Samarra has begun her assault on Agate Village, and she's gotten off to a strong start! First she brainwashed Mirar and Raizer to add more soldiers to her army, and now she somehow freed Ayame and had her knock out Maddi! This isn't good! Will our heroes be able to overcome her attacks? Or are they destined to fall under Samarra's sway?!

KedharS: That is putting it mildly.

Gyvarius: I imagine Shaymin might be some help, but she's probably resting right now.

Epifanio Therion: Sadly, Donoma put too much emphasis on messing around.

Venoms Cross 2: Kanone will be joining the fray at some point.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Gerard's position in this situation will be made clear soon enough, don't worry. But yes, there is a reason why Maddi didn't suspect him of any wrongdoing.

Hyphenman: Ooh, nice catch. I meant that to say Giselle, not Gabrielle, must have been a typo.

Tambry96bj: This is the conclusion of one of the longest arcs so far, I'm HOPING it would be suitably exciting.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1136

Watching the three trainers begin their pokemon battles, Alcea had the sinking suspicion that something was very wrong. Where were the other people who were under Samarra's control? They had several trainers capable of battling here, but it looked like there was no point in that.

Unless…

Could this be… a trap? She realized. Those three were a distraction, while the other trainers snuck around and went for Ayame and Maddi. That had to be the case. She turned to Wes. "Wes, this is bad! I'm thinking…"

"You're thinking this might be a trap?" Wes asked, a shadow crossing his face. He'd come to the same conclusion Alcea had.

"Oui," Alcea said, nodding.

"No way!" Rui gasped. "A trap?!"

"I'm with you, then," Wes said. "Come on, let's go!"

"I'm coming too!" Rui decided. "I can't fight, but I can at least get Maddi to safety while you guys deal with things!

Wes nodded and turned to his daughter. "Victoria! You watch out for things here, alright? If things go bad, someone come and get me."

"Right, dad," Vic nodded, turning her attention to the skirmish between Raizer and Amarillo that Alden was focusing on.

"I'll go on ahead," Dokukage said. "I should be able to get back to the house and check up on them faster than anyone else here."

"You're talking quite a lot these days, huh?" Rafe observed with a grin. Dokukage didn't reply. He just disappeared in a flash with his ninja skills.

"Okay, let's go," Wes said, turning to head back to his house.

"I-I'll go, too!" Celia said, joining up with them. She looked worried, her usually-bright expression clouded by insecurity and doubt. "Ayame is my friend, so… I want to help her if I can…"

Alcea nodded. "Oui, your help would be most accepted," she agreed. "Come."

"We'll watch things here," Callie declared, nodding to her brother. "That's our responsibility as members of the Eight Leaders."

"I'm going to support my mom," Marion said, punching her palm. She set her bag on the ground beside the large river flowing through the village. "Don't worry! I've got a secret weapon that'll be perfect for these double battles!"

"Celia, make sure Ayame's okay," Darla nodded to her. With their well-wishes the three of them headed back to the Carver house, running after Dokukage as fast as they could.

In the meantime, the three trainers were engaged in their battles.

Ange and Mirar were the only trainers who hadn't sent out their pokemon yet.

"Asmo," Ange said, throwing her pokeball up into the air. From the pokeball, a Lopunny emerged.

"A Lopunny," Mirar noted. "I see. Samarra told me that you had seven pokemon, so this was the one you never use, even in what few battles you have. Is it your trump card?"

Ange shook her head. "Not a trump card. Just a pokemon I really didn't want to use."

Mirar raised his eyebrow curiously. "Oh?"

"Lopunny!" Asmo turned and leapt at Ange, hugging the trainer tightly. She nuzzled her cheek against Ange's while cooing lovingly. Ange looked like she wanted to die of shame.

"…See?" Ange dryly noted. She tried to pull herself free of Asmo's tight grip. "Okay, yes, I'm happy to see you, now let… me… go!"

She finally managed to push the Lopunny off of her, her face flushed with embarrassment at her pokemon hugging her in front of everyone. As much as Ange loved Asmo, the Lopunny could be a little too… affectionate.

"Let's just… get this done already…" Ange hissed through clenched teeth.

Mirar had no qualms with that. "Mimi, go," he said, sending out his Ditto. The Ditto immediately transformed into a copy of the Lopunny across from it.

Asmo was stunned to see her duplicate across the battlefield from her. But that only lasted momentarily as she prepared to fight.

Ange's expression darkened. She had a Ditto of her own, so she knew how powerful the copying pokemon could be. But Mirar and Mimi were an even more lethal combination than she and Levi were, due to Mirar's uncanny ability to get into the mind of anyone he fought and completely mimic their style of fighting.

This wouldn't have been an issue for Ange before. She was fairly confident that Mirar had scarcely ever seen her in a pokemon battle. Under normal circumstances, she had a decent advantage over his strategy.

But now, Mirar was under the influence of Samarra. Ange couldn't remember the time she was under Samarra's control, even though it was only a couple of days ago, but she knew that the woman had access to all of her knowledge and memories as a result of their connection. Which meant that Mirar could do everything she could do. Any move Asmo tried to use, he would use right back, and reflect things against her until either both pokemon fainted, or he got the edge due to Samarra's power benefits.

That was the darkest thing. Mirar could do everything she could do, but now, with Samarra, he could do even more. Samarra had given Ange harmonia while she was controlling her; it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that the same would happen here.

Well there's no use thinking about it, she grimly determined. I'll have to give it my all with everything I have.

"Asmo!" She shouted. "Use agility!"

The words hadn't even left her mouth before Mirar ordered his Ditto to do the same. Mimi and Asmo dashed across the field, circling around each other at high speed in a perfect reflection of their movements. It was exactly as Ange had feared.

Come on, think. There has to be some way to beat this guy! Some way to…

Then it dawned on her. Mirar was well-known as being all but undefeated when it came to one on one matches. The only person she knew for sure who'd ever defeated him was Raizer, through sheer force of will.

Until a certain Sylvia Driscoll came along.

Mirar narrowed his eyes, having come to the same conclusion that Ange had.

"So that's what you're planning," he scowled. "You really think that's going to work?"

"Well, you apparently know me best, right?" Ange smirked. It was the type of expression she reserved for when she wanted to feel superior to everyone else. "So I think you know that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Mirar didn't have a choice. He couldn't back down from Ange's challenge; the minute he tried to divert from the plan, it would make defeating her a far more arduous chore. He had to stick with what he knew would work, which is why he gave the order he gave.

"Double team!" He shouted along with Ange, both Lopunny filling the field with countless copies of themselves. Suddenly an army of bunnies appeared in the center of town, squaring off against one another.

It was just as Ange had planned. She may have despised battles, but that didn't mean she was bad at them.

"Now Asmo! Use high jump kick!" She ordered. And all the Lopunny leapt into the air.

If he knows how we're thinking and how we fight, then that means he knows which one is the real Asmo, Ange thought, scanning the air. The same way Asmo and I know which one is really his. The copies are just a distraction, the real target is…

A move like high jump kick was very reckless, even under the best of circumstances. If a pokemon missed the target, they'd collide with the ground and take some serious damage. And with all these duplicates filling the sky, even if you knew for a fact where the opponent was, it was still possible to get disoriented and miss.

In the end, that was the strategy Ange had settled on. Luck. She had little chance of defeating the Ditto in a straight firing-off of moves. But if she could lean things in a way that they'd benefit from fortune, then the resulting battle would stop following the natural flow of things. It put Mirar in a bind: either he continued to fight the way Ange would normally fight, and thus render mimicking her pointless, or he ceded the decision and focused on the same luck-based strategies and moves that Ange was.

Either way, it took a guaranteed loss for Ange and turned it into a battle worth having.

The swarm of leaping Lopunny collided in the air with a shout.

None of this went heard by Wes, Rui, Alcea, or Celia. The four of them had fled the battlefield by this point, running back to Wes' house as fast as they possibly could. Dokukage was far ahead of them, relying on his ninja speed to take him the distance. He was so focused on his destination that he didn't even notice a sharp blade swinging right at him.

It was only due to his years of training as a ninja that Dokukage was able to draw his kunai and block the slash. A few seconds slower and the blade would have lopped off his head. He leapt back to avoid a second slash by a duplicate sword, the two blades circling around him.

"Wow, those are some amazing reflexes," Keahi said, stepping out of the bushes. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a ninja can move live that."

Dokukage narrowed his eyes. "Keahi Revanche."

"Hello, Dokukage," Keahi coldly greeted him, his worn eyes baggy with loathing. "It's been too long. Since the Phantom Cup? No, wait, that's not right. You were in our group, weren't you? I suppose it slipped my mind, considering you never speak to anyone."

"Nothing worth saying to someone like you," Dokukage replied.

That got a laugh out of the other boy, but it was a harsh laugh devoid of humor. "I see. Well, I imagine you WOULD think that… considering you managed to defeat me and all."

"Revenge, then?" Dokukage asked. But Keahi shook his head.

"Nothing like that," he said. "This is a matter of business! You see, a friend of mine is being quite generous, and I get a nice little reward for every trainer I defeat. You're just the first one I ran into today."

"…How mercenary of you."

"What can I say?" Keahi shrugged. "I go where my talents are most appreciated… and by that, I mean who can give me the most benefit." It didn't hurt that Samarra had completely brainwashed him into thinking that they were friends.

Dokukage wasn't looking forward to battling Keahi and his Shadow Pokemon again. But there wasn't really a choice. "Well, if it's a battle you want, then-"

A scream cut him off.

"Rui!" Wes stopped in place and turned to his wife, who'd collapsed on the ground, shocked. Thanks to Keahi's interference, the group of four had finally managed to catch up to Dokukage, only for Rui to lose it the second she saw what he was dealing with.

"It can't be…" She stammered. "But that's… that's a Shadow Pokemon!"

"What?!" Wes roared, fury igniting anew inside him as her turned to Keahi. "You… you use Shadow Pokemon?! Where did you get something like that?!"

Keahi smirked. "None of your business, old man."

"I'm about to make it my business," Wes snarled, reaching for his belt. But Dokukage was quick to stop him.

"Hold back!" He shouted, raising his arm.

"You can't be serious!" Wes snarled. "That's a Shadow Pokemon! It's my duty to purge all the Shadow Pokemon!"

"That may be the case, but doth your duty not require another task from you?" Dokukage asked. "Look there, good sir, your house is just ahead. Isn't there someone waiting inside it, whom you need to save? Indeed, she has need of your skills far more than mine."

Dokukage wanted to die saying such cringey things. But he had to remain firm.

"Rrrgh…" Wes grit his teeth, knowing Dokukage was right.

"If you are worried, I can assure you there is no need," Dokukage said, reaching for a pokeball of his own. "I have already vanquished this foe once before."

"He's right, Wes…" Rui said, shakily making it to her feet. "However that guy… got ahold of Shadow Pokemon… right now, defeating Samarra takes priority… you don't even have the snag machine anymore…"

"I know!" Wes shouted. But that didn't mean he had to like it. "FINE! We'll go!"

They passed the two trainers and continued the short jog to the Carver house, leaving Dokukage and Keahi alone.

"I'm surprised you let them go like that," Dokukage said, raising his eyebrow.

Keahi shrugged. "They won't get far. Besides, orders are orders. Now, are you ready to do this?" He asked.

Dokukage nodded grimly and threw his pokeball into the air.

While the battles were going on, the forest was quiet. Maddi had no idea what was happening in Agate Village as she slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she realized was that she was moving. The second was that her feet weren't touching the ground.

"What the…?" Maddi fully woke up, looking around to see that she was in the middle of the forest. Ayame was carrying her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, much to the teenager's irritation and shock.

"What is this!?" She demanded, trying to kick herself free. That was how she realized that her arms and feet were bound tightly, by the same ropes they'd used to tie Ayame to the chair.

"Finally awake, huh? I was getting worried." Ayame sounded completely calm, as if tying up a fellow student and hauling her through the jungle was an everyday activity.

"You! Ayame! How'd you get free?!" Maddi demanded. "Let me go!"

"Sorry, not going to happen," Ayame said. "I need you to come meet a good friend of mine, that's why I tied you up. Can't have you running away."

She smirked, brimming with confidence. "Not that you'd get very far. I'd catch you in a flash."

Maddi had no misconceptions to think that she could get away from the fastest girl in school on her bad leg. That didn't make her any less frustrated.

"So you… got free somehow…" she mumbled, trying to put the pieces together through the headache that was splitting her skull in half. She glanced at Ayame's belt and saw the shiny pokeballs attached to it. "And you found your pokemon…"

"It was rude of you to keep them from me," Ayame scolded. "But I understand why you did it. It doesn't matter anyway, it's not like you have any pokemon of your own to fight me with. Not a bright move on your part, I must say."

Maddi said nothing, glaring at the ground and Ayame's ass instead.

"You didn't tell me how you got free," Maddi snarled. "Andrea's a Pokemon Ranger and she tied those ropes herself."

Ayame snorted. "Yes she did. But you messed up, Madison. You and all the others. You just let Gerard have free range of the house, even though he couldn't be trusted. You actually AGREED to stay and watch me with him. He's the one who let me out, when everyone else went out to go fight."

The throbbing pain in her skull increased. "No… but that's… Gerard was free from Samarra's influence… Alden beat him… I saw it with my own eyes…"

As much as she hated looking at the boy, she'd scanned him with her eyes a few times, and she couldn't see anything different. Samarra wasn't still there, he couldn't be.

Unless her eye didn't work as well as she thought it did.

Ayame sighed and shook her head. "It's a little bit more complicated than that, Madison," she said with a tinge of apology in her voice. "But there's no point in explaining it to you. In a couple of minutes, it won't even matter, you'll know everything anyway. Samarra loves sharing things with her friends after all."

That sent a chill down Maddi's spine.

"…So you're taking me to Samarra…" she mumbled.

"No, no, I've TAKEN you to Samarra. And here she is!" And with that, Ayame unceremoniously dropped Maddi on the ground, right in the middle of a pile of muddy leaves. She scrambled to get away, but with her hands and feet tied there wasn't much she could do.

Then Ayame's strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up into a seated position, and there she was. Samarra.

Maddi had seen Samarra several times through the trainers possessed by her, but this was the first time she laid eyes on the woman herself. She was so… normal. Frayed brown hair and a cold smile, with dark brown eyes that seemed to stare right into her soul. That was the most unnerving thing about her, and the thing that told Maddi that this was no ordinary woman. She was like a demon in human flesh, or perhaps an alien. There was an otherworldliness to her that Maddi just couldn't describe.

She struggled against the ropes that bound her. She could feel them starting to give way, since Ayame had focused more on speed than precision. But the tight grip on her shoulders told her that trying to struggle would be pointless.

"Hello Madison. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time now," Samarra greeted her with what she must have thought was warmness, but it seemed hollow, like a bad actor reading from a script. "I'm Samarra."

"Yeah, I guessed," she scowled.

Samarra was unfazed by that. "You're quite special, you know that? I didn't know it was possible for someone to see like you do." She leaned in close and studied Maddi's face. "It's that eye of yours, isn't it?"

"What are you doing?!" Maddi blurted out. She was desperate. The longer she could keep Samarra talking, the more time she had as herself. She was still holding out hope that somehow, someone would come save her before she got transformed.

"I'm… making friends," Samarra said, confused by the question. "That's what daddy always told me to do. Be nice to people and make lots of friends. I was locked up in that place for so long, I didn't have many opportunities, so I'm really trying to make up for lost time."

"…You're crazy," Maddi sputtered, shaking her head in disbelief. And she was a girl who knew crazy when she saw it. "This… what you're doing to people isn't friendship! It's brainwashing, you psychopath!"

Samarra frowned. "Now Madison, that's not polite! That's no way to talk to someone who's trying to be friends with you!"

Then she smiled. "But I forgive you. You're just confused! But that's okay. I'm going to make everything crystal clear."

She extended her hand towards Maddi.

"No! Get back! Stay away from me!" Maddi shouted, thrashing helplessly against Ayame's iron grip. Her hands tore free of the rope, but it was too late.

Samarra's fingers cradled her cheek, nurturing her tenderly.

Oh no! Now Maddi's fallen under Samarra's sway as well! This isn't good! Our heroes are trying their best to fight against the people she's sending, but she keeps turning more and more! At this rate, will they even be able to win? Or will everyone wind up becoming friends with Samarra?!