Alcea and Gabrielle aren't giving the other trainer a moment to breathe! With their knowledge of each other's tactics and strategies, this is certainly going to be a difficult fight! Alcea managed to take the lead last chapter by knocking out Froslass, but that can't be the end of things! Gabrielle certainly has more up her sleeve! We'll have to see if Alcea's ready for what the Ice type trainer can bring to bear!
Arbiter8991: Well, honestly, I don't know how much Samarra actually cares about losing the pokemon battles. Her brain is a bit of a mystery. I guess we'll have to see what it takes to make her truly desperate.
KedharS: Hopefully Alcea can win this!
Hyphenman: Samarra can do that because her brain is simply built differently. She's working on a different level than most regular humans. It's why she gets along with Sylvia.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1164
Gabrielle didn't seem that bothered when she recalled Froslass to her pokeball. Alcea assumed it was because she didn't feel all that pressured. Even though she'd lost one of her pokemon, she still had a serious advantage due to the snow, and the ice that covered the ground. Gabrielle dominated the territory of this fight, and it put Alcea in a difficult position.
She had to be careful not to let the fact that she was winning the battle currently affect her better judgment.
"It's a pity you were able to defeat Froslass so easily," Gabrielle sighed. "I was hoping that she would be able to take out at least one of your pokemon. But I suppose… that's why I have to rely on my new pokemon. The ones I caught just to defeat you."
Alcea blinked, surprised. "New pokemon? You've captured new pokemon, Gabrielle?"
"Of course," the black-haired girl replied. "You didn't think I would just stick to the same six pokemon all the time, did you? No, I have new pokemon, Alcea. In fact… I've had them for a while now. Since winter break, in fact."
That was news to Alcea. She thought she knew all of her rival's pokemon.
"I didn't use any of them in the Phantom Cup or the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest because they were still in training," Gabrielle explained. "But I caught two new pokemon. In the Paldea Region, to be specific."
Alcea narrowed her eyes. The Paldea Region was renowned for having a wide and tumultuous frontier, with a lot of wild pokemon inhabiting the wild frontier. That included Ice type pokemon as well, though Alcea didn't know much about them. She'd been planning a trip there for some time, perhaps over the summer, but still hadn't gotten the opportunity.
So Gabrielle had gotten there first?
"It seems you're quite adept at keeping secrets, is it?" Alcea wryly asked.
Gabrielle's lips pinched into a frown. "Is that how you see it?" She asked quietly. "Well, you're wrong. Isn't it just… that you never really tried to get to know me better?"
"B-But!" Alcea couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I specifically remember! I asked you how your vacation was!" Gabrielle really couldn't be bitter over something like that, could she?! It was simply ridiculous!
"You did," Gabrielle nodded. "And I told you it was fine."
Alcea distinctly remembered the conversation dying there. Gabrielle had tersely given her a one-word response, and then refused to elaborate.
"…I didn't want to pry," Alcea said quietly. "I was being polite."
"Maybe I wanted you to ask," Gabrielle coldly replied. "Maybe it doesn't matter anymore. Cetitan, come out!"
"Cetitan!" The massive Ice type pokemon roared, and the snowstorm increased in intensity. The hulking thing looked like a giant whale, but with legs. Five large horns jutted out of its round head, and its tail flopped on the ground behind it as it approached.
It was a pokemon Alcea had never seen before.
A new pokemon? What type is it? She wondered quickly. It's Ice type, but is that all? Pure ice, maybe, but it could be an Ice/Water type, as it looks like a whale… wait, what was it that Gabrielle said just now?
"That's why I have to rely on my new pokemon. The ones I caught just to defeat you."
That's right! She caught this pokemon specifically to defeat me! Which means that chance that it's an Ice/Water type are low! Alcea was well aware that Gabrielle already had one pokemon that was Ice and Water type, her Dewgong. She seriously doubted that a girl who had such a mind for defeating her would catch another pokemon weak to Grass type moves. So there was a good chance that if this Cetitan had another type, it would be one that would resist Grass.
I know all the Grass type pokemon of the Paldea Region, so I can dismiss that immediately. For the first time, Alcea was a little miffed by how specialized her knowledge was. But it seemed like dozens of new pokemon were discovered every year these days, so you could hardly blame her for only focusing on her favorites! It doesn't look like a Bug type… nor a Fire or Flying type… Dragon type, maybe? It's certainly ferocious enough… with that bulky body it looks suitably durable as well, so it could be a Steel type, she reasoned. …The fact that Kate has never spoken of it before means, at least, I can be certain that it isn't a Poison type.
And she couldn't dismiss either that its secondary type was something that gave it the edge over Hollander's Ghost typing instead, such as Normal or Dark type. Dealing with new pokemon was so frustrating!
Well, whatever type it was, there was only one thing she could do.
"Hollander, use anchor shot!" Alcea ordered. Whatever type that Cetitan was, she would just fight it with everything she had, and learn as she went! A skilled trainer did not allow themselves to be flustered by a pokemon they'd never seen before.
"Dhelmise," Hollander rumbled, unwinding their anchor and flinging it at the large pokemon. A big whale like that would be an easy target to hit.
That's what Alcea thought, anyway, which was why she was stunned at how fast the bulky pokemon jumped out of the way.
Such speed for a pokemon that large… quite unnatural.
"Cetitan, ice spinner," Gabrielle ordered.
"Cetitan!" The huge pokemon bellowed, spinning even faster than her Froslass. A massive blast of sharp ice shot across the ground, piercing Hollander from below.
"Dheeeeeeelll!" Hollander roared in pain. They managed to keep their body together, however, whipping their chains at the Cetitan in a counterattack. But the whale continued to keep out of their reach.
"That speed…" Alcea mused aloud. "That's the Slush Rush ability, is it?"
Gabrielle showed no visible reaction to Alcea's declaration, due to keeping as great a poker face as she did, but she nodded. "That's right. You certainly know quite a lot."
"Oui," Alcea nodded. "I told you before, Gabrielle, when we fought in the Phantom Cup. Just as you study my strategies and keep track of what I'm capable of… I do the same for you."
"And yet, even then you had no idea I was raising two new pokemon." Gabrielle's accusation wasn't harsh or upset. It was just a genuine statement of fact, which is why it made Alcea flinch so readily when she heard it.
"That… is not something I can deny," Alcea admitted. "You caught me by surprise with that, is it? But my statement still stands. I respect you as a trainer, Gabrielle, of everyone at school, you are the one I acknowledge most as my rival."
Gabrielle narrowed her eyes. "…But just as a rival, is it?"
Alcea was taken aback for a second time. "Wh-What?"
"It doesn't matter." Gabrielle's voice had taken on a harsh edge. "Cetitan, use ice shard!"
"Titan!" Cetitan bellowed, firing large chunks of ice that broke against Hollander's wheel, striking the seaweed directly. The wrecked pokemon thrashed in frustration and Alcea realized that she needed to call them back immediatly.
Hollander lacks the speed to handle such a foe, she recognized. "Return!"
Recalling her pokemon gave her a chance to work out a new strategy for handling Gabrielle and her powerful new Ice type. From what she'd seen, it had a lot of physical power, and with the speed of Slush Rush it would not be an easy foe to defeat. And with the bulk she knew it had, her options for handling it were very limited.
But they weren't nonexistent.
"Anastacia, I will rely on you, next!" Alcea declared, sending out her Tsareena. The regal pokemon stood triumphant in the snowstorm, refusing to let the cold shake her up.
"I figured she would be who you relied on," Gabrielle said. "After all, she's one of your favorites, isn't that right?"
"Oui," Alcea nodded. "But that's not why. Her Queenly Majesty will nullify your ice shards, and then, when it comes to speed and power…"
Alcea smiled proudly and flicked her hair back over her shoulder, standing up tall. "There is none who can match her!"
"Tsareena!" Anastacia nodded in agreement. She charged at the Cetitan, and Gabrielle narrowed her eyes.
"We'll see about that," she growled. "Cetitan, icicle crash!"
"Cetitan!" Boosted by his ability, the hulking whale was moving far faster than his slender opponent. He sent a wave of icicles crashing down on Anastacia's head.
"Who do you think you're dealing with?" Alcea asked. "Power whip!"
"Tsar!" Anastacia raised her hand and swung, and a long vine shot out from her wrist. She snapped it through the air in an arc, smashing through the icicles before they got anywhere near her.
"We expected that, and that's why we prepared for a follow-up," Gabrielle snapped. "Cetitan, ice spinner next!"
"Cetitan!" Cetitan hunkered down and spun, sending a shockwave of ice across the ground. But Anastacia was prepared for that. She leapt high into the air, evading the icicles shooting up from the ground as well, and spun towards the large pokemon.
Even as fast as the Cetitan might have been in the snow, Anastacia wasn't about to miss such a big target.
She brought her foot down on the pokemon's skull with a powerful high jump kick, knocking the colossal pokemon backwards. Cetitan reeled from the force of the blow and let out a roar, but he didn't fall. He stomped forward instead, enraged, as Anastacia landed on the icy ground.
"Avalanche!" Gabrielle shouted.
"CETITAN!"
The snowstorm picked up in intensity, practically turning into a blizzard as Cetitan gathered strength from the ice, lifting it up into the air in a massive wave. Taking the pain that had been inflicted on him by Anastacia's kick, he vowed that the Tsareena would suffer just as much in retribution for that attack as he did.
The wave of ice and snow crashed down on Anastacia, and for a moment it looked as though she'd been buried alive.
"Tsar."
Shocked, Cetitan whirled around to see Anastacia standing behind him, her foot raised and coming right for his face.
"Titan!" Cetitan wailed as he was knocked back into the snowdrift he created with his avalanche attack. Anastacia's trop kick was a force to be reckoned with.
"You know this move well, oui?" Alcea said. "Trop kick deals damage and decreases the foe's attack by one stage. A move like that should be quite painful for physical attacker like that."
"It's not ideal, no," Gabrielle admitted as her Cetitan stood back up, injured but not even close to beaten down. Alcea was surprised at how well it was holding up. How much health did it have? Even Gabrielle seemed unfazed by those powerful kicks.
"I'm curious, though," Gabrielle said, glancing at Anastacia. "Your Tsareena was able to dodge Cetitan's avalanche even though it was practically on top of her. How did she move so fast?"
A small smile crossed Alcea's face. "Take a look and see," she replied. Gabrielle did just that. She glanced at Anastacia, and what she saw was all the answer she needed.
From the moment of Froslass's first ice spinner attack, the ground they'd been fighting on had been frozen over. But that was no longer the case. A large chunk of ice had been carved out, allowing grass to grow, and it happened to form a path leading from the mound of snow to where Anastacia was now standing.
"It's a move called trailblaze," Alcea revealed, brimming with pride. "Anastacia's greatest strength is in those powerful legs of hers! They're so strong, they can even break through the ice you've set! I had her use all the power of her legs to carve a path through the snow, boosting her speed just enough to evade your little avalanche."
"I see, that's good to know," Gabrielle said, recalling Cetitan to his pokeball. "Let me return the favor by sending out a better match for that Tsareena of yours. Glaceon, go!"
"Glaceon!" Gabrielle's trusty Glaceon emerged from her pokeball, growling at Anastacia. Alcea should have expected that. As a fast special attacker, Glaceon was an excellent matchup for the more offensive Tsareena. And her Snow Cloak ability would, like with Froslass, make it significantly more difficult to land a hit as even now she began to blend in with the snow.
No high jump kicks, that was simply out of the question.
"If you're making a substitution then I will as well," Alcea nodded. "But first I think we shall teeter dance!"
"Tsar!" Anastacia nodded, zigzagging from side to side as her erratic dance aimed to confuse and perplex the Glaceon. And the dance did work for a moment, confusing the Glaceon, but only for a moment.
Gabrielle asserted control with her harmonia, connecting to her Glaceon and keeping her conscious. Unlike with Keahi, all of her pokemon had a bond with her even before obtaining harmonia from Samarra, even if she didn't give them nicknames.
"Blizzard," Gabrielle snapped, narrowing her eyes. A wave of ice and snow rolled across the battlefield towards Anastacia, and all the speed in the world wouldn't let her sneak away.
"Light screen!" Alcea ordered. Anastacia raised her hand and created a barrier of green light that protected herself from the blizzard. A last show of defiance before Alcea recalled her to her pokeball for a different pokemon.
"I should have guessed you'd do that," Gabrielle sighed.
"And you should know who I'll use next," Alcea replied. "Or rather, who I'll be sending back out! Hollander!"
"Dhelmise!" The anchor pokemon cried as they emerged from their pokeball. Now that the fast and bulky Cetitan was gone, Hollander was prepared to get back to work and start sweeping away all of Gabrielle's Ice types with their powerful anchor.
Gabrielle immediately did some calculations. If she called Glaceon back and replaced her with Cetitan, well, that would basically be calling for the exact same situation to repeat itself. Alcea would just send Anastacia out, and they'd be right back where they started.
At the same time, she had to break through that light screen. Even a full-power blizzard was barely enough to scratch it.
I'll have to rely on the defense boost from the snowstorm, Gabrielle decided. Glaceon's elegant figure might have looked fragile, but her defense was actually quite high. She could take a few hits from that Dhelmise and dish them out as well.
With a 130 base special attack, there was only so long that light screen could remain standing. That was what Gabrielle was betting on.
"Anchor shot," Alcea ordered. Hollander raised their anchor and flung it at Glaceon.
"Dodge with quick attack," Gabrielle ordered in turn. The move might be unable to hit the Ghost type across from them, but it was still good enough for dodging. Glaceon swiftly moved aside, dodging the anchor thanks to her fur coat blending in with the snow. And thanks to her speed, she was able to keep out of reach of the chains as well.
"Glaceon, use calm mind," Gabrielle ordered once her pokemon was at a safe enough distance. This would be a slow process, and she wanted her pokemon to build up strength so she could smash through that barrier. Glaceon closed her eyes and began to focus, heightening her special powers.
Of course, Alcea wasn't about to sit back and let that happen, either.
"Hollander, use swords dance," she shouted. If Gabrielle was trying to boost her pokemon's stats, then they could do the same.
And if it came down to a race, Hollander's attack strength was rising twice as fast as Glaceon was boosting her stats!
"I see, so that's your game, you think we're competing. Well fine, we can change things up," Gabrielle decided. "Ice shard!"
"Glaceon!" Glaceon fired chunks of ice at Hollander, too fast for the heavy pokemon to dodge. The ice burst against their body, but Glaceon's attack stat couldn't compare with Cetitan's, and the attack wasn't nearly as painful.
"Hollander, use anchor shot once more," Alcea ordered.
"Dhelmise!" Hollander whipped their chain forward, slamming their anchor down towards Glaceon quickly.
This time, the attack scored a direct hit. Glaceon was wrapped in the chains, bound tightly and held in place. The anchor crashed down on her head and she screamed in pain, and Gabrielle screamed with her.
But Gabrielle was smiling.
Alcea only had a moment to think about why her opponent was smiling at the fact that her Glaceon got hit by such a powerful move.
"Glaceon!" Gabrielle shouted, tapping into the power of harmonia that Samarra had given her. "Use copycat!"
"Glaceon!" A veil of blue light appeared around Glaceon's body, and chains of ice erupted from the ground. A sculpted anchor of crystal shot towards Hollander, bypassing the barrier, and wrapped around the Dhelmise, tightly squeezing its body.
Both pokemon had bound each other. Now it just became a question of which one would give in first.
Gabrielle's doing quite well, matching Alcea's attacks! But she's still at a bit of a disadvantage having lost one pokemon already. But apparently, she's caught a few trump cards for herself! Will her new pokemon be enough to take down Alcea's team of Grass types? Or will Alcea defeat Gabrielle once again, making it clear who the strongest female trainer at the Pokemon Academy is?