Ian's at a bit of a disadvantage here! He managed to defeat the nuisance that was Chloe's Fletchling, but that doesn't mean he's out of the woods yet! She still has five more pokemon, and one of them, Chiyome, is causing some serious problems! She defeated his Trevenant, which was the one pokemon on Ian's team that Chloe wasn't prepared for! Will he still be able to defeat her, now that she knows what to expect from him?

KedharS: Yeah, he really has to. I don't think it'll be good if he loses, that's for sure.

Arbiter8991: Well it won't be a HUGE problem, but we should hopefully free as many people from Samarra's control as possible.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, I suppose we'll have to see, won't we? It's certainly an interesting question to consider.

Tambry96bj: Yeah, Chloe's Greninja is really tough.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1144

Ian recalled Fluorite and took a deep breath. He exhaled slowly and stared thoughtfully at Chloe. She'd taken out two of his pokemon, but things weren't so bad that he had to consider this an emergency right now.

He still had a team of pokemon capable of fighting.

"Opal, go," he said, sending out his Miltank. She winced as the sharp stones scraped against her. "Careful, that Greninja is really fast."

"Miltank," Opal said, nodding. She turned towards Chiyome and stood up on her hind legs, preparing for the Greninja to attack.

"Chiyome, water shuriken," Chloe ordered. She was regaining her confidence. Now that Fluorite was defeated, things were getting back on track. The Trevenant was an oddity that she hadn't expected, but she didn't have to worry about him anymore.

"Greninja," Chiyome raised her hands and began sculpting a water shuriken, forming it quickly and flinging it at Opal.

If Chloe was expecting Opal to try and dodge, she was in for a surprise.

"Endure it, Opal," Ian shouted, "then hit her with your thunder wave!"

"Mil!" Opal cried, bracing herself. The first water shuriken slammed into her, cutting into her pudgy body with its water blades. More shuriken followed, two, three, and then four more, all doing as much damage as the first. By the time the onslaught was finished, Opal's pink hide was covered in oozing red cuts.

But it had given her more than enough time to build up electricity. She gathered it in her horns and released it in a shockwave that arced towards the Greninja.

"Yes!" Callie cheered. If the thunder wave hit, and Chiyome was paralyzed, the Greninja's incredible speed would be cut, and Ian would have a real chance!

"Greninja!" Chiyome made more hand signs, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. A log appeared where she was standing, taking the thunder wave without effect.

"Substitute, huh?" Ian noted. He smiled. "We wouldn't expect anything less from a ninja! Opal, use high horsepower!"

"Miltank!" Opal moo'd, lowering her head and charging at the log. She smashed it to splinters and Chiyome reappeared, a shuriken formed of darkness in her hand.

"Greninja!" Chiyome slashed into Opal from behind with the night slash, leaping back and shifting its shape to fly better. She followed the night slash with an excellent dark pulse shuriken, which sliced through the air and spun towards Opal.

"Opal, show her your substitute!" Ian ordered.

"Miltank!" Opal disappeared, and was replaced by a bottle of milk. The shuriken smashed through the milk bottle and Opal reappeared, charging at Chiyome. The Greninja was startled by how fast Opal was, and Chloe was too. They'd clearly been training.

"Now, play rough!" He shouted.

"Miltank!" Opal raised her hooves and struck Chiyome with everything she had. The Greninja flew backwards, crashing into the grass. She spun a few times and then disappeared, replaced with another log.

"It was just a decoy!" Ian cried. "Opal, you've gotta be careful! Chiyome could attack from anywhere right now!"

"Mil," Opal nodded, bracing herself for the incoming attack. She didn't even have time to drinking some of her milk, knowing that the Greninja would strike the moment she tried. Chiyome wasn't making any moves at the moment, though. She was just waiting.

"Chiyome, grass knot!" Chloe ordered. Her Greninja reappeared, raising her hand. The grass bent to her will, reaching up and curling around Opal's legs, tying her down and impeding her movements.

"Milllll!" Opal bellowed, tugging at the blades of grass. But Chiyome held her tightly and kept her from escaping.

"That's not good," Callie winced. "Miltank are heavy, right?"

"But she's a Grass type now, thanks to her Protean ability," Donoma reminded her. "Which means if that Miltank can find some way to break free and hit her with a Fire or Ice type move, it should do a lot of damage."

"Opal, use protect!" Ian ordered. He needed to get her free now.

"Miltank!" Opal raised her hooves and began to glow white. A barrier of light emerged from her body, pushing off the grass and surrounding her in a protective bubble where Chiyome wouldn't be able to get to her.

"Your defense is as good as always but that won't be enough," Chloe said. "Chiyome, use work up."

"Greninja," Chiyome nodded, making more hand signs. She boosted her strength, increasing both her physical and special attack stats as Chloe focused her harmonia as well to boost her pokemon even more. This was her first battle using an ability like this, and she was honestly surprised at how easy it was to control. People like Elaina Bishop made it look nearly impossible!

Of course, Chloe had no way of knowing that the reason her newfound harmonia power was so easy to use was because it was a result of her connection with Samarra, and not at all a byproduct of her actual abilities. Nor did she really care, what mattered was that she could feel some real power going through her, and it was letting her use her knowledge about pokemon battles in a practical setting with more potency than she'd ever had the opportunity to before.

"With this power, you'll be able to prove to everyone that your knowledge of trainer's records aren't worthless," Samarra promised her. "You'll finally be able to put all that knowledge to work, and win pokemon battles with your skill and intelligence."

The thought of that was very appealing to Chloe. Especially if her opponent was Ian Davidson. She was looking forward to defeating him.

Ian wasn't going to just let Chiyome buff herself without doing some preparation of his own, though. Opal was getting busy behind the protective bubble. Thanks to her milk, she could recover some of her health, and prepare for the counterattack that would come the minute her shield dropped.

And in a few seconds, it dropped completely, and Chiyome chose that opportunity to strike with her water shuriken.

"Opal, dodge!" Ian ordered. Opal leapt to the side as the shuriken came spinning towards her, taking advantage of her strong hooves to cross the grass quickly. She circled around Chiyome and barreled right towards her.

"Chiyome, toxic," Chloe ordered. If Opal was going to try to turn this into a battle of attrition by healing herself, it was the only option she had.

"Greninja," Chiyome nodded, raising her hands and sculpting a shuriken of toxic sludge. She flung the spinning poison at the charging Miltank, hitting Opal in the eyes.

"Miltank!" Opal cried out in pain and stumbled, plowing through the grass. She frantically wiped her face off with her hooves, regaining her sight just in time to see another blade of water spinning right for her. This one hit her in the face as well, knocking her over.

She didn't even have time to acknowledge how much pain she was in, because Chiyome's speed was overwhelming her. Ian knew he had to do something, and fast.

"Opal, use thunder wave!" He ordered. That was the best bet he had at the moment. With the paralysis, Chiyome would be drastically slowed down, and he knew that wasn't something Chloe could afford at the moment. Substitution takes away a chunk of health with each use, and it's the most reliable way for her to dodge thunder wave. She's already used it twice, if she uses it again, then she'll be at the breaking point… we've gotta force as much out of her as we can!

Chloe could see the same writing on the wall, and knew what Ian was trying to do. Well, she wasn't about to let it happen!

"Chiyome, jump up!" She ordered. "Then, use u-turn!"

"Greninja!" Chiyome leapt into the air, avoiding the thunder wave, and turned her body at an angle so that when she fell, she fell feet-first towards Opal and crashed down on her head, kicking her backwards at the same time she leapt back into the air herself. The Greninja executed a complex flip in midair as Chloe held up the Premier Ball, calling her back.

"Now go, Dvalinn!" She ordered, flinging a Timer Ball that her Excadrill emerged from. The bulky pokemon let out a roar and charged at the stunned Miltank, raising his claws. There would be no chance of paralysis here, that was for sure.

But Ian had a plan of his own to accommodate that.

"Opal, use attract!" He ordered. Opal nodded, winking at the Excadrill and sending a heart his way, infatuating him. With the power of infatuation, Dvalinn would give in easily, he hoped, and allow him to even things up.

Dvalinn stared at Opal, and it was almost like hearts were appearing in his eyes. Ian smiled. That was exactly what he was hoping for!

"Nicely done, Opal!" He cheered. "Now, use high horsepower!"

"Miltank!" Opal lowered her head and charged the Excadrill at top speed, aiming her horns for his vital areas. She struck hard, sending him flying backwards.

"Urgh…" Chloe clenched her teeth and withstood it. It would be fine. This was all going according to plan anyway, there was nothing to worry about. She just needed to maintain her focus and keep doing what they were doing.

"Okay, Opal, that one did some serious damage," Ian said. Dvalinn was already injured from his earlier bout with Lazuli, so if everything went well they'd be able to finish him off with just one more really good hit. "Use high horsepower one more time!"

"Miltank!" Opal charged the Excadrill again, and Dvalinn just stood there with a dopey, lovestruck grin on his face.

But seconds before Opal could hit him, everything changed. He straightened up and looked serious again, and leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the charge like the Tauros fighters in Paldea. Opal stumbled past him, caught by surprise at the fact that her opponent had suddenly returned to his senses.

"Now, Dvalinn!" Chloe shouted. "Use brick break!"

"Excadrill!" Dvalinn bellowed, raising his claw. He charged at Opal and struck her hard in the back, practically launching the heavy pokemon across the battlefield. Opal hit hard and tried to stand, but the Excadrill was relentless.

"Don't give her a chance to use protect!" Chloe called. She was burning with passion and her harmonia was on fire. "Hit her with brick break, one more time!"

"Excadrill!" Dvalinn bellowed, striking Opal with everything he had. The Miltank tried her best to hold on, but the brutal assault was too much. She succumbed to the blows before long, and lost consciousness.

"Opal…" Ian was surprised, and he wasn't the only one. Chloe and her team had now managed to finish off three of Ian's pokemon, and he was only able to defeat ONE of hers so far. It was clear that Ian was pushed into a corner already, and Chloe was just getting started.

"R-Return," he said, recalling Opal. Three pokemon left. Only three. And Lazuli was in pretty bad shape as it was.

It didn't help either that the pokemon Chloe was using was her Excadrill. Iron had some strong defenses, but against Excadrill's brutal attack stat, and combined with the use of earthquake, and even he would be in for a rough time.

There was really only one choice left, and even if she was in bad condition, she was the best he could hope for right now.

"Lazuli, go!" Ian sent out his Lumineon for the third time, and it was clear that this would be the last. The way she reacted when the sharp stones dug into her scales, there was little chance of her withstanding more punishment if he sent her out into the stealth rocks again. But in spite of the pain, the fish pokemon looked ready.

"Go, Lazuli!" Marion cheered. Her mom's victory had galvanized her, and she was willing to put all her support behind the adorable fish.

"It makes sense you'd want to use her again, but things are different now," Chloe said. "Do you know why Dvalinn was able to dodge your Miltank at the last moment there?" She asked.

"No, why?" Ian asked curiously.

Chloe smirked. It felt unnatural on her face, but she didn't care. Because of Samarra's influence, she now felt far more confident and sure of herself than she ever had before. And she was delighted to show how much smarter she was than Ian.

"The reason he was able to snap out of infatuation was because I gave him a mental herb!" Chloe proudly declared. "Which means he was never infatuated with your Miltank at all, it was just a performance! The mental herb is a special type of plant that cures the eater of any feelings of infatuation or longing for someone else."

"Ah, and you know this from personal experience?" Donoma asked.

Chloe's face turned red and her confident exterior crumbled. "Stop! Talking!" She hissed through gritted teeth. Why did that stupid Donoma have to keep butting in when she was trying to show Ian just how much smarter she was?! It was starting to piss her off!

"I see," Ian said. "So you gave your Excadrill that mental herb so he would be cured of his infatuation when Opal used attract on him."

"But… she gave it to him before the battle even started?" Tommy asked, confused. "Why would she do something like that? There's no way she could have known he'd be planning on using attract on her Excadrill!"

Vic rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Were you not paying attention to this whole fight, or were you just born without a brain?" She grumbled.

"Hey! It's not my fault those other battles were more interesting!" Tommy defended himself, though not particularly well.

Vic sighed.

"It's because she knew he was going to do it," Ross explained to the other boy, his casual smile long-gone. "This entire battle, Chloe has been talking about how prepared she was to deal with Ian and his strategies due to all of her research. And she just proved it with that move, having prepared a mental herb in advance."

"That's right!" Chloe said, proud of the recognition for doing her best. "I had Dvalinn prepare for infatuation because I knew it would come down to this! Ian, using his Miltank, would try to seduce my Dvalinn, which would open the perfect avenue for a counter-attack, just like this!"

"Excadrill!" Dvalinn nodded in agreement.

"…A stalker, through and through," Donoma stated.

"SHUT UP!" Chloe roared, her emotions going haywire. That was it, the last straw. After Dvalinn wiped the floor with Ian's fish, she was sending him after the poison girl! "Dvalinn! Finish that fish off with your earthquake!"

"That won't work," Ian smiled. "Lazuli, use bounce!"

"Lumineon!" To everyone's amazement, Lazuli leapt clear out of the water, skillfully dodging all the sharp stones hovering in the air. She soared high above the Excadrill as he practically ripped the ground apart trying to strike her.

"Even if she's up there, it'll be a while before she can strike," Chloe reminded Ian. "We've got plenty of time to prepare for-"

"Oh, you think?" Ian asked. Before Chloe could react, Lazuli descended upon Dvalinn, striking him with her bounce and retreating back to the water.

"No way!" Chloe gasped. "How'd you do that so fast?!" Lazuli might have been quick, but there was no way she was THAT fast!

Ian smiled. "Let's just say you weren't the only one who gave your pokemon a bit of preparation before the match began."

Callie gasped. "A power herb!" She realized.

"That's right," Ian nodded, shooting her a glance. "Another type of those 'special herbs', just like the mental herb! The power herb gives the pokemon who eats it the power to execute moves that would normally take a while to use immediately! It's a technique I developed after learning about it in a match against Callie over there, and I figured 'why not?' Of course, I didn't expect it would be this useful against you, but you never know!"

"Rrrgh!" Chloe was frustrated. Ian had a trick up his sleeve that she'd never heard of before?! And when did he have time to get those power herbs?!

Somewhere across town, a whiff of irritation crossed Alcea's brow as she found herself miffed for some reason, not being given the credit for the strategy Ian had borrowed from Callie.

As for the strategy itself, it worked better than Ian could have imagined, even though Dvalinn wasn't seriously injured by the attack.

"You might have used a power herb to get the drop on us, but that technique will only work once!" Chloe said. "Don't forget, we can still hit you with as many earthquakes as we want, right, Dvalinn?" She asked her Excadrill, expecting an immediate response in the form of the ground shaking.

She didn't get it, though.

"Ex…" Dvalinn wasn't moving. His entire body was shaking.

"Dvalinn?!"

"It's paralysis," Alden noted. "That bounce attack didn't just strike, it paralyzed. Which means her Excadrill's speed is greatly reduced."

"And not only that, but Excadrill is a Ground type," Ross noted. "That type of pokemon almost never gets paralyzed. I wonder if Dvalinn even knows how to handle it."

Well, he wouldn't be given the chance to find out. Seeing his moment clearly, Ian ordered Lazuli to strike.

"Lazuli! Hydro pump!" He shouted.

"Lumineon!" Lazuli opened her mouth wide and fired a blast of compressed water that slammed into the paralyzed Excadrill, knocking him clean off the river bank and swinging the momentum back in Ian's favor.

Nice! Ian's starting to fight back! He's got a disadvantage of a couple of pokemon, but he's also got the skills to accommodate for that! Hopefully he'll be able to defeat Chloe and the rest of her team! But he's got a difficult struggle ahead of him. Can he manage to do it? Or will Donoma's repeated accusations of stalking push her over the edge, and cause her to lash out violently and win the match through sheer passion? We'll have to see.