Not only has Amarillo won, but now Ange has won her battle as well! This means, out of the three people who stopped the first group, only Chloe remains under Samarra's influence! And Ian is the only one who has a chance of stopping her. Will he be able to manage it? Or does Chloe's knowledge of Ian mean she has the advantage over him? We'll have to find out.

KedharS: What ultimate trap could that be?

Gyvarius: It's a little more complicated than that, but yes, when Samarra's connection with someone is severed, she loses access to everything that person knows. It's the reason she's not fighting double battles anymore, now that she's lost Vic's talents. But that's not what she was giving Mirar help with. Remember, Samarra is very smart. The support she was providing Mirar was insight into Ange as a person, to help him understand her thought process and how she fights. Those are all things she reasoned out from getting to know Ange intimately and being inside her head. She doesn't, for example, know that Ange is a time traveler or her connection with Hisui, but she still has a lasting impression of who Ange is as a person, which is all Mirar needs to perfectly replicate her fighting style.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: True, having access to that information is definitely an advantage for Samarra and Chloe. But Ian has Donoma on his side!

Leppyvstheworld: In Samarra's defense, she's never been in a position where she HASN'T been better than others. And the reason she attacked, first, was to get Maddi because Maddi could see who was controlled by her. But now that Maddi can't be turned, she wants to eliminate her.

Hyphenman: Well, what she really did was tap into Mirar's inner doubt of his own ability.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1141

Ian stared warily across the river at Chloe as she stared silently back at him. She hadn't said a word yet, she just kept staring.

That wasn't anything new though. He'd known Chloe for several weeks at this point, and before the trip had seen her several times in passing, and he still could barely get two words out of her. There was a reason she'd slipped under everyone's radar when she was controlled by Samarra, she just had that natural attitude about her that made people overlook her presence, similarly to Mirar.

Well, there wasn't any ignoring her now. Even if she didn't want to be the center of attention, he was going to have to fight her either way.

"Lazuli, use water pulse!" Ian ordered.

"Lumineon!" Lazuli spread her fins and opened her mouth, firing a burst of water at the Excadrill standing on the riverbank. He jumped to the side and evaded the attack, raising his claws and sending a wave of rocks rolling towards the river.

"Use tailwind to increase your speed," Ian ordered. With the added push of wind in her sails, Lazuli darted through the river, evading the falling boulders as best as she could.

"Rock blast," Chloe ordered, finally speaking.

"Excadrill!" Dvalinn roared, raising his claws and summoning more rocks. He flung them at Lazuli at high speed.

"Lazuli, double team," Ian ordered. Speed wouldn't be enough to handle that Excadrill's incredible power, they needed a distraction as well. Lazuli moved from side to side, creating several copies of herself in the water. The rocks landed on several of them, but they were just the duplicates. The real Lazuli remained safe.

"Hah!" Donoma chuckled. "Now that's an amusing reverse of whack-a-mole!"

"Isn't that game usually played with Diglett?" Ian asked dryly. While Donoma's sense of humor was nice sometimes, right now he really needed to focus on the battle. "Lazuli!" He shouted to his Lumineon, "use hydro pump!"

The school of Lumineon opened their mouths, firing blasts of water at the Excadrill. Ian was counting on the speed from tailwind and the amount of angles the attack could be coming from to make up for the fact that hydro pump was such an inaccurate move.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Smart strike," she ordered.

Dvalinn narrowed his eyes as well, scanning the incoming hydro pumps in the fraction of a second before they struck. Then he jumped to the side, right into the path of one of them, which passed right by as it was just an illusion. He had managed to dodge the only real attack of the bunch, and raised his claw to strike at the pokemon who'd fired it. He leapt towards the river and slashed at Lazuli, moving too fast for the fish pokemon to dodge.

"Oh, no!" Marion cried, horrified that another fish pokemon had just gotten hurt. But Lazuli wasn't down for the count just yet. Smart strike was a Steel type move, meaning she could withstand it decently enough. She shook off the blow and fired another burst of water at Dvalinn, who took it head-on while barely even flinching.

"Excadrill," he growled, raising his claws threateningly.

"I'm impressed!" Ian called to Chloe. His tone was jovial in spite of how serious the situation was. "How did you know which attack was the real one?"

Chloe blinked, surprised to be addressed like that. "It's simple," she said calmly. "When your Lumineon uses double team, she almost always swims to the left. Which meant that all we needed to do was jump to the right, and the chances of dodging your attack was high."

Now it was Ian's turned to be surprised. "Wait, you know that much? That's pretty impressive, Chloe, I had no idea that you studied my battling style that thoroughly. Or is that due to information that Samarra took from Mirar?"

Chloe shook her head. "No, this information was something I acquired from studying your battle records," she explained.

"Oh, like a stalker!" Donoma said cheerfully.

Chloe flinched, her jaw dropping in shock. "N-No, that's… not important!" Under normal circumstances she would have died of shame, but she didn't have the time for that. Samarra was supporting her, and she needed to win! Defeating Ian would be the first step of that, and something she could accomplish easily given what she knew about him.

"Dvalinn!" She quickly shouted to her Excadrill. "Use your stealth rock to hamper their movement, now!"

"Ex," Dvalinn nodded, raising his claws and summoning large stones from the ground, which hovered over Ian's side of the field. The sharp rocks circled around Lazuli, making it difficult for her to swim at high speeds while also threatening sharp reprisals against any pokemon that Ian might send out to replace her.

"That's a pretty dangerous move you've got there," Ian said, scanning the rocks.

Chloe nodded. "You have a tendency of switching out your pokemon for a more advantageous matchup due to your diverse team and your experience as a trainer. So figuring out a way to keep the switches under control was the first thing I set my mind to. Now Dvalinn, return!"

With the stealth rock set, Dvalinn had served his purpose. Better to use a pokemon with a good advantage over the Lumineon, and try to force a switch out of Ian that she could take advantage of instead.

And she had the perfect choice.

"Paiea," she said, sending out her Raichu. An Electric type was an excellent matchup against the Lumineon, especially due to the fish pokemon's ice beam attack. She couldn't risk using a Grass type pokemon, obviously. Furthermore, Ian didn't have any Ground type pokemon to resist her Raichu's moves, either.

And there was one other thing that gave Paiea an edge; he wasn't an ordinary Raichu. Having caught him as a Pichu, she evolved him in the Alola Region, meaning he'd inherited the traits of the region. His eyes were a sparkling blue and his fur was a darker shade. The most notable thing about him was his tail, which was so large he could ride it as a surfboard. A blue ribbon she'd tied around his neck finished the look.

"Raichu!" Paiea chirped, smiling mischievously. Chloe nodded to him, and prepared to set the stage for her victory.

"Electric terrain," she ordered, and her Raichu released a surge of lightning down into the ground, covering the field in a current of electricity the same way Zera had. The electricity ran through the grass and over the river, all but burying Lazuli beneath it.

"Rai!" Paiea jumped up onto his tail, hovering above the current and surfing towards the isolated fish pokemon with a wild smile.

"Because of his Surge Surfer ability, Paiea's speed doubles when surfing on the electric terrain," Chloe explained. She needed to make it clear that her pokemon wasn't just behaving in an embarrassing way for laughs. "Now, thunderbolt."

"Raichu!" Paiea gathered electricity in his cheek pouches and released it in a bolt of lightning at Lazuli, shocking the entire river and the fish along with it.

"LUMINEON!" Lazuli cried in pain, feeling the current run through her. Ian didn't hesitate to recall her to her pokeball before the lightning overwhelmed her.

"Returning her after the first shock, to preserve her health," Chloe said. "As expected of you, Ian. What are you going to use next?"

She had a decent knowledge of Ian's team. She knew all of his pokemon, and had ideas about how to defeat them. Paiea was a good counter to not just his Lumineon and his Crobat but his Aggron in particular, due to the bulky pokemon's low special defense.

Because of what she knew, her first instinct told her that Ian was going to use his Phantump. It wouldn't be a bad matchup, the Ghost/Grass type pokemon had advantages over both of Paiea's types. But his Phantump was one of his weaker pokemon.

Her instincts told her that he'd probably use his Haxorus. The ferocious Dragon type pokemon resisted Paiea's Electric type attacks, and had incredible destructive power as well. If that was the pokemon he'd use, then her choice would be-

"Fluorite, go!" Ian shouted, throwing out a pokeball.

For a moment, Chloe was caught off-guard. Fluorite? But that was his Phantump! Such a weak pokemon wouldn't have a chance against Paiea… right?

The pokeball burst open, and the pokemon came out, and immediately Chloe went on her guard, flinching.

Fluorite wasn't a Phantump anymore.

"Trevenant!" The small little stump had evolved! Now he was a hulking tree, with segments of wood connected by a shadowy body. He roared, ghostly energy surging around his body.

"You… how?!" Chloe finally lost her cool. Even Samarra couldn't keep her from freaking out as she stared at the opposing pokemon, her judgment completely askew.

Donoma smirked. "On the way back," she explained, "when you weren't looking, I asked Ian to trade his Phantump to me. Just for a moment, of course, enough to make his pokemon evolve."

"You did that… behind my back?" Chloe asked, surprised. "But why would… why would you do that?" She didn't understand. Ian'd had multiple opportunities to trade his Phantump back at the Pokemon Academy, but he never did. And now he had just because Donoma asked him to? Why would he do something like that?

Donoma smirked. "Gee, I wonder why?" She mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. A coy look crossed her lips as she narrowed her eyes into slits. "Doesn't that just mean… Ian and I… we have the kind of relationship where we exchange all sorts of things?"

Chloe's jaw dropped.

"Not just pokemon…" Donoma said, continuing to press her. "While you weren't looking, we've become very close…"

"Th-That… that's no good!" She exclaimed, her face bright red. "Ian! You… you can't do things like that with her!"

"Huh?" Ian asked, confused.

Donoma's eyes widened. "…OOoooh…"

"What?" Chloe demanded defensively. "What 'oh'?!"

"Nothing, nothing," Donoma said, shaking her head.

"She's just joking around," Ian laughed. "We're just friends. She's teasing you!" He didn't agree with that playful side of Donoma, but at the same time, it was throwing Chloe off. He just didn't know why she was being so… lewd about everything. He didn't think she was that type of girl.

But he didn't judge her.

"The reason why Ian traded was because I asked him to," Donoma explained. "I told him that if he would agree to trade pokemon with me, then I would trust that he wasn't under the influence of Samarra. Since it was between the two of you, of course, I picked him over asking you anything."

"You… thought that I lost to Mason?" Chloe asked. She wasn't even insulted. After all, with her skill as a trainer, against someone of Mason's caliber, it was no surprise that she would lose. But Donoma hadn't said anything?

"I didn't trust you in the slightest, you're so suspicious," Donoma said, smirking. "If anyone among us would be controlled by Samarra, it would be the girl who was shy and reserved and not saying anything, right? You were the most likely choice."

She glanced at Ian.

"Besides. I knew I wasn't being controlled by Samarra, and we both know how skilled of a trainer Ian is. I doubted he'd lose, even against Ross. So it HAD to be you, if it was anyone," Donoma explained. "You're who I would pick as the traitor, if I was writing the show."

Chloe had no idea what to say to that.

"Fluorite, what do you think of your new body?" Ian asked his Trevenant. The tree pokemon flexed his arms, still getting used to his new form.

"Trev," he nodded to Ian.

Then the sharp stones sliced against his bark and he winced in pain.

"Wh-Whatever," Chloe said, regaining her composure. She was shaken, but thanks to Samarra, she could control her feelings. "Paiea! Use thunder wave!"

"Raichu!" Paiea gathered electricity in his cheeks, surfing over the electric terrain. He released the electricity in a shockwave that arced towards the tree pokemon. Sure, Fluorite might have a resistance to Electric type attacks, but that didn't mean he was invulnerable. With Paiea's speed, he could overcome Fluorite easily.

"Trevenant!" Fluorite wasn't nearly fast enough to dodge the shockwave. The electricity paralyzed him, causing his wooden body to move even slower than usual. It didn't help that he still wasn't used to his new body, mainly the fact that he had legs now.

"Fluorite, shake it off!" Ian shouted. "Use shadow ball!"

"Trevenant!" Fluorite bellowed, raising his hands and forming an orb of darkness. He fired the attack at Paiea.

He didn't have a prayer of hitting though. Paiea skidded over the electric terrain, easily evading the shadow ball. He built up more electricity in his cheeks and generated a ball of energy of his own, an electro ball.

"Trevenant!" Fluorite cried out in pain as the fast attack struck him, nearly falling over from the force of the attack. But he refused to fall.

"That was a powerful electro ball," Donoma winced. "With how slow Fluorite is, that attack did some serious damage."

"I know," Ian said, nodding. "Electro ball gets stronger if the user is faster than the target, and given the opponent we're dealing with…"

Electric terrain gave a boost to electro ball's power, and also boosted Paiea's speed thanks to his Surge Surfer ability. Combined with the paralysis slowing Fluorite down even more, and the electro ball was a devastating blow.

To Chloe's shock, though, the Trevenant seemed… almost uninjured?!

"Trev," Fluorite growled. He was still twitching due to the paralysis, but besides that, the attack had little effect due to his resistance to Electric type moves.

Chloe was shocked. How strong had Fluorite become now that he'd evolved?! This was completely outside her calculations!

But she couldn't lose her cool. She needed to focus and win anyway.

"Paiea!" She shouted. "It doesn't matter if he can withstand your electro ball! Switch to Psychic type moves!"

"Raichu!" Paiea nodded, surfing around the Trevenant. He focused his power, and a golden field of energy appeared around Fluorite, lifting him up into the air.

"Fluorite! Use phantom force!" Ian ordered. Fluorite struggled against the psychic energy holding him prisoner, and then disappeared into the shadows, to Chloe's frustration.

"Nice work," Ian smiled. Now he needed to pick the perfect opportunity for Fluorite to reappear and strike.

Chloe scowled. She glanced at Paiea, who nodded. They both knew what was coming.

Paiea surfed around the electric terrain, waiting. He built up electricity, preparing to strike back, but before he could, Fluorite reappeared. He raised his fist and slammed it into Paiea's stomach before he could dodge, knocking the Raichu off of his tail.

"Rai!" Paiea was injured from the attack, but he quickly regained his balance, landing back on his feet. Fortunately for Chloe, he was still quite faster than the Trevenant, and he had already hopped back onto his tail to continue his attack.

It's too bad Fluorite doesn't know grassy terrain, Ian thought as he watched Paiea surf around his Trevenant. If he did, we could use it to slow down that Raichu. It's her speed that's such a major disadvantage for us!

At the same time, Chloe was feeling like SHE was the one on the defensive. After all, Paiea had a very shallow movepool, which wasn't good when dealing with a pokemon that was so much more powerful than she'd expected.

Chloe had studied Ian's fighting record and thought she knew everything there was to know about how he battled, but she hadn't expected this. She had felt how hard that phantom force had hit, and she knew

Fortunately, Paiea still knew Psychic type moves!

"Use psyshock," she ordered. If that Trevenant had a good special defense, then she'd target his physical defenses instead, it was as simple as that!

"Raichu!" Paiea gathered more electricity into his cheeks, but it wasn't the usual sort of electricity. These sparks were the product of her mind, and filled with psychic energy. And the bolt of lightning she fired at Fluorite was shining with the color of the rainbow.

"Fluorite!" Ian shouted. "Double team!"

Fluorite let out a roar and suddenly the electric terrain was covered in a forest of trees. Paiea's psyshock burst one of the copies, completely missing the original Fluorite.

Ian grinned and Chloe scowled.

"This trick again?" She sighed. It would take some time getting through this annoyance, but once she did, then everything would be back on track!

Ian vs. Chloe! Because Ian's Phantump has recently evolved, he was able to throw Chloe's strategy for a loop! But will it be enough to seize victory? Or has Chloe's stalking of Ian given her enough insight to develop countermeasures that will allow her to succeed? Out of the trio, this battle will probably take the longest, so haul in for a fight of attrition!