Alden has begun the battle with Ange, and she's really showing him everything she's got with her pokemon! Mami did well, and her Zoroark appeared for an excellent fake out, doing some serious damage to Corin. But Alden's not done yet! Will he be able to overcome Ange and her pokemon? Or will her ruthless prove to be just that powerful?

KedharS: I don't think it'll top the previous battle, but I hope it will still be really exciting.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Exactly. To Samarra, this is just a game. As long as she's free, she can reamass more people to become her friends. Losing a few doesn't matter.

Hyphenman: Ange is a talented trainer. That should have been expected. She's at least a match for Alden as we can see.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1121

Alden had to think fast about this new pokemon sent out by Ange. Close combat had no effect, so it's gotta be a Ghost type pokemon, he judged. And I know for a fact that she has Slaking and Persian in her party, so it looks like she's a Normal type specialist. So is it Normal/Ghost type?

That was quite an annoying type combination. But not one that would be a problem to deal with. So its only weakness is Dark type moves… and it's not like Corin knows any of those. Then we'll have to do this with brute force!

"Corin! Use bullet punch!"

"Lucario!" Corin took advantage of her speed, charging at Luci and unleashing a barrage of swift punches on the Zoroark. Luci smirked and withstood them without even flinching, Corin's fists hitting the red barrier in front of her.

"That won't work," Ange said. "Not only is reflect still active, but bitter malice has reduced your Lucario's attacking strength. And now, you'll have a taste of ours! Flamethrower!"

"Zoroark!" Luci opened her mouth, and a burst of flames erupted from her maw, engulfing Corin in an inferno. Corin leapt back, slightly singed by the flames but otherwise okay.

"Corin, use swords dance," Alden ordered. He needed to recover some of Corin's strength, now. Corin nodded and raised her hands, but then something changed. Her face took on a frustrated look as she landed on her feet, and she snarled at Luci, running towards her.

"Zoroark!" Luci cackled, beckoning the Lucario to come closer. Corin charged in, having fallen for the taunt, meaning she could only use attacking moves. Alden knew right away that was going to be an issue.

"Fine, meteor mash!" He ordered. Corin raised her fist, light glowing across her arm as she punched at Luci. But the Zoroark was deceptively fast in spite of her size. Using agility, she evaded the attack, and tendrils of ghostly energy surged up around her.

"I suppose you didn't have enough of it the first time," Ange said, narrowing her eyes. "Use bitter malice!"

"Zoroark!" Luci hissed, unleashing a burst of shadows that chilled Corin down to the bone. Her strength waned even more.

"That's not good," Anabel said. "She keeps reducing Corin's attacking strength, and evading her attacks. She's wearing her down, a little bit at a time."

"He should recall Corin," Rui judged. "I think that would be the safest decision right now."

The others agreed. But before Alden could do so, Luci took advantage of her high speed to charge right at her. With a roar, she slammed into Corin, slightly knocking her back, and returned to her pokeball immediately.

"U-turn, huh?" Alden said, raising his eyebrow. It wasn't the sort of move he would have expected, given that her Zoroark was dominating so well.

"I don't want to rely on Luci for everything," Ange calmly explained. "Otherwise, she gets a big head. And I have other pokemon that will be more than enough to defeat you. Levi, go."

Ange switched her Zoroark for another pokemon, and from her pokeball emerged a tiny little pink blob of jelly.

It took all of two seconds for everyone to know what was about to happen.

"Shit!" Vic cursed.

"That's not good," Anabel said, a little bit more eloquently.

Alden said nothing, and just narrowed his eyes. The Ditto shifted and grew, immediately transforming into a perfect copy of Corin.

Ange smirked. Alden's Lucario was a strong pokemon. He certainly wanted to switch her out now, to restore her status and get rid of Luci's debuffs, but on the other hand, he didn't have any pokemon that could match his Lucario in strength. If he wanted to have a chance, then he'd have to face the mirror match.

"Speaking of pride, you're quite proud of that Lucario, aren't you?" Ange said. "I suppose I can see why. She's a very powerful pokemon. But that's precisely why Levi is so jealous of the two of you; she can't help but want to get a taste of that power for herself. Now, Levi, let's put it to the test."

"Lucario!" Levi barked in agreement, charging at Corin. She raised her fist to unleash a brick break on the opposing Lucario.

Corin dodged it easily, and countered with a brick break of her own, smashing through the reflect and hitting Levi in the stomach.

"Luc-!" Levi gasped, clutching her gut and stumbling back.

"What's the matter?" Alden asked, raising his eyebrow. "Is that all you can do with borrowed power? Compared to that, Corin can do a lot more! Now go, use aura sphere!"

"Lucario!" Corin leapt back and raised her paws, creating an orb of energy in her palms. She fired the aura sphere at Levi.

"Counter with aura sphere yourself," Ange ordered. Anything that Corin could do, Levi could do herself now. And so she did. Levi formed an aura sphere of her own and fired it, the two attacks colliding in an explosion of light. But when the dust settled, to Levi's surprise, Corin had charged in right behind her attack and was now close enough to strike herself.

"Brick break again!" Alden ordered. Even with the attack reduction, he wasn't blind enough to order a close combat in this situation.

Levi winced, and disappeared in a flash. She'd used extremespeed to get away, on an order from Ange through their connection with harmonia. Luckily the blonde was quick on her feet because Levi had been caught off-guard.

Alden took stock of the situation with a raised eyebrow. "…I see. So that's it."

"What's 'it'?" Levi asked, a shadow crossing her face.

"Your Ditto, you used it to copy Corin's strength," Alden said. "But that doesn't mean you can actually defeat Corin, even if you can do everything she can do."

"Yeah, that's right," Rui gasped. "Corin is a Fighting/Steel type, right? That means she has a type advantage over herself! So if Corin fights back with her own skills, she's still got an edge! …But then again, she did get an attack decrease, and she can't use status moves…"

Rui was starting to question what the advantage Alden had was. She looked to her daughter for clarification.

"It's not a matter of advantages, mom," Vic said calmly. "Corin is simply not comparable to that Ditto, that's all."

Rui blinked, still confused.

Alden explained it by doing.

"Corin, bone rush!"

"Lucario!" Corin charged at Levi, raising her paw and forming a bone staff from her aura. She swung it at the copy.

"Counter with your own," Ange ordered. Levi formed an aura staff herself and swung it at Corin, the two weapons colliding with each other. They went back and forth like this, and as they did, Corin snapped her wrist, hitting Levi's paw and knocking her enemy's bone club away. She stepped into Levi's stance and swung it up into her face, sprawling her out on the ground.

"Levi!" Ange shouted.

"There's a trainer at the Pokemon Academy named Mirar, I'm sure you've heard of him," Alden said. "He specializes in fighting with his Ditto, perfectly copying the pokemon that he's up against. And he does it a lot better than you ever could. And even then… he has never once defeated Corin."

Ange's eye twitched.

"Copying a pokemon and their fighting style can defeat a lot of opponents," Alden admitted. "But the truly strong trainers are able to surpass themselves and win anyway. And that's against Mirar. If just copying Corin's power was enough to match her in battle, then I never would have gotten to where I am today."

Corin wasn't strong because of her power, or her typing, or even her willpower to never give up. The true nature behind Corin's strength was the sheer amount of experience she had in battle. She'd fought against thousands of foes, and learned how to master her own abilities. Even with all the disadvantages she'd faced from that Zoroark, she wouldn't lose to a cheap copy.

"So that's how it is then?" Ange snarled, narrowing her eyes as Levi rose to her feet. "You're claiming you can defeat us, because of all your experience fighting?"

"In a word? Yes," Alden shrugged. He wasn't boasting. He was never the type of person to be arrogant about his own strength. He was simply stating the truth of the matter, and that was that he saw himself as stronger than Ange, with more experience.

"…Well, I'll admit, you definitely have more experience fighting against pokemon trainers," Ange admitted after a moment's pause. Alden could sense a "but" coming.

"But… that can't compare to the experience I have."

"Oh?" Alden perked up curiously at that.

"Tell me something, Alden. You've trained your pokemon quite a lot, isn't that right?" Ange asked quietly.

"I would say so," Alden nodded.

"Of course he has!" Vic shouted. "He's fought countless opponents!"

"I'm sure he has," Ange nodded. "I'm sure he has…" There was an ominous note in her voice, like she was leading up to something. "But tell me, Commander… of all those battles… how many times were you in a situation where defeat meant certain death?"

That… was not the sort of question Alden had expected. And from the piercing look in Ange's eyes, this wasn't some lighthearted query thrown in jest. She was deadly serious.

"…I couldn't say," Alden admitted.

"Of course you can't," she spat. "After all, for you, pokemon battles are about 'having fun'. And 'enjoying yourself'. But for me… pokemon battles are a matter of survival. That's why you can't defeat me. Because you don't have the strength to do it."

"Really?" Alden asked, not sure what she was getting at.

"When you defeated Victoria Carver, you did so because you absolutely could not lose that battle," Ange said, glancing at Vic. "You needed to 'save' her no matter what, isn't that what you said?"

"R-Really?" Vic turned slightly pink, but quickly regained her stony glare.

"For me… that's every battle," Ange said. "Every time my pokemon and I fight, we do so with the expectation that if we lose, our lives will come to an end. Even now, we believe that. We're risking everything in this fight."

She narrowed her eyes. "So what about you, Commander? Are you prepared to risk everything on this match?"

Alden didn't have a response for her. He wondered if this was Samarra talking through her, but even if he lacked harmonia, he didn't feel anything but Ange's own will. She was right, in a way. He'd given everything to rescue Vic, and Anabel, as well. But when he challenged Ange, it was a "well, we're here, so might as well" sort of situation. He couldn't say he had the same resolve to win that he did when he fought for his comrades.

Ange smirked. "No, of course you can't. Because you're weaker than I am. You're weak and soft, and you think battles are about enjoying yourself. Weakness is a sin, Commander, and I'm going to show that to you."

Rui and Vic both flinched. It was Rui who spoke up.

"Don't… don't SAY stuff like that!" She cried. "It's not right!"

"Why not?" Ange asked, turning to Rui and raising her eyebrow. "It's the truth, isn't it? That's what all the trainers in Orre believe, isn't that right? They may be the most repugnant of scum, but they still recognize that fighting isn't about having fun. It's about survival. Human beings will do anything to survive, just like pokemon."

"That's… that's not…" Rui couldn't find herself refuting that.

"Tell me, Commander," Ange said, turning back to Alden. "Have you ever been starving? Not just hungry. But feeling that you were within inches of death? Have you ever scraped your hands climbing up a tree just to eat the berries growing on it? Have you ever braved the sting of countless Combee just to snatch honey from their hive, or fought off a swarm of Murkrow for the rotting carcass they were feeding on?"

Alden stared at her, shocked. "That's… what?"

Ange narrowed her eyes, and a malevolent aura rose up around her. "Until you've been pushed to the limit, to the point where you would do anything to survive, don't think that you can defeat my pokemon and I! Levi!"

"Lucario!" Levi charged at Corin, reinvigorated from the burst of energy coming from her trainer. She raised her fist and punched Corin in the face with a brick break. Corin easily dodged it, smacking her fist away with her staff and kicking the copy back, spinning the aura bone and driving it towards the other pokemon's throat.

Then Levi collapsed into a pile of sludge, easily dodging the attack.

"What?!" Alden gasped. He'd never seen a Ditto turn back in the middle of battle before.

Ange smirked. "Go! Close combat!" She ordered. Levi slimed her way up under Corin's feet and transformed back into Corin in a flash, taking her from behind. She smirked and raised her fist, unleashing a barrage of powerful punches on the Lucario from behind.

"Lucario!" Corin rolled across the battlefield and jumped to her feet, panting. Levi stood triumphantly over her, smirking.

"I'm not just copying your powers," Ange warned. "My pokemon and I fight with everything we have. This is real ruthlessness, Commander. Taking full advantage of everything your pokemon can do in order to win. Now go!"

"Lucario!" Levi formed a staff of aura again and swung it at Corin, smashing down on her skull. Corin stumbled back, wincing, and formed a staff of her own, swatting back at the other pokemon to keep her at bay.

"Corin! Get back!" Alden shouted. Physical moves weren't the way to go here. Corin leapt out of the way and formed an aura sphere, firing it at Levi. Levi swung her staff and smashed through the aura sphere, dispersing it immediately.

"Nicely done," Ange nodded. "Now, swords dance!"

"Lucario!" Levi spun her staff, heightening her physical attack as she prepared to strike back. She dashed forward and aimed right at Corin's chest. Corin deflected the tip of the staff with a turn and slammed her elbow into Levi's throat, causing her to cough.

"I won't deny your own experiences," Alden said. "But I think you'll find that Corin and I have the strength to defeat you."

But even as the words left his lips, he knew that they weren't as heavy as they could have been. In the end, Ange had a point. The resolve he'd had to save Vic and Anabel wasn't comparable to the resolve he had to win this match. At the end of the day, Ange didn't really mean a lot to him. He was trying to help her because it was the right thing to do, but he didn't have the same passion he had before.

It's not like I can just back down now, though, he reminded himself. After all, the battle had already started. All they could do was win.

"Corin!" He shouted to his Lucario. "Vacuum wave!"

Corin jumped back, putting some distance between herself and Levi. She raised her fist and threw a punch that sent a shockwave ripping through the air, hitting Levi and knocking her aura staff away from her. With her guard thrown off, Corin could quickly form a flash cannon, which she fired at Levi right after.

"Lucario!" Levi cried in pain, shielding her eyes. The beam struck her in the chest and she fell to her knee, injured. Corin's attack stat might have been weakened, but there was still an opening for her to fight back with special moves. And Alden was seizing that opportunity.

We only have a bit of leeway, he recognized. "Corin! Earthquake!"

"Lucario!" Corin struck the metal floor with her fist, and sent a shockwave through the ground. The entire tower shook and Levi cried in pain, struggling to stand back up when faced with the tremors. It wasn't easy.

"Levi, counter with earthquake yourself," Ange ordered. Anything Corin tried, Levi could do as well, and her attack would be a lot stronger. Levi placed her paws on the battlefield and countered Corin's tremor with an earthquake attack of her own.

That was exactly what Alden was hoping for. "Corin!" He shouted. "High jump kick!"

Corin ran forward and formed an aura staff in her hands. She jammed it into the ground and used it as a pole vault, leaping towards Levi with her leg extended. Corin hit the Ditto in the chest and sent her flying backwards. Levi crashed into the far wall of the tower, and struggled to stand back up.

How can she still be getting so much power? Ange didn't understand it. All she could do was feel the pain being inflicted on her from the Lucario's attacks. Levi should have a stronger attacking stat, but it felt like the blows she was taking were doing more damage than the ones she was unleashing.

"Levi!" She shouted. "Use iron defense!" If Corin was going to attack with offense, then she'd just strengthen Levi's defenses until there was nothing the Lucario could do. She focused her harmonia and boosted Levi's defensive abilities for good measure.

Corin didn't care. With a howl she charged at Levi, a blue aura glowing around her body. She ignored the injuries inflicted on her by the other pokemon, and her aura burned brighter and brighter until it was pure white.

"Close combat!" Alden ordered. Corin raised her fists and unleashed a devastating onslaught of punches on the injured Ditto, who tried to endure them. Ange winced, biting her lip. She knew that defense wasn't the answer, but at the same time…

That's right! I shouldn't concern myself with this! She realized. "Levi! Forget defending! Unleash your close combat right back!"

"Lu-Lucario!" Levi cried, jumping back. At the first opportunity, she countered Corin's close combat attack with a barrage of her own. The two of them exchanged a flurry of devastating punches, beating each other bloody. There was no telling which one would be the last one to fall.

Ange and Alden's fight is heating up! Now Alden has to fight a mirror-match against a pokemon just as powerful as his Lucario! Will Corin emerge the victor? Or will she lose to her copy? Either way, she'd be in pretty bad shape, so Ange is doing a good job of limiting what Alden and Corin can do in the fight! Things are just getting started!