Dokukage's performance against Keahi has been so great that even Samarra is impressed with his abilities! So impressed that she's come to introduce herself personally to him! Will Dokukage manage to keep his cool? Or will she finally realize that he's not all that special? What about the battle? What will Keahi's next move be, now that he's at such a major disadvantage?

KedharS: Yep, he caught the eye of the worst possible person. Between Sylvia and Samarra, he really just can't catch a break when it comes to evil women! Good thing Val isn't here…

Arbiter8991: He's pretty good at pulling himself out of sticky situations, that's for sure.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1159

Dokukage really didn't know what to say to the brainwashing crazy woman standing in front of him. He felt like if he opened his mouth he was going to scream.

But he couldn't let on how frightened he was. More than ever before, he needed to conceal his feelings and focus. So he swallowed the terror welling up in his throat and held his head up high, staring at Samarra with what he hoped was a look of defiance.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me," he said slowly, taking careful consideration to not stumble over his words. This was like dealing with a hostile wild pokemon. If he let on how freaked out he was, then she would pounce.

"Unfortunately, I'm not really interested in making friends. A shinobi's life is one of quiet solitude. We resign ourselves to the shadows until we are needed. So things like friendship are unnecessary, I'm afraid," he finished dramatically. Or whatever. Something like that. Just go away already, damn it, I'm trying to have a battle!

He just needed to defeat two more of Keahi's pokemon. Just two more. But this woman was making that way more complicated than it needed to be.

Samarra carefully considered what he was saying. It was hard to get a read on the boy's feelings due to the mask he wore, but it seemed like he wasn't even paying attention to her. He refused to look her in the eye, as if she were something beneath him. How rude! What sort of person could be so presumptuous as to think that SHE was beneath their time?!

To hold that much confidence in his own abilities… I want to befriend you even more, Dokukage! She felt a small thrill run through her spine. Samarra always relished in making new friends, but when it came to the people she really desired to befriend… well, she could be a tad bit obsessive.

"I hope you can win this, Keahi," she said as she slipped away and returned control of Keahi's body to him. "That boy is not someone to be trifled with."

Of course, Samarra's inability to understand the finer points of human nature caused her to make a complete mistake in her estimation of Dokukage. He wasn't ignoring her because he didn't care about what she had to say, he was just flat-out terrified of the horror show that was Keahi acting like a crazy woman!

Perhaps if she beat him, she'd recognize her mistake. But until then, her appraisal of Dokukage's capabilities just became more and more warped.

Keahi felt exhausted when he regained control over his body. He glared across the field at Dokukage, who relaxed.

So it looks like she's gone, Dokukage thought, breathing a sigh of relief. That look in Keahi's eyes, that frustrated loathing, it was all him.

"You might have the advantage in our battle right now, but you won't win," Keahi promised. His voice was surprisingly soft and composed. Some time confined in his own head had let him calm down, and now he was ready to fight for real again, since Samarra was keeping his emotions in check. He reached to his belt and took off another pokeball.

"Haikili, come back out," he said, sending out his Magnezone.

"Magnezone," Haikili buzzed, charging their magnets with an electric current.

Dokukage narrowed his eyes. So Keahi was using his Magnezone next? He was really holding his final pokemon for the end, wasn't he? It was making Dokukage begin to have doubts. He'd assumed that Keahi's final pokemon would be his Corviknight; it made sense, after all, to use such a powerful bird pokemon against his bugs. But would Keahi have really saved such a powerhouse for the end? He couldn't believe that would happen. No, the only thing that made sense was that Keahi had another pokemon he was saving.

At least, that's what he told himself. He really didn't want to face that Corviknight.

"Venomark, use earthquake!" Keahi ordered. That Magnezone might have been floating but it was still vulnerable to the effects of Ground type moves, and with its Electric/Steel typing it was incredibly vulnerable to them! And even if it tried to rise up with the power of magnetism, with Venomark's Speed Boosts she should easily be able to outpace the thing!

"Scolipede!" Venomark sent a shockwave through the ground, causing the battlefield to shake, and Haikili shook with it. But the Magnezone didn't take as much damage as they should have from the earthquake.

"Sorry to tell you this, but since you punched a big hole in the ground and it's flooding with rain right now, that mud won't do as much damage," Keahi smirked. "It's displacing too much impact from the earthquake!"

Dokukage scowled behind his mask. He couldn't deny that was a possibility.

"But don't worry, it won't really matter," Keahi promised. "Haikili, use magnet rise to avoid those pesky Ground type moves!"

"Magnezone!" Haikili buzzed, releasing an electric charge down into the ground that resulted in them floating even higher above the surface, well out of the danger zone of any Ground type attacks. Now one of Venomark's primary means of attack had been cut off.

Dokukage wasn't bothered, though. Venomark still had a massive boost to her attack, which meant that even moves that weren't very effective would still do some damage.

In theory, anyway. In practice, Dokukage wasn't sure if Venomark would be able to score many hits on that Magnezone. But he wanted to do something with her. "Venomark, use screech," he quickly ordered. If Venomark could at least weaken Haikili's defenses, then what moves did hit would be even more powerful!

But Keahi didn't seem fazed by Dokukage's attempt. He just smirked. "Haikili, use thunder wave," he ordered.

"Magnezone!" Haikili buzzed, ignoring the loud shrieks from the Scolipede. They raised their magnets, gathering electricity between them, and released the electricity in a shockwave that rolled towards Venomark.

"Venomark, dig underground to dodge it," Keahi ordered. His Scolipede burrowed beneath the thunder wave. It would take more than that to paralyze them!

"Well, while you're hiding under there, we might as well prepare ourselves," Keahi said. "Haikili, use reflect."

"Mag!" Haikili raised their magnets and formed a golden barrier of light around their body. Now physical attacks against them would be even harder to pull off!

At the same time, though, the barrier made a very tempting target for Dokukage. Venomark couldn't break through it, probably, not without any moves that were super-effective against a Steel type pokemon that could float.

But Muramasa had brick break.

"Venomark, baton pass," Keahi ordered, recalling his Scolipede to her pokeball. "Muramasa, break through that barrier!"

"Scizor!" Muramasa shouted, emerging from his pokeball in a flash of red. He fluttered his wings and darted across the battlefield, making good use of the speed he'd inherited from Venomark.

"Ah, of course you'd use your Scizor," Keahi smiled. "That's just what we were waiting for! Haikili, use metal sound!"

"MAGNEZONE!" Haikili released an unearthly shriek that startled Muramasa, causing his special defense to drop considerably. But Dokukage didn't let it bother him.

"Muramasa, use agility," he ordered. Even if Muramasa's special defense was low, that wouldn't make a difference. It just meant that Muramasa would have to take special care to not get struck by any of the Magnezone's moves. Dokukage had faith in his pokemon's resilience, but even he wasn't sure if Muramasa could take many more hits.

"Scizor!" Muramasa flapped his wings and increased his speed even more, zigzagging around the battlefield. At the speed he was going, the far-slower Magnezone would have no chance of scoring a direct hit! That's what Dokukage hoped for, anyway. And now that his speed was even higher, and with such a large boost to his attack, inherited from Venomark and Kagerou, Muramasa would hopefully be able to take out that Magnezone in one blow!

"Now go, Muramasa!" He shouted. "Use brick break!"

"Scizor!" Muramasa darted forward, raising his pincer back behind his shoulder. He appeared in the air in front of Haikili and swung, striking through the barrier and hitting the Magnezone directly in the center of their body.

"MAGNEZONE!" Haikili screeched, tumbling backwards from the force of the hit. Dokukage was honestly surprised that it could even stay in the air, with how powerful that brick break must have been. The thing was struggling to levitate above the ground.

Dokukage took a quick assessment of Keahi's condition, and to his frustration he could see that the trainer didn't seem fazed. It was like he didn't care that his Magnezone had just taken a massive hit that drained it of most of its health!

…That was bad. That was really bad. That meant Keahi knew something that Dokukage didn't, and that wasn't a situation you ever wanted to find yourself in if you were in a battle. He squinted through the rain at Keahi and saw that the other trainer wasn't even paying attention to him; his focus was entirely on the sky.

Why's he looking up there? Dokukage wondered, glancing up at the sky himself. There was nothing worth seeing now that Muramasa had touched down on the muddy ground. The only thing up there was the rain clouds.

…Wait, rain…

"Muramasa!" Dokukage shouted, immediately realizing what Keahi was planning. "Watch out! You've got to protect yourself, now!"

But his warning came too late. Even as Muramasa darted forward to make himself into a moving target, Haikili was already building up electricity in their body. All the electricity was gathering on the antenna on their head, and with a screech they released it up into the air, where it charged the rain clouds above them.

The sky was crackling with lightning now, and the downpour was only increasing in intensity. And then it came. Like the heavens themselves had decided to smite Muramasa, a powerful bolt of lightning fell down upon him. And even as he tried to evade the thunder attack, it proved fruitless. His scales were like metal and they were slicked with rain. Due to the downpour he made for a perfect conductor, and the lightning bolt arced in the air towards him, striking him from above.

"SCIZOR!" Muramasa roared in agony. His special defense had been drastically lowered by the metal sound, and he'd lost a significant amount of his health to his previous fight. If only he'd been stronger, then he might have been able to set up a substitute to protect himself. But as it was, the only thing he could do was take the thunder attack and try not to succumb.

Keahi was certainly enjoying himself. He wore a proud smirk as he watched Muramasa fry.

"I have to thank you for the rain, Dokukage," he called across the battlefield. "If it wasn't for this downpour, I don't think Haikili would have ever been able to reach your Scizor's speed! You certainly helped me quite a bit!"

Damn… Dokukage held his tongue and stared helplessly as his strongest pokemon was blasted with lightning. There was nothing he could do.

"I hope you're not thinking that Muramasa can withstand such a powerful attack," Keahi continued. "I'm afraid that just isn't going to happen. You see, Haikili's ability is Analytic. It's a special ability that increases the power of their moves after being given a chance to study their foe. Against a pokemon as fast as your Scizor, Haikili was given plenty of time to tune the thunder attack to hurt just a little bit more. Certainly enough to make sure that bug won't be of any use to you for the rest of this battle!" He laughed.

The electricity died down and Muramasa was still standing. But Dokukage didn't allow himself to be fooled. He could see from the burns covering his pokemon's scales and the way sparks crackled around his body that Muramasa was finished. He didn't even need to look at his Scizor's eyes.

And indeed, his recognition was proved correct when his pokemon pitched forward, falling face-down into the mud, unconscious.

With a sigh, Dokukage recalled Muramasa. Now he only had three pokemon left. Three pokemon against Keahi's two, and one of them hadn't even been sent out to battle yet!

If there was one saving grace in all this, it was the fact that the thunder attack was so powerful it had caused the rain clouds to disperse. As the sun brightened overhead, Dokukage could at least be relieved that he wouldn't have to deal with another attack of that caliber.

It was a cold comfort.

His Magnezone took a lot of damage from Muramasa's brick break and Venomark's earthquake, Dokukage noted. We should be able to finish it off with little difficulty. The problem is the pokemon that comes next…

He wasn't sure if his remaining team members would be able to handle Keahi's trump card. Between the three of them they had barely enough health for a single pokemon, and if he was going to set up another baton pass chain then he couldn't lose any of them.

Venomark doesn't have the coverage to take it down, not with her moveset. And I can't risk Ame, either. She's so weak to Electric type moves, a single good hit from that Magnezone would defeat her in a flash! …Wait, flash… Not seeing many more possibilities, Dokukage knew that he'd have to rely on Kagerou to take that Magnezone down.

But that wasn't who he sent out.

"Ame, go," he said, choosing his Masquerain. Ame's intimidating wing patterns lowered Haikili's attacking strength, but to negligible effect. The Magnezone wasn't going to be striking with gyro balls any time soon.

"A Flying type, huh?" Keahi mused. "Interesting choice. What are you planning with her, I wonder?" He asked thoughtfully.

"We're planning this!" Dokukage replied. "Mist!"

Ame flapped her wings, and a pale fog spread over the battlefield.

Keahi raised his eyebrow and snickered. "Really? Mist? Are you THAT afraid of your stats lowering, Dokukage?"

Dokukage's answer to that question was a glare. He wasn't going to let Keahi reduce his team's accuracy with flash. He could tell that this time, this time was their final chance. They wouldn't have the opportunity to set up another baton pass chain if this one broke.

Keahi shrugged. "Well, fine then, if that's how you want to be. Haikili, use shadow bolt!"

"Magnezone!" The time for inaccurate thunder attacks had passed. Haikili built up a current of black lightning between their magnets and released it in a powerful bolt aimed at Ame.

"Ame, dodge with double team," Dokukage ordered. Their best opportunity for this would be if Ame could keep up her agility. The dark bolt smashed through several of the copies Ame created, but left her completely unharmed.

"Not switching out, are you?" Keahi asked. "Curious. I would have thought that was the best strategy you could go with, but I guess not! What's the matter, you aren't sure any of your pokemon have the power to finish the job?"

"They all do," Dokukage promised. "And I'll show you how. Infestation!"

"Infestation!?" That was another move Keahi had never heard of. "What's that going to do?!"

"You'll see," Dokukage said. "Take a look!"

"Masquerain!" Ame flapped her wings again, but no physical attack came. And then Keahi saw it. Tiny mites, barely the size of a grain of sand, fluttered through the air. At first he thought that it was a powder move of some kind, like stun spore. But he realized now that it was something else entirely. They were tiny bugs! Not Bug type pokemon but little insects barely visible to the naked eye! And they were everywhere. They attacked Haikili in a swarm, covering the Magnezone completely and keeping them from moving.

"Infestation is a move quite a bit like your shadow mist," Dokukage said. "So long as those bugs are clinging to your Magnezone, you won't be able to call them back, no matter what you do! This is another power of the shinobi, forcing our opponents to remain in battle. There will be no retreat for your Magnezone."

"I don't need to call back my pokemon," Keahi growled. "Haikili, discharge!"

"Magnezone!" Haikili raised their magnets and released a shockwave of electricity that arced out around them, bypassing the insects but scattering Ame's duplicates, clearing the field of them.

"Ame, use quiver dance to dodge it," Dokukage ordered. They'd been expecting an attack like that, and his Masquerain was already prepared. With a flap of her wings she danced through the sky, increasing her speed and special stats as she evaded the lightning.

"Now, for our trump card," Dokukage said, narrowing his eyes. "Keahi, you've relied on your pokemon's Steel typing to protect you from our strongest attacks. Because of Steel's natural resistance to the Bug type, we've found ourselves pressed into a difficult situation. But that won't stand any longer. Now… even the Steel type will be taken from you!"

"What?!" Keahi spat in disbelief. "You're talking crazy talk!"

"I'm not," Dokukage promised. "Ame, use soak!"

"Masquerain!" Ame spat a blast of water at the already-drenched Magnezone, the liquid sinking into their body.

"What the hell is this?!" Keahi demanded.

"Another trick in the shinobi's arsenal," Dokukage answered. "With the power of soak, your Magnezone is no longer an Electric/Steel type pokemon. Now… it is a Water type pokemon!"

"That can't be!" Keahi gasped in disbelief.

"And because you are no longer of the Steel type," Dokukage continued, narrowing his eyes, "I'm sure you realize that your pokemon are MUCH more vulnerable to whatever moves we choose to use!"

Dokukage's piercing gaze was unnerving Keahi. It was enough to make him ignore just how much Dokukage was freaking out himself. He was so relieved that Ame had been able to evade those Electric type moves. If not for that, this fight would have had a very tragic ending indeed!

So Dokukage has managed to pull another trick out of his arsenal! By turning Haikili into a Water type pokemon, he's rendered a pokemon who had almost no exploitable weaknesses into a pokemon capable of being overpowered by the right moves! And Keahi didn't even see it coming. But even if Dokukage manages to defeat Haikili, will that be the end of it? What could Keahi's final pokemon be?