Rafe and Callie are relying on their Medicham and Mienshao to defeat Mason's last pokemon! Only problem is, Jaina's fast asleep! Will Charon be able to fight off both of Mason's maids long enough for his partner to wake up? Whether or not he's capable of doing so, at least Rafe is finally going to understand what Callie has to go through, being the one to do all the work.

KedharS: Callie's really doing her best in this fight, that's for sure!

Hyphenman: Hopefully Rafe can show off some of those awesome skills that made him a member of the Eight Leaders.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1196

"Hey, Ian, what's wrong?" Donoma asked, batting her eyelashes cutely at him. She could tell that something was bothering him, and was eager to make use of this opportunity to score some brownie points.

"No, it's nothing," Ian mumbled, shaking his head. But it clearly wasn't nothing, so Donoma kept pushing.

"Oh, come on, it's fine, you can tell me," she said.

Ian sighed. He didn't want to worry anyone if his suspicions proved unfounded, but at the same time he thought that maybe it would be good if they were all on the same page. If he was right, well… it would pay for the others to know. "Well, it's just… those two are fighting a tag battle, right? Kind of, I mean. Callie and Rafe are, anyway."

"Yeah, what about it?" Alden asked curiously.

"So… you know how when you lose a battle against someone controlled by Samarra, then she takes control of you?" Ian asked.

"Uh-huh," Donoma nodded, not sure where he was going with this.

"Well, Callie and Rafe only have one pokemon left each, right? So… what if one of them loses their last pokemon, but the other doesn't?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," Raizer admitted. Tag battles weren't really his forte, he was more the type to rely on his Zeraora to take down anyone who was standing in his way.

But Donoma got it. A shadow crossed over her face. "…You're right. That would be a problem, wouldn't it?"

"What? What would?!" Chloe was starting to panic now. She'd only been half-following the conversation, trying to pay attention to the battle, but now it looked like things were getting really serious.

"Rafe and Callie have to beat Mason in order to free him from Samarra's control," Ian explained. "But what if one of them loses their last pokemon before that happens? Would they become possessed by Samarra as well? Even if their partner manages to win?"

That question hung in the air over their heads, and everyone was forced to look at the battle from a new light.

The idea of a tag battle seemed like a good one; Callie and Rafe had access to a maximum of six pokemon each, after all. Plus, twice the thinking power compared to Mason, who would have to give out orders to both his pokemon while Callie and Rafe just needed to focus on one pokemon each. But it didn't play out that way. And now that Ian had pointed them out, they actually had less pokemon to rely on! In an average battle, even a double battle, one side could afford to lose a maximum of five pokemon. As long as the last pokemon they had was still standing, it was a victory.

But a tag battle was different. If Mason was down to his last pokemon, then he was still fighting. But if Callie or Rafe, who'd only used three pokemon apiece, if their team was knocked down to their last pokemon…

…Well, that meant one of them lost. And if one of them lost… then wouldn't that person be possessed by Samarra? It stood to reason, given what they'd all experienced about Samarra's abilities.

What had started as a possible advantage was now staring everyone in the face as a huge downside; neither trainer could afford to let their last pokemon faint!

…And given the fact that one of the pokemon was already asleep, that didn't bode well.

"Isn't…" Chloe mumbled, turning pale behind her mask, "isn't this… really, really bad?"

Everyone focused on the battlefield again. If Samarra's power worked the way Ian suggested… they had a feeling they would soon find out for themselves.

"Maika, use shadow ball!" Mason ordered. "Tohru, use dazzling gleam!"

"Froslass!" Maika raised her hands, forming an orb of shadowy energy that she aimed at Charon. At the same time, Tohru began to concentrate her powers and her eyes started to glow as she prepared to release a burst of fairy light across the battlefield.

Rafe had to think fast, which was definitely not something he was used to. He usually took his battles a lot more casually. But he had to support his sister right now, and Jaina was still asleep. If the Mienshao couldn't protect herself, then he would have to.

"Charon, get in front of Jaina and use protect," he ordered.

"Medicham," Charon nodded. He used his powerful legs to leap over to Jaina, planting himself down in front of her and raising his arms to create a barrier of magenta light around his body, swallowing up Jaina as well. The shield blocked the incoming shadow ball and the dazzling gleam bounced off the barrier as well, protecting the two pokemon from the attacks.

"Alright, Rafe!" Callie cheered. "Nice work!"

"I just thought I'd buy some time," Rafe grinned. "Hopefully Jaina will wake up before the barrier comes down."

Callie hoped so too. Jaina would have been able to easily protect them both with her wide guard if she'd been awake, which wouldn't have required the two pokemon to spend this much time on the defensive. But there was nothing she could do about that. After all, she was still under the effects of the sleep powder.

Unfortunately, Jaina was still asleep when the barrier dropped, which meant they couldn't do anything as Mason began his next wave of attacks.

"Prepare a blizzard, Maika," Mason ordered. He was looking forward to freezing both pokemon solid. "And Tohru, while she's doing that, prep a calm mind."

He didn't need to overwhelm them with moves. It was a two-on-one battle for all intents and purposes, which meant that he could take his time and boost one pokemon up while the other laid the hurt on his opponents.

Rafe narrowed his eyes. "Well, if that's how you want to do things… Charon, use zen headbutt on the Froslass!"

"Medicham!" Charon tucked his head down and dashed forward, startling Mason. After all the talk about defending Callie and her Mienshao, he was just going to turn his back on them!?

"So you're abandoning your little sister?" Mason growled. "I should have figured a guy like you would do something like that! Maika!"

"Froslass!" Maika flung her hands forward, sending a blizzard at Charon. Charon braced himself against the cold winds, ignoring the chilling ice as best he could. He still kept his head down, as well. In fact, he was even picking up speed.

"Medicham!" Charon shouted, focusing his psychic powers into his head. He slammed headfirst into Maika, and the Froslass coughed out in surprise. Apparently, even as a ghost, she was capable of having the air knocked out of her lungs.

Maika crumped from the force of the zen headbutt and Mason doubled over in pain, coughing himself. That was an incredibly powerful attack.

"I have your psychic terrain to thank for that one," Rafe grinned. "It boosts the power of Psychic type moves, after all."

"Tohru!" Mason coughed out. "Use moonblast! Now!"

"Hatterene!" Tohru's eyes began to glow pink, and she fired a massive blast of fairy energy. But Charon wasn't the target. The attack was aimed at Jaina!

"No! Jaina!" Callie shouted. She was still sleeping in the grass. She wouldn't be able to dodge!

"You got too far away from your partner," Mason smirked. "And now she's going to take some serious damage!"

"Charon!" Rafe shouted to his Medicham. "Use ally switch!"

"Medicham!" Charon began to glow magenta and he used his psychic powers to swap places with Jaina, putting him right in the path of the incoming moonblast. Because of the urgency he'd used the move, however, he didn't have the time to prepare anything else; no dodging, no protect or detect, not even a light screen. He took the blow head-on, and rocketed backwards across the battlefield.

"You good, Charon?" Rafe called, like it didn't matter that his pokemon got hit with a super-effective move from a special attacker with bloated stat boosts.

And apparently it didn't, because Charon hopped to his feet, barely injured by the attack.

"Medicham!" Charon coughed out. His body was already starting to glow.

"Good work, partner," Rafe said to his pokemon. "Go ahead and use recover to restore your health, you'll need it."

"Medicham," Charon nodded. He was healing himself, but with the amount of damage he'd taken from that moonblast it was like putting a band-aid on a severed limb.

"Rafe, are you sure that's a good idea?" Callie asked, looking worriedly at Jaina. From where she'd landed after Charon's ally switch, she was very vulnerable; she could really use some support from Charon to keep her safe.

"You should listen to your little sister," Mason smirked. "You did just fling her Fighting type pokemon into my territory; and my maids despise intruders! Tohru, use your psychic powers to dispose of this layabout!"

"Hatterene," Tohru nodded obediently. Her eyes flashed and a pink aura appeared around Jaina as she was lifted into the air.

"Jaina!" Callie shouted, looking desperately between her pokemon and her brother. She'd been counting on Rafe to support her, but he was just having Charon heal himself!

"Don't worry," Rafe assured Callie with a smile. "I told you, I'm not abandoning you. I trust that you and Jaina will be able to pull this off."

"I trust that you'll be able to pull this off."

How many times had Callie heard those words coming from her big brother's lips? It was what he always said when he wanted her to do something for him. He always left the hardest jobs to her, damn it, and she hated him for it!

But before she could scream and chew him out, a different scream caught her ear.

"Jaina!" She gasped, her eyes widening.

Jaina was thrashing in the air, her eyes open. Apparently the pain from Tohru's psychic attack had finally caused her to awaken.

Now they were getting somewhere.

"Jaina!" Callie shouted, catching her pokemon's attention. Jaina may not have understood where she was or what she was doing in the fog of just waking up from the sleep powder, but hearing her trainer's voice let her know that this was a fight, and she should respond.

"You're trapped, Jaina!" Callie called to her Mienshao. "Use detect to get out of there!"

"Mien," Jaina nodded, focusing her mind. She slipped free of the psychic grasp by making her body as fluid as water, planting her hands on the grass as she landed and flipping away. The attack had injured her, but she was more than capable of keeping up the fight.

"Nicely done, little sister," Rafe smiled. "I knew I could count on you."

"You flung Jaina to the wolves," Callie snarled.

"Would you rather she be hit by that moonblast? I did the best I could," Rafe said, raising his eyebrow curiously.

Callie muttered under her breath, knowing he was right but loathe to say it. "Whatever!" She spat. "Let's just do this thing!"

Now that they had two pokemon capable of fighting again, they could really go all-out.

"I like that plan," Rafe nodded with a smile. "Charon! Use fire punch on that Froslass!"

"Medicham!" Charon's hand began to burn and he dashed forward, raising his fist and swinging it at Maika.

Mason was too quick for him, though. "Maika, use double team!" He ordered.

"Froslass!" Maika raised her hands and filled the battlefield with several copies of herself, making it difficult for Charon to find the right pokemon. He looked around for the correct Froslass as Mason cackled.

"What do you think? This is the perfect result of my pokemon's techniques," Mason boasted. "Using double team, I can create an entire army of perfect maids!"

Callie rolled her eyes in disgust. Rafe just smiled.

"You think it's going to be difficult to spot the original, but as someone who uses Psychic type pokemon, you know it's not that easy," Rafe said. "Charon just needs to use his psychic powers, and he should easily be able to find the real Froslass."

"Yeah, nice going, big brother!" Callie beamed. Charon was even capable of fighting in his sleep; finding the real Froslass in a sea of fakes should be easy! And in the meantime, Callie could focus on the other one…

"Okay, Jaina!" Callie called to her Mienshao. "Our target is that Hatterene, alright? Let's get her with some acrobatics so she can't stop us with her psychic powers! Agility!"

"Mienshao," Jaina nodded. She dashed towards the Hatterene and picked up speed, using her agility to run circles around Tohru as the pokemon remained rooted in place, trying to follow Jaina's movements with her eyes.

When Tohru finally thought she'd spotted the real Jaina, she was struck in the back. Jaina was moving so fast it was just her afterimage!

More attacks followed. Jaina assaulted Tohru from all sides as the slender pokemon tried to mount a defense. Mason scowled. He didn't like his maids being bullied! He was about to give an order to stop this, when he felt something burning in his chest.

"Wha-"

"FROSLAAAAASS!" Maika wailed, her duplicates melting into snow as Charon's fiery fist burned into her chest.

"Found you," Rafe smiled.

"Medicham!" Charon raised his other hand, preparing a second fire punch. But Maika slipped away before he could hit her with it.

"Oh, no you don't!" Mason growled, narrowing his eyes. "Maika, use confuse ray!"

"Froslass!" Maika's eyes began to glow with the colors of the rainbow and an eerie orb appeared in the air, moving erratically towards the Medicham. Charon paused, his attention captured by the orb's strange movements.

"Uh-oh," Callie winced. Confusion wasn't where they wanted to be right now. But at least Jaina wasn't-

"Mienshao!" Jaina cried. She rolled backwards, hopping to her feet.

"Jaina?! What's wrong?!" Callie asked. She'd only taken her eyes off her pokemon for a second.

"Mien… Mienshao…" Jaina panted, glaring at Tohru.

The Hatterene's body was covered in shimmering rainbow fire. Callie recognized the move immediately thanks to her brother.

"That's mystical fire!" She gasped. So that's what got Jaina. She Fighting type pokemon's paws were burning just making contact with her opponent!

"Quite a useful move," Mason said. "Discourages close-quarters combat. Of course, if you'd like to fire another aura sphere, there's not much we can do about that…"

He was goading her and she knew it. She growled at him and narrowed her eyes. Like hell she was going to use an aura sphere against a Psychic/Fairy type pokemon! But he was right, it was too risky to have Jaina go in for some close-quarters combat.

She needed to be smart about this…

"Jaina!" She called to her Mienshao. "Use swift!"

"Mienshao!" Jaina nodded, raising her hands to create a curtain of energy stars around her body. She swung her arm and sent the wave of stars flying at the Hatterene.

Mason laughed. "Swift? Really? Swift? The trump card of the desperate! An attack like that won't do anything, not when we've got power like this! Tohru, use mystical fire!"

"Hatterene!" Tohru's eyes were glowing and she directed the curtain of fire surrounding her body to engulf the incoming stars, dispelling them easily.

"Now, Rafe!" Callie shouted. It was working perfectly!

"Medicham!"

Rafe didn't even need to give the order, his pokemon was already responding to it easily. Charon ran towards Tohru with his fist raised. His entire arm was covered in fire.

"Your Medicham can still move?!" Mason sputtered in disbelief.

"Remember when your Liligant used teeter dance, and you used your harmonia to overcome the confusion?" Rafe asked. "Did you think you had a monopoly on using willpower to fight against confusion?"

"But… But that's not…" Mason couldn't believe what he was hearing. It shouldn't have been possible to fight against confusion just by wanting it badly enough!

"Medicham is the meditation pokemon," Rafe calmly explained. "Every day Charon focuses his mental strength to prevent himself from getting confused. It's not the same as Own Tempo, but trust me, if the battle matters enough to him, he knows how to get it done when the situation requires it! And I don't think your mystical fire will have much impact on a pokemon whose fist is already burning!"

"Hatterene!" Tohru wailed in pain as Charon's burning fist slammed into her face. She was sprawled out across the ground in seconds.

"Maika!" Mason roared, clutching his burning cheek.

"Froslass!" Maika surged across the battlefield, her body covered in ghostly energy. Charon whirled around just in time to get a face full of shadow ball.

"Medi-!" Charon clutched his face and stumbled back.

"No, Charon!" Callie cried. That was the one problem with the strategy. It put Charon at risk with Jaina being too far away to help. She turned to her Mienshao, but Jaina was already running across the battlefield, using her agility to close the distance.

"Icicle crash," Mason quickly ordered. Maika turned her attention from Charon to Jaina, sending a wave of icicles crashing down on the Fighting type. Jaina was able to evade the rain of missiles, but they created a barrier between her and her partner.

"Now, Tohru, before he can recover!" Mason shouted to his Hatterene. "Hit him with your strongest moonblast!"

Tohru had taken some decent damage from the fire punch. But unfortunately for Charon, it wasn't as much as he had hoped for. She wasn't put out of commission for nearly long enough, and raised her head, her eyes glowing brightly.

A massive blast of fairy energy slammed into the Medicham, knocking him into the wall of icicles and smashing it down.

"Medi…" Charon struggled to stand, and Jaina rushed to his side. But before she could get there, and before he could rise to his feet on his own, Maika struck.

It was just a simple shadow ball. But Maika put everything she had into it. It hit the Medicham in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Charon coughed out and collapsed.

Callie was stunned. She hadn't expected Rafe's pokemon to go down that easily. Charon was so skilled, and he'd performed so well at the beginning. But Mason's pokemon had still managed to overwhelm him with their waves of attacks like it was nothing.

Now she'd have to face them both herself? The thought of that made her shiver. She clenched her fist and felt a surge of pain in her ribs. Could she… could she really beat both of Mason's pokemon, even as weakened as they were?

She looked to her brother for a sign, searching for any hint of what she should do next. What she saw made her gasp.

Oh? What could be going on? With Rafe's Medicham defeated so abruptly, Callie finds herself in a rather dangerous position. If only Charon hadn't exerted himself so much trying to protect Jaina earlier, the outcome of this match might have been different. But there's no use worrying about that now, what we should be focusing on is how to defeat Mason's powerful maids!