" Elaina exclaimed, storming onto the battlefield. She jammed her finger into Blake's chest. "That match was just a fluke, and you know it! The only reason you beat me was because I lost control! And for the record, I had Hope use explosion, so really it's like I gave up the match MYSELF! So there!"
Her face was red with fury as she jabbed at Blake, and it took a moment to realize that she was suddenly being very confrontational with the guy she liked.
"Salamence." Sarah's head popped up behind Blake, eyes narrowed and fangs locked in a snarl. Her furious growl nearly knocked Elaina over.
"Uhum… um… pl-please don't eat me…" she stuttered.
Sarah huffed and nudged Blake, who got the message. He recalled her to her pokeball, but not before the Salamence gave Elaina one final glare.
"…Well, that was certainly something!" Cynthia said loudly, breaking the tension. Sh stretched. "But man, that battle took a lot out of me! I need to go heal up my team and give them some time to rest, don't you agree, Blake?"
She slapped him in the back. Hard. He winced in pain.
"H-Hey-"
"Come on, come on," she said, slapping him forward again and again. There was a serene smile on her face, but Blake could feel the malice leaking out of her.
"Cynthia, you wouldn't happen to be upset that I beat you again, would you?" He asked with an innocent smile of his own.
She didn't answer, but she slapped him on the back again even harder. He sighed and headed inside with her right on his heals.
"Well, that was something," Sango stretched, coming back from her run just as Cynthia and Blake passed by her in the hall. "Oh, what are you guys up to?"
They glanced at each other and burst out laughing.
"Sango, you just missed a hell of a fight," Cynthia said.
"Wait, you two? And I missed it? Damn!" Sango couldn't believe her bad luck. She sighed. "Oh, well, it is what it is. Did you have fun?"
They glanced at each other and smiled.
"Yeah, I definitely did," Cynthia nodded. "And I learned a thing or two for good measure. My rut's officially broken."
"Well, it won't be broken until you actually win a match," Blake reminded her. She gave him a sour look.
"Oh yeah?! Wanna go again? I still have Chris and Tristan, you know! Let's do this thing, Tristan vs. Weiss! Let's go, dude!"
"I'd be up for that," Sango nodded eagerly. "It'd be quick and epic!"
"Absolutely not," Blake said, shaking his head. "One battle is enough, that would just be excessive."
Cynthia smirked. "You're just saying that because you know that if it comes down to that fight, then I'll win!"
Blake didn't answer her. She took his refusal as confirmation, laughing triumphantly. He was just glad to see something so simple was enough to improve her mood.
"So what now?" Cynthia asked, turning to Blake. "That was a fun battle, but do you have anything else planned today?"
Blake blinked, surprised and confused. "Uh… what are you talking about? Do you think I was planning to spend the rest of the day cheering you up or something?"
Cynthia stared at him like an idiot, crossing her arms over her chest. Blake sighed in defeat.
"…Okay, fine," he said. "I'll think of something. One thing, though." He turned and headed back to the rooms, knocking on the door to the girls' room.
There was no answer for a while. Then the door slid open and Kitty peered out with blurry eyes. She let out a yawn.
"Hey, Kitty. Are you okay?" Blake asked. "I wanted to come see how you were doing, after what happened last night. You seemed a little…"
He didn't want to say "scared" but it was hard to think about any other way to say it.
"…Yeah," Kitty said, nodding shyly. "I don't like ghosts very much."
That kind of went without saying.
"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today with me and Cynthia," Blake suggested. "We're kind of just messing around and not doing much."
"Really? Kitty's coming too?" Cynthia asked excitedly. "Yeah that's so cool!"
Kitty smiled a little.
Blake sighed in relief. He managed to put off having to come up with an idea to have fun with Cynthia, but it would only last for a brief moment. Then Cynthia turned to him with an excited and expectant look on her face.
"…So what are we doing today?" She asked.
Now Kitty was looking at him expectantly too. He sighed. Why was this his responsibility?
Well, Blake defeated Cynthia by relying on his Salamence. But in doing so, he helped her conquer some of her issues! He may have taken the lead against her in terms of their competition, but that was because Cynthia didn't use Tristan! Will she be able to seize the day and win next time? In the meantime, what will they be doing today?