Ian and Chloe have both given it their all. And as we've seen from Chloe, this match really means a lot to her. But will she be able to win? Will Samarra give her the strength she needs? Or is Ian a talented enough trainer where he can still defeat her? I guess we'll have to find out. The battle will come to a conclusion with this chapter, and we'll see who's still left standing when the dust settles!

KedharS: Chloe is just very thorough with her research, that's all.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yeah, Chloe probably took that pretty hard. But then, it's better than being recognized as a creepy stalker.

Tambry96bj: There's a lot of overlap there. I'd say the difference is that Chloe does it more out of insecurity and self-doubt.

Hyphenman: Well, backstories are different from character to character. A lot of the characters in the Orre Region arc, their backstories are pretty self-contained. But then you get backstories like Blake and Marion, which are crucial to the plot progression, and I feel it requires me to go into greater depth. There's an ebb and flow depending on who the character is, I guess I would say.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1150

"Phyllii, calm mind again," Chloe ordered. Phyllii increased her special stats by concentrating her power, which was good for Chloe as well. Sharing her senses with her pokemon meant that she was able to better retain her focus, and keep from losing her cool again.

They had almost defeated Ian. His Aggron was his strongest pokemon, and if they could just take him down, then it would all be over!

Once she beat Ian, she would prove once and for all that she was correct. That all this research she'd done on him hadn't been for nothing, it had all been a careful method of learning everything she needed to know, in order to win.

She just needed to keep her cool, and stop her emotions from overloading. So what if Ian was being swept up in that Donoma girl's web of lies? That had nothing to do with her. And sure, he had introduced himself to her before, as if they'd never met, but that didn't matter. Even though she was pretty sure that the reason behind it was due to being distracted by Donoma's seduction attempts the whole time.

Chloe took a deep breath and exhaled. While those things had given her anxiety before, and made her desperate to accompany Ian and Donoma to the Battle Tower out of fear that they'd spend even more time alone together, none of that mattered anymore.

Now the only thing that mattered was victory. Victory for her and Samarra. Everything else would be sorted out after that.

The protective barrier is about to fall, she judged as the rain started to let up. When it does, that'll be the perfect time to launch our counterattack.

"Phyllii, use sunny day!" She ordered.

"Leavanny!" Phyllii stopped focusing, holding up her pincers and creating a ball of orange light between them. She flung it into the sky where it blew away the clouds and intensified the sunlight, casting the entire field in the sun's warm glow.

"That's not good," Donoma said, frowning. "I don't need to be Alcea Vermeil to know that intense sun at this stage in the battle is a bad thing for Ian and his Aggron."

"If I had to guess, that Leavanny has the Chlorophyll ability," Vic scowled. "Which means she'll be at double speed. And I'll bet she's going to use it the same way I use sunny day in conjunction with Dash and Ellie. If that Leavanny's a special attacker… we're about to see some powerful solarbeams coming Ian's way."

"But just energy ball was bad enough…" Callie winced. "Can Iron really withstand moves of that level with how much damage he's already taken?!"

Everyone shared Callie's doubts, even Ian.

Come on, Iron, you can do this! He prayed for Iron's success. Hiding behind protect wouldn't get them ahead. And Iron didn't have any ways to boost his special defenses, either. At this point, he had to hope his partner would be able to endure it.

The barrier dropped a second later and Chloe immediately sprung into action.

"Solarbeam!" She shouted with an uncharacteristic amount of passion. Phyllii began to glow with light, gathering energy from the sun. She held her pincers together and fired it in a massive blast at Iron, hoping to defeat the Aggron for good.

But it wouldn't be that simple.

"Iron!" Ian shouted. "We're going to have to use our trump card!"

"AGGRON!" Iron roared, and his body began to glow. First he turned silver, then got brighter and brighter until his armor was shining pure white.

"Oh," Alden whistled, his "Sense" telling him what was about to happen. "I didn't even think of that move."

With a roar, Iron opened his mouth wide, gathering metallic energy and light from his armor. He directed all of it into a massive beam that he fired at the incoming solarbeam, the two attacks colliding in the air.

"This is… steel beam!" Vic recognized Corin's finishing move well. "But that move…"

"Steel beam is a devastating attack that can do incredible damage to most foes," Alden said, smiling proudly even as he shielded his eyes with the others. "But it comes at an immense cost. The backlash from the attack takes half of the pokemon's maximum health. It isn't uncommon for a user to fain afterwards."

"But that's so risky!" Callie cried. She couldn't even see the move because it was so bright. "Does Iron even have enough health to survive it?! That's so reckless!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Tommy howled with glee. "Putting everything on the line like that is exactly what a pokemon battle's all about!"

The explosion was so massive that the shockwave knocked several people over. No one was hurt, but it took a second for everyone's eyes to adjust after the intense light show.

"Iron… isn't even injured?!" Donoma exclaimed, stunned.

"Did you forget Iron's ability?" Ian laughed. "With Rock Head, he won't take any damage from recoil, not even from a move like steel beam!"

Everyone took a second to process that.

"Um… I don't think… I don't think it works like that…" Ross was the first person to speak up. With his extensive knowledge of rules and restrictions of things like abilities, he knew better than most that steel beam's backlash was different from a normal recoil move, and because of that, it should have completely ignored Iron's Rock Head ability.

"Really?" Ian asked, surprised. He glanced at his Aggron, then laughed. "Well, I guess Iron's just that stubborn!"

Are you kidding me?! Chloe wanted to scream. She was shocked that Ian's Aggron could fire off a move like that without even flinching. That… it defied everything she knew about pokemon battles! He'd learned how to do something like that through sheer willpower and stubbornness?!

"Curious," Samarra noted. "With intense determination, pokemon and people can achieve things that would otherwise be impossible. I had thought that such actions were restricted to those with harmonia, but it seems even regular pokemon can summon such an indomitable will…"

That wasn't the kind of thing Chloe wanted to hear when it was her victory on the line.

Luckily thanks to calm mind, Phyllii didn't actually take much damage from that explosion, Chloe thought, relieved. And even if Iron didn't take any damage, he looks weakened. I don't think he'll be able to fire another one of that size in the future. But something still feels off…

The right thing to do was fire off a solarbeam again, since Iron didn't look like he could match it the next time around. That was the safe strategy, so why did Chloe feel like it was a bad idea?

I wonder if this sensation is my "instincts" as a trainer screaming at me, she considered. The Commander always talked about "Sense", could that be what this is?

She didn't have much time to contemplate that theory, though, because Iron was already following up with another attack.

"Rock tomb!" Ian ordered.

"Aggron!" Iron stomped the ground, and a pillar of stone shot up around Phyllii. Chloe had been so caught up in her thinking that she hadn't even noticed, and didn't have time to give her an order to dodge.

"Shit!" Chloe groaned, feeling the sharp rocks stab into her. "We got careless… whatever! Break free with energy ball!"

An explosion of nature energy was more than enough to break Phyllii out of the rocky prison, and thanks to harmonia she didn't even feel winded. Chloe made her decision immediately, there was no time for hesitation!

"Phyllii, use solarbeam again!" She ordered.

"Leavanny!" Phyllii gathered up sunlight and fired it at Iron. Ian shouted at his Aggron to get away, and thanks to the autotomize boosts to his speed he had a pretty good shot at it. He leapt to the side, but the solarbeam was so massive there was no chance of dodging it completely. He still got hit in the wake of the blast.

"Oh, no!" Callie cried.

"It's not as bad as a direct hit," Donoma said. It was a dark time when she was the one trying to keep everything positive.

Everyone watched the battle intently, not taking their eyes off of either pokemon. But it was Rafe who put words to the oddity that a few people were noting.

"Hey, doesn't… Ian's Aggron look a little… off to anyone else?" He asked, pointing at Iron. Everyone turned to see what he meant.

Iron had been through the ringer. He'd shaved and sharpened multiple parts of his armor in order to increase his speed, and Chiyome had cut off parts of it as well. His shiny metal hide was slick with rain, and he was practically shining from his prior attack.

But Rafe was right. He looked different somehow. Sleeker, more aggressive, not the same clunky, dark pokemon Ian had sent out.

"I wonder if it was that steel beam that did it?" Alden guessed. "Maybe we're looking at him in a new light because of all that power he used."

That made sense, but not everyone was convinced. It was just… strange, seeing a pokemon look so different from usual.

One thing was clear though, not a lot of people would be considering using autotomize in the near future if it resulted in a change like that.

"I'd say the important thing is that Iron looks like he barely took damage from that solarbeam," Amarillo said, frowning. "Take a look."

Indeed, Iron had only taken a glancing blow from the attack, but it was still expected that such a powerful solarbeam would do something. And yet, Iron looked like he was just a little annoyed by the hit. He let out a frustrated roar.

Iron's irritation with the stinging pain couldn't be compared to Chloe's frustration, however. How was he able to shrug off a hit like that?! She frantically wondered. Sure, he might be a Steel type pokemon, but he's part Rock type isn't he?! That should have been a neutral hit!

She didn't have time to explore that question in depth, though. The important thing was getting defeating the Aggron!

Chloe had sent out Phyllii to defeat Iron because she was sure that her Leavanny was the best fit for the job. Of all her pokemon, Chloe's bond with Phyllii was the closest. After the Swadloon had been abandoned by her trainer, it had been incredibly hard to get her to open up to anyone again, especially another human. But Chloe had seen the pain she was in, and had gone through the agonizingly-difficult legal process to be registered as Phyllii's official trainer.

She never really expected to be rewarded for her actions. She'd always assumed that Phyllii would be distant from her forever. And it wasn't like the Swadloon was very open about her feelings, given the fact that she was wrapped up so tightly in her cocoon of leaves.

So when the cocoon unraveled one day and a Leavanny emerged from it, Chloe had been caught completely off-guard. Her pokemon had evolved! And a Swadloon only became a Leavanny when their trust with a human was strong enough that they would reveal their true self to them.

In that moment, Chloe promised Phyllii that the trust she placed in her would not be betrayed. And Leavanny had been a close friend and loyal ally ever since that day.

Phyllii trusts me to guide her, just as I trust her to win, Chloe reminded herself. We won't give into an opponent like this. Just a little bit more. I don't know how he was able to shrug off that solarbeam, but I swear, Phyllii, he won't do it again!

"Phyllii!" She shouted. "Use solarbeam! He can't take much more of this!"

"Leavanny!" Phyllii gathered all her strength, absorbing the light of the sun and concentrating it into a single beam that she fired at her opponent. The solarbeam tore across the field, burning right towards Iron.

Contained within it were all of Chloe's hopes and dreams. Her faith that she had developed a winning strategy that could defeat even a trainer like Ian refused to be shaken here!

We're going to win! And we're going to prove that we can fight on his level ourselves! Chloe promised herself and her pokemon.

At the same time Chloe was coming to all these decisions, Ian was going through a strange renaissance of his own. Rafe hadn't been the only one to notice that something was off about Iron. As his trainer, Ian could tell right away that his Aggron was different. And it wasn't just his armor, either, there was more to it than that.

Iron seemed… stronger, somehow. More resilient. Like he could take hits even better and dish out some real damage at the same time. It was a strange thing to consider, but Ian would be a fool to question his instincts right now.

If we want to win, then we'll have to take risks! That's the truth of any pokemon battle! Ian decided. And that was a critical difference between Ian and Chloe. Chloe's strategy was to develop the perfect battle plan that allowed her to minimize any chance of something going wrong. Perfectly accounting for all of Ian's moves and actions, and developing countermeasures to them, so she could reduce the variance in the fight to almost zero.

It made sense that she looked at battles that way, after all, she was a researcher.

But Ian understood that in a pokemon battle, you always account for everything. No matter how hard you tried, luck was still a factor. And not only luck, but the willpower of the pokemon and trainers involved, as well.

In his battle against Ross, he realized something similar. Ross, fan of video game challenges that he was, might know the strategies and rules that made moves work, but battles were about more than that. Chloe's tactics might have been the way to go if this were a video game, but like Ross, she'd soon learn that wasn't enough.

Unless we just bite it here, of course, Ian darkly noted. After all, what he was about to do had just as much of a chance of blowing up in his face as it did succeeding. But he couldn't let himself get carried away with that. He sucked in air, and gave his orders.

"Iron!" He shouted. "Use iron head!"

"AGGRON!" Iron roared in agreement. He lowered his head and charged right at the incoming solarbeam.

"Is he crazy?!" Donoma screeched. "He's not seriously charging right into that, is he?!"

"Yeah he is!" Tommy cheered.

"Go for it!" Callie shouted. Reckless as it might have been, she could appreciate Ian's charge forward to victory.

Iron slammed into the solarbeam and immediately the attack spread out, surrounding him. Everyone shielded their eyes as burning sunlight hit steaming metal. The flare was so bright nobody could see clearly.

This… what the hell is this?! Chloe hadn't planned for this at all! Nowhere in her notes was Ian this sort of reckless fool!

Her notes weren't wrong. Ian had lost battles before and been pushed to the brink. She knew what he'd do in situations like those.

And Ian knew that she knew. He knew it would be against his nature to just blindly charge in like this, when he didn't need to. Especially when the odds of success were so low. But he did it anyway. Steel beam had been a useful move in countering the solarbeam, but Ian had a feeling that was a fluke. A once-in-a-lifetime miracle, and he wasn't going to press his luck. It hadn't done enough damage due to Iron's low special attack, but this next move? This one used the full force of Iron's immense strength. If they couldn't finish the battle with this hit, or if Iron fell before he could land it, then it was all going to be over. He was banking on a critical.

And to Ian's relief, and Chloe's shock, Iron broke through the solarbeam and came out the other side, injured beyond belief but still standing. With a roar, he smashed his armored skull down on Phyllii's head with enough strength to knock her flat into the ground.

Chloe stumbled back, her own head ringing. She felt like she had a second-hand concussion from that move! But she didn't have the composure to regroup her thoughts before Iron followed it up with another attack.

"Now, Iron, use all the damage you took from the solarbeam, and release it in a metal burst!" Ian ordered.

"AGGRON!" Iron released the energy he'd stored up in a massive explosion that engulfed the battlefield. Chloe shielded her eye and fell backwards as everyone struggled to get out of the blast radius. How strong WAS Iron, that he could tank so much damage?! It didn't seem real.

As the other students waited for the light to fade so they could see the outcome, there was one person who didn't need to wait.

Chloe felt her connection to Phyllii snap like a twig, and in that instant she was alone. Samarra was sucked away from her as well, leaving her isolated and alone once again. Tears filled her eyes as she was pushed into the grass, and she didn't even bother trying to get back up.

She didn't need to see. She already knew. It was over.

So, Ian managed to win! It took everything they had, and maybe even a few things they didn't KNOW they had, but they were still able to achieve victory in the end. And yes, as I pointed out, the Rock Head ability does not protect you from the recoil damage of steel beam. But honestly… I think it should, you know? What would be the harm? It's the same thing with me thinking Defiant should be able to trigger off of your partner pokemon's moves in a double battle. So consider what happened here my statement of protest. But now, Samarra has been successfully driven out of Chloe as well! What will her next move be, I wonder?