Alden's in a pretty tricky position now! Ange has a Snorlax with a real dangerous combo that makes her virtually undefeatable! Will he find a way to overcome the dangerous rest + recycle combination? What pokemon can he rely on that will be able to defeat a pokemon with that much power? And what other tricks does Ange have up her sleeve? We'll have to find out!

KedharS: That's a good way to consider it.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1125

"Jaune, are you alright?" Alden asked. That gunk shot had been right at close range.

"Vika," Jaune nodded, shaking the gunk out of his eyes. But in spite of his assurance, it was clear that the attack had done some serious damage. Alden quickly assessed the situation. And it was a bad one alright.

That Snorlax could use rest and recycle to keep up her health almost indefinitely. Which meant that the only strategy that had a chance of working was to defeat her in a single move, before she had the chance to recover.

Only problem was, she was strong enough to withstand a one-hit K.O. move. A pokemon that could do that wouldn't be easy for any of his pokemon to defeat, not even Corin.

Ironically, Raizer would be well-prepared to handle this, Alden grimly noted. With electric terrain, his Zeraora could make it so that none of the pokemon on the field would be able to go to sleep, completely shutting out Ange's strategy. But there was no use worrying about that right now, since Jaune didn't know that move anyway.

He knew his Vikavolt wouldn't have much chance, so his best bet was to hit her with thunder wave in order to bait out the rest. That's what he settled on, anyway. "Jaune," he ordered. "Use thunder wave, now."

"Vika," Jaune agreed, releasing a shockwave to paralyze the Snorlax. Beel shrugged it off without a care in the world, but Alden expected that. Now, would she-

"Did you really think I'd use rest every time we got a little bloody nose?" Ange asked, wiping a trickle of red off her lip. "Don't think you can bait us that easily, Commander. Beel, use your gunk shot again, so they get the message."

"Snorlax!" Beel bellowed, spitting a blast of sludge at Jaune.

"Jaune, use agility to evade," Alden ordered. Jaune zigzagged around the attack at high speed, dodging safely. "Now, use volt switch."

He needed to switch Jaune out for someone better-suited to handle the Snorlax. Corin was his best bet, but after that duel with the Ditto he didn't want to exhaust her even more. Jaune released a burst of electricity that lightly zapped the Snorlax, and returned to his pokeball.

"Tracey, it's on you," Alden decided, sending out his Cinderace. Tracey was the only one of his pokemon still at full health, he needed to count on her in order to win.

"Cinderace!" Tracey cried, emerging from her pokeball. She ran right for the Snorlax, taking advantage of Beel's slowness to get in the edge with an attack.

"Double kick," Alden ordered. It was a light move to test the waters. Tracey leapt up and kicked Beel in the stomach, trying to knock her down. When the first kick failed to do the job, she swung with her other foot, and hit Beel in the jaw next. THAT one did the trick, and she fell over with a crash, causing the tower to shake.

"I suppose that counts as a scratch," Ange said, rubbing her chin. "But it isn't enough to keep us down, not when we've got this. Counter!"

"Snorlax!" Beel sprung up and swung her fist to try and punch Tracey, but the rabbit pokemon was too swift to be caught by such an obvious move, easily dodging out of the way.

Alden wasn't about to grow complacent, though. He knew full well what Ange and her pokemon were capable of, and that she was just playing with him right now. He Snorlax still hadn't recovered her health, and he had a sinking suspicion it wouldn't be easy to make her. She'd done it a few times already, but he suspected that was to prove a point; he doubted that Tracey would be able to do much damage to her foe right now, and certainly not enough to finish her off before she fully healed herself again.

"Tracey, we need to pump up your attacking ability," Alden ordered. It was the best he could think of in the current situation.

"Cinder," Tracey nodded. That meant she'd be using one move in particular, work up. Tracey pumped up her attacking stats, even if she only planned to make use of the physical one. She would need to do it five more times, though, if she wanted to score real damage on the Snorlax. Fortunately, without Mami around, she could pump up her stats with impunity and not have to worry about anyone stealing her boosts.

"That's a good strategy," Anabel judged, nodding in approval. "Snorlax have incredibly high special defense, but on the physical side of things they're a bit lacking. With this, Tracey is preparing to take her out in one big hit."

"But will that be enough?" Rui asked worriedly. She couldn't imagine that Ange would just sit back and let Tracey buff herself.

"You need to have more confidence, mom!" Vic spat. "The Commander knows what he's doing, just watch!"

Rui admired her daughter's unflinching devotion to the boy she liked, but unfortunately she couldn't share in Vic's confidence. She had too many doubts about what was going on.

Ange was quickly going to validate Rui's fears.

"This is what we were waiting for, Beel!" She shouted. "Use gastro acid!"

"Gastro acid?!" Alden couldn't believe she would actually use an attack like that.

"Snorlax!" Beel bellowed, opening her mouth wide and vomiting stomach acid on the Cinderace, who began to cough and gag in disgust, stumbling back.

"Ew, what a gross move," Rui wailed, unaware of just how dangerous of a move that was.

"That's not good," Anabel said, narrowing their eyes. "Alden! You need to switch Tracey out, she can't continue in this condition!"

"Yeah, I know," Alden shouted back.

"What?! Why not?!" Rui asked, not sure what was going on.

"I'll explain it, mom," Vic sighed. "Gastro acid is an attack that uses a pokemon's stomach acid to suppress the ability of other pokemon. So what that Snorlax just did is deprive Tracey of one of her most powerful weapons."

"Without the Libero ability, your Cinderace is stuck as a Normal type," Ange said, narrowing her eyes. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course… but I doubt it's a situation that you're all that happy about."

"Tracey!" Alden called to his Cinderace. "We don't have a choice, you'll have to come back! Use baton pass!"

"Cinder!" Tracey nodded, glowing brightly and returning to her pokeball. Luckily, she hadn't taken any damage yet, meaning he could use her again in another battle. But the real problem was that right now, Alden still didn't have a good counter to the Snorlax.

He didn't really have a choice at this point.

"Corin, I need your help again," he said, sending out his Lucario. She had received a bit of a refresh from being out of things for a while, but it was clear that she was weaker than she needed to be if she wanted to take down the Snorlax.

But it wasn't all bad. Tracey had passed on a work up before she switched out, meaning Corin could make use of her physical and special attack stats. It wouldn't be nearly enough to deal with that Snorlax, but it was a good start.

"Why am I not surprised you would fall back on that crutch of a pokemon?" Ange scoffed, shaking her head. "Beel! Use earthquake!"

"Snorlax!" Beel began to stomp on the ground, releasing tremors through the tower to assault Corin and try to knock her out.

"Corin, iron defense," Alden ordered. Corin strengthened her defenses by hardening her fur to be stronger than steel, but it didn't have as much effect on nullifying the earthquake as he would have liked. Still, it was better than nothing, and enough to ensure she was still alive. "Nicely done. Now, life dew!"

"Lucario," Corin nodded, glowing blue. She formed a shimmering veil of water with her aura, wrapping it around her body to recover her health. She didn't get everything back, but it was a good place to start, that was for sure.

"Beel, we can't let her get away with that," Ange said. "Use seed bomb."

"Snorlax!" Beel spat the seeds of the many berries she'd consumed at Corin, bombarding her from afar. It didn't do much damage due to her resistance, but the constant explosions were a good way to keep the Lucario on her toes.

"Corin, deflect with bone rush," Alden ordered. Corin sculpted a bone from her aura, twirling it in front of her to block the onslaught of seeds. It also served as a way to prepare for swords dance, which she swiftly followed up with, increasing her attack stat even more. She'd have to get close to the Snorlax to make use of it, though, and Alden's "Sense" told him that might not be the best move.

She knows I'm boosting Corin's stats, he understood. But she's not switching her pokemon out, or even trying to put up much resistance. That's questionable… does she really think that her Snorlax can overcome Corin? Or is there something else…

He didn't know what he should be expecting from Ange, but he knew that he couldn't just sit back and do nothing, either.

"Keep going, Corin!" Alden ordered. "Use swords dance!"

"Lucario!" Corin shouted, spinning her bone staff again, boosting her attacking strength even more. As Beel spat seeds at her to try and disrupt her movements, Corin continued to dance until her attacking stat was maximized.

Just as she was about to boost herself the final stage, Ange ordered her pokemon to strike.

"Beel!" She shouted. "Use your earthquake!"

"Snorlax!" Beel roared, sending a tremor through the floor that caused Corin to lose her footing and fall over, opening her up to attack. The shockwaves slammed into her, but Corin was prepared. She hadn't taken nearly as much damage as she would under normal circumstances because she boosted her defenses with iron defense!

"Nice work, Corin," Alden congratulated his Lucario. "Now go and use high jump kick!"

"Lucario!" Corin nodded. She took advantage of her powerful leg strength and leapt into the air, shifting into a high kick. It caused her to become immune to the shaking of the earthquake, while letting her deliver a massive blow to the bulky pokemon.

"SNORLAX!" Beel cried in pain, falling backwards. He hit the ground with a heavy "thud" and for a moment Alden thought that the Snorlax had been defeated.

"Yes! She did it!" Rui cheered in triumph.

Anabel knew differently. "You might want to hold off on those cheers," they warned. "That Snorlax took damage, but she's not down yet."

They were right. While there was no denying the damage that Corin's high jump kick had done, it was a far-cry from finishing the Snorlax off. She was lying on the ground, unmoving, and certainly was unconscious, but not due to anything Corin had done.

"You used rest," Alden said, narrowing his eyes.

"Of course I did," Ange snapped, calling to Beel to awaken immediately. "And we won't stop there! Now go, Beel, wake up and use superpower!"

"SNORLAX!" Beel roared, snapping awake due to the chesto berry and leaping to her feet. It was impressive to see a pokemon with that much heft be able to move so fluidly, and it nearly caught Alden off-guard. But neither he nor Corin could afford to get overcome. It didn't help that he saw Beel quickly recycling the chesto berry either. She'd be able to do it again. And again. And now she was charging right at his Lucario.

Beel raised her fist, focusing all of her power into it. With a roar, she swung it at Corin, trying to knock the Lucario unconscious.

"Corin, evade with your detect!" Alden ordered. He couldn't let Corin go down to a move like that, Beel's strength was insane.

Corin skillfully ducked underneath the punch, relying on her foe's large size and clumsiness to get around the attack. Then she kicked off the ground, putting some distance between herself and the Snorlax. It was exactly the position she needed to be.

Alden and Corin didn't have harmonia, but they had years of experience fighting side by side. They both knew that this was the perfect opportunity to strike back at the Snorlax and finish her off. So Alden didn't even have to give the order.

Corin landed on the ground and like a bullet she shot towards Beel, using extremespeed to close the distance in an instant, allowing her to score the first punch at the Snorlax. Her fist landed right in the center of Beel's flabby body, causing her gut to shake but not doing a whole lot more damage to her than that.

Ange clutched her stomach, feeling a tinge of irritation but not much more. But Corin was just getting started.

"Low kick!" Alden ordered.

"Lucario!" Corin nodded, dropping low and swinging out her foot. She kicked at Beel's legs, and due to how stubby and wide they were, she didn't have much trouble hitting. And when she hit, boy, did she hit!

"This is perfect!" Vic gasped, cheering on the Commander and Corin with everything she had. "Low kick is the perfect move to use against a pokemon like that!"

"Snorlax weigh 1014.1 pounds," Anabel recited from memory, a triumphant smirk on their face. "A low kick on a Snorlax, we've experienced that one as well!"

It was one of the most devastating moves Corin could attack with. Using her opponent's weight against her, Corin was able to knock Beel clean off of her feet. Without a leg to stand on, Beel's colossal size was her undoing and she fell back, causing the entire tower to shake as she hit the floor. Corin hopped up and hovered over Beel for a few seconds, her body glowing white from the brilliance of her destructive aura.

Alden's order went unheard to Corin's ears in the heat of the moment, because everything was slowing down for her. But she didn't need to hear him, she knew exactly what he wanted. This was the opportunity to strike.

Beel had used superpower to try and finish Corin off. It was a powerful move, but a risky one. Not only did it have the backlash of reducing your attacking strength by straining your muscles to the bursting point, but it also hindered your ability to defend yourself as well. Truly a double-edged sword, and Ange had ordered it without hesitation. Now her Snorlax was more vulnerable than ever, and the two of them were going to take advantage of it.

They knew their best choice was close combat. It was the strongest, most devastating Fighting type attack in their arsenal. But in the back of their minds, both trainer and pokemon knew that they would have to be careful. After all, Ange was still fighting a little irregularly. It was odd to think that she would let Corin stack up so many stat boosts while only providing a token resistance. She had to be after something, but what?

A grim thought passed through Alden's mind as Corin began to unleash her assault. Was the Snorlax using endure? Maybe that was possible somehow. He pictured Cynthia's face in his mind, remembering how the redhead had used the strategy with the focus sash in the battle where she'd first caught his eye.

In the heat of the moment, a wild idea like that wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

The thought only occurred for a fraction of a second before he dismissed it with a shake of his head. There was simply no way. After all, a pokemon could only hold one item at a time, and Ange's strategy relied on the chesto berry her Snorlax held. She couldn't be playing at something like a focus sash or focus band combined with counter to knock Corin unconscious after her defenses were lowered, and the timing with endure wasn't possible either.

So why, when Corin was unleashing an incredibly powerful barrage of punches and kicks, with Ange being brutalized by every single one, did he get the distinct impression that that's what she was hoping for?

It doesn't matter, he finally decided. If this isn't enough to finish off her Snorlax, if somehow she's still conscious, then we'll have to do something else instead. But we won't get anywhere by playing it safe, that's for sure!

That's what his "Sense" was telling him. "Strike now and finish her off, before she defeats you instead." He'd gotten this far trusting his instincts, he wasn't about to stop now.

Alden hoped that Corin could sense his caution with her aura readers. By this point, he was fully convinced that somehow the Snorlax was going to be just fine when all was said and done, as crazy as that sounded.

Then the smoke cleared, and to his surprise, she was lying unconscious in the center of the battlefield, beaten to a bloody pulp. Corin stepped back, panting, thoroughly exhausted from the swift combination of moves.

"Yes! She did it!" Rui cheered, excited by what had just happened. She looked to her daughter and Anabel for confirmation, but while they were both slightly happy, there was a tinge of worry on their faces.

"That was too easy," Anabel said, frowning.

"I despise agreeing with you, but you're right," Vic begrudgingly admitted. She knew how awesome Corin was, of course, but she found it hard to believe that a trainer of Ange's caliber would just let one of her strongest pokemon faint so easily.

And yet, it had happened. Beel had been defeated. And as Ange, looking nearly as ragged as her Snorlax, recalled her to her pokeball, everyone on the Commander's side felt a chill.

They could all sense that this match was just getting started.

So, Ange has already lost three pokemon, while the Commander has only lost one! But most of his pokemon have taken a serious beating, while Ange's three are still relatively fresh. Is this her opportunity to score a comeback? Or will Alden overwhelm her with the force of Corin and the rest of his party? See what happens next on the next chapter!