Val's already lost her first pokemon against Gwen! And while she clearly has a strategy of SOME sort, it's hard to imagine what that could be… what's she after here? And why isn't she taking this fight seriously? She's a pretty terrible person all things considered, so it's a bit of a pity that we can't root for Gwen to smack her around. Instead we have to root for her. Yeesh. Well, hopefully she's not just fighting for shits and giggles and actually has a plan to win. Remember to review!
KedharS: Anything involving Gwen inevitably results in people being in for a rough time, that's one of the sad facts of being Gwen.
Hyphenman: Oh, Val definitely has a plan. Now, whether or not that plan goes past "piss Gwen off through constant needling and mockery" that remains to be seen. As for her secret weapon, don't worry. When it's time to reveal what that is, everything will become clear.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1233
"Okay then, here's one that'll really give you a run for your money- Elesdee, why don't you come and say hello?" Val purred, throwing out her next pokeball.
"Muk!" Elesdee bellowed, landing in the grass. Her unusual color pattern surprised everyone.
"That's a Muk?" Olivia asked, raising her eyebrow.
"It's… not AS disgusting as other ones," Lila said, though she still made a face like she was sick to her stomach. "It's… almost pretty…"
"It's different from Kate's," Alcea said. "A regional difference, is it?"
"It's an Alolan Muk," Donoma explained. Everyone looked to her as the expert on Poison type pokemon. "The garbage that it eats causes its body to take on a rather strange color pattern."
"Unlike regular Muk that secrete poison throughout their body, those crystals sticking out of it are condensed chunks of poison," Willa informed everyone. "You don't want to touch those, I can tell you that much."
She wore a wicked expression on her face. Nobody wanted to ask how a girl who specialized in making medicine knew so much about deadly poisons.
"Elesdee's one of my favs," Val informed her opponent with a chipper smile. "See, she reminds me SOOOO much of one of my besties! Because she's covered in toxic sludge, I mean. Not to mention how she just digs into trash like it's going out of style…"
Val sighed, swooning a little.
"Of course, unlike regular icky Muk, Elesdee's pretty enough with those beautiful colors, so it's not a perfect one to one, you know?" She shrugged. "But still, I'm a sympathetic gal at heart, so I couldn't help but have a little something to remember her by…"
The wicked gleam in her eye was quite informative as to the nature of Val's… attachment to her pokemon. Gwen shivered.
She didn't like bullies. Well, she didn't like being around other people in general, but bullies were the absolute worst. She could still remember the torment she'd gone through in her childhood, how much the other students at school would pick on her. If not for her big brother, she might have ended her life at that point… but instead, she'd made it through, and now…
Now she was fighting against Val.
With Samarra's assistance, Gwen could really get a read on the nature of Valerie Chiester, and the other girl was as horrid as Gwen had assumed. She was a terrible person who delighted in tormenting others, and it made Gwen feel sick.
She was going to pay.
"Tesla!" Gwen shouted, focusing her harmonia. Her hair stood on end and tiny rocks and leaves started to float up around her. "Use miracle eye!"
"Beheeyem!" Tesla's eyes flashed and he raised his hands. Elesdee froze, startled.
"Well, that's a move I didn't expect," Rafe said, raising his eyebrow curiously. "Though… I suppose if that girl's fighting against a team Dark type pokemon, it's the best move to use."
"Why? What does it do?" Rui asked.
"Normally, Dark type pokemon are immune to Psychic type moves," Maddi explained. "That's why that Val girl has such an advantage over Kanone's sister. But miracle eye negates that immunity. It makes Psychic type moves affect Dark type pokemon normally."
Donoma gasped. "That's not good! Without the Dark type's natural immunity to Psychic type moves, that Muk will be vulnerable!"
As a Poison/Dark type pokemon, Elesdee had very few weaknesses. Her only vulnerability was to Ground type moves. That was no longer the case. Now that she could be hit by Psychic type moves, she was like any other Poison type pokemon.
"Oh, no!" Val gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. "Whatever will we do?! …Oh, wait, I know. Elesdee, use dark pulse."
"Muk!" Elesdee bellowed, opening her mouth wide. She fired a blast of dark energy at the Beheeyem, who ducked out of the way. Floating as he was, Tesla was able to easily avoid the attack, while preparing a move of his own.
"She dodged it!" Chloe winced. Not good. One of the advantages Val had over Gwen was that Gwen wasn't giving her pokemon orders to do anything but attack. Now it seemed that her pokemon were thinking more clearly and actually using their heads.
"Psybeam," Gwen said, narrowing her eyes into a cold glare.
"Beheeyem!" Tesla fired a rainbow beam of psychic energy at the Muk, hitting her directly.
"MUK!" Elesdee wailed in pain, sliding back across the grass. She glared furiously at the Beheeyem and scuttled towards her.
"We won't take that!" Val said, puffing up her cheeks indignantly. "Elesdee, use crunch!"
"Muk!" Elesdee opened her mouth and tried to bite down on Tesla. But the floating pokemon was too quick for her, teleporting out of the way.
"Oh, pish!" Val pouted, stomping her foot in frustration.
Lila scowled. She could tell that Val was trying to be "cutesy". She'd seen her own face in the mirror enough times to recognize when someone was putting on a performance. But what was this girl after? She wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
"Excellent work, Guinevere," Samarra praised her little sister. "Keep going just like that." The reason for Gwen's change in tactics was because her sister was forcing more of her own will onto the other girl. She had no intention of letting Gwen be defeated so easily. Her sister relied on the overwhelming power of her harmonia, but Samarra could tell that wouldn't be good enough. So she gave her sister all the support she needed.
The results were excellent!
"Beheeyem!" Tesla cried, his body glowing with green light. Elesdee began to glow as well, and she was lifted up into the air by the other pokemon's psychic powers.
"That's not good," Ian winced.
"Muk!" Elesdee squirmed against the psychic force holding her immobile, but as a sentient puddle of sludge there was very little she could do to maintain her bearings. Not that Val seemed particularly interested in helping her, either.
"Go on then," Val yawned. "What are you waiting for? Just DO it already."
"M-Muk," Elesdee agreed, sighing. She slumped over and the psychic energy holding her in the air dissipated. The pile of poison fell to the ground, where she lay in a puddle, unconscious.
"Wh-What?" Donoma was surprised. While she knew that a Poison type pokemon would be vulnerable against Psychic type moves, that shouldn't have been enough to knock the Muk OUT! Elesdee was almost at full health!
"Why did she faint?!" Chloe asked.
"Well, you were good for something in the end," Val sneered, recalling Elesdee to her pokeball. "And that's a lot more than can be said for MOST Poison type pokemon… and their trainers. Especially the ugly ones with greasy hair who smell like sewage."
Donoma scowled. If she wasn't trying to be on her best behavior she might have smacked the girl across the face. Not that SHE was an ugly Poison type trainer, of couse. But it was the principle of the matter! The other thing that stayed her hand was the fact that Val was (nominally) fighting on their side at the moment.
Donoma might have been reckless enough to forego wearing protection every once and a while for the thrill of it, but even she had enough self-preservation to not pick a fight with the only person standing between her and being brainwashed.
"She used memento." It was Vic who said that, to everyone's surprise.
"Memento?" Chloe asked. "Wait, I know, that move, it…"
"It causes the user to faint," Kanone said. "And in return, the enemy pokemon has its offensive stats greatly reduced."
He frowned.
"But I've never heard of a trainer using memento when their pokemon was still completely healthy," he growled.
"It is what it is," Val chirped. "Now then Beel, you're up next!"
"Grimmsnarl!" Beel roared, emerging from his pokeball. Now things were getting somewhere. Val's other pokemon weren't as intimidating as this one was. Gwen winced. She felt the strength drain from her body. Because Tesla had been on the receiving end of the memento, her link to her pokemon had caused her own strength to begin to lapse.
But that could be settled… all she had to do was recall her pokemon, and he'd be perfectly fine, right? That was easy enough.
"Return," Gwen said, moving to call Tesla back to his pokeball.
"Oh? Where are you going?" Val asked, narrowing her eyes. "Don't think I'll let you leave the party just like that!"
"Grimm!" Beel charged at Tesla as he was being absorbed by the pokeball's light, much to Gwen's surprise. The Grimmsnarl raised his claw, filling it with dark energy. He struck with full power, hitting the pokemon before he could fully get away. The attack was devastating and Gwen stumbled back, clutching her chest.
Tesla fainted inside the pokeball, overwhelmed by the power of the move.
"Pursuit," Ian said. "…Good move."
"So that's why she used memento," Kanone said, shaking his head. "By severely weakening Gwen's pokemon, she was forced to call him back. That woman took advantage of that to use pursuit in order to finish him off."
"But that makes no sense!" Raizer groaned, scratching his head in confusion. "Why even send the Muk in at all, then? Just send out that dude to begin with and power through it! This isn't making any sense at all!"
Raizer may have been an idiot, but he raised a good point. No one was sure why Val tossed aside her Muk so easily just so she could finish off a pokemon who probably would have fainted from a good hit by the Grimmsnarl in the first place.
Kanone scowled. There was something very wrong going on here. He just didn't know what.
Gwen clutched her breast, trying to calm down her heart. Pain blossomed through her skull as she regained her focus, working hard to even out her breathing.
Calm down… gotta… calm down… she reminded herself. She'd only lost one pokemon. She still had others.
"Relic," Gwen said, sending out her next pokemon. It was a Bronzor. The thin mirror pokemon hovered in the air, zigzagging around her. Immediately they created a barrier using reflect to protect themselves from Beel's attacks.
"Oh, nice," Val whistled. "A Steel type pokemon to combat my Fairy type, good choice."
"WHAT?!" Lila exclaimed, her jaw dropping. "That… that pokemon is a FAIRY type?!"
"Aren't you the expert on Fairy type pokemon?" Maddi asked, raising her eyebrow at the idol. Lila's face turned red with shame.
"W-Well, yes, but… Fairy type pokemon, they're… well, you know! They're cute! That thing's scary and mean!" She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly.
Darla rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wondered why her partner was like this.
"Well, not much I can do against that barrier," Val sighed. "Beel, I guess we've got no choice but to surrender, huh?"
"Grimm," Beel nodded, kneeling in the grass and lowering his head.
Gwen blinked, surprised. She hadn't expected it to be so easy. But then… she didn't really understand the niceties of interactions. So maybe this was just one of those things that went over her head? Well, whatever it was, it was clear that her opponent's pokemon was surrendering, so she should just finish him off now.
"Gyro ball," she ordered.
"Bronz," Relic bobbed up, spinning through the air like a Frisbee. As they spun they increased in speed and their thin body sharpened like a blade. They were just about to his Beel…
Then, Beel raised his head, a maniacal gleam in his eye. His hair shot out and pierced through the reflect, tangling around the Bronzor and wrapping them up, much to the mirror pokemon's confusion. Relic tried to break out of the tangle of hair, but they couldn't.
"Of course you fell for it!" Val cackled, doubling over with laughter. "There's NO ONE more gullible than you, Gwenny, assuming you understand what's going on! You didn't even realize that it was a trap!" She turned to Samarra. "Now, her I can understand, but even YOU?"
Samarra said nothing. She had mentally urged Gwen not to fall for such an obvious trap, but her sister had ignored her. It seemed that even with their connection Gwen wouldn't perfectly follow her orders. And that was a problem.
"Now then," Val mused, tapping her chin. "What to do about this Bronzor? Oh, I know! Beel, throw it away!"
"Grimmsnarl!" Beel nodded. He whipped his head let the Bronzor go, tossing him through the air. Relic quickly righted themselves, though, before they crashed into a tree.
Gwen was incensed. Her harmonia flared with rage. "Flash cannon!" She roared, putting all of her negative feelings into her Bronzor's attack. Relic began to glow, channeling sunlight through their reflective body and focusing it into a single point. They fired the laser at Beel, hitting the Grimmsnarl directly.
"…Well, I suppose that's gotta count for something," Val mocked. "Beel, did that sting?"
"Grimm," Beel scoffed, unfazed by the attack to Gwen's shock. She put everything she had into that attack!
"Bronzor have decent defenses, but when it comes to offensive power there's not a lot they can do," Keahi said, scowling. "That girl might have a lot of strength from her harmonia, but I suppose that Grimmsnarl is just more powerful."
"Well, I guess you'll have to try harder then," Val shrugged. "If you get the chance, that is. In the meantime? Beel, use parting shot!"
"Grimmsnarl," Beel said, cackling. He glared up at Relic and muttered words that caught the Bronzor's… um… ears, I guess? Maybe? Well, it could hear somehow, anyway.
Normally, Gwen would not understand the context of what was going on. But right now, connected to her sister, she could finally comprehend when she was being insulted… and it made her scream in furious rage.
Parting shot was supposed to reduce the target's attack and special attack by one stage each, but Gwen's fury might have resulted in the opposite effect. Either way, though, Beel wouldn't be there to see the results- he was already returning to his pokeball.
"Come out Sindra," Val purred, licking her lips.
"INCINEROAR!" Sindra roared, emerging from his pokeball and beating his chest furiously. He tore across the grass as he ran towards the Bronzor.
"Relic!" Gwen cried, flinching slightly from the attack. Her pokemon didn't have much power, but she could still protect him with reflect.
"Bronzor!" Relic created another barrier. This one fared better than the last, fending off Sindra's claws as the Incineroar lashed against it.
"Still hiding behind your barriers, I see? That won't do at all, Gwenny, don't you know?" Val batted her eyelashes. "Your brother likes the type of girl who's tough an independent. A gal like me, you know?" She held her hand over her chest.
Gwen seethed, burning with fury.
"I never told you this, did I?" Val asked. "Just how close Blake and I became, at Mt. Silver."
Hiromi gasped. She finally realized where she recognized the dark-haired girl from. "It's YOU! I thought you looked familiar! You were the one who attacked Aya and Blake over Christmas!"
Val rolled her eyes. "Wow, did it take you all three of your brain cells to put that one together? Pleasure to meet you again!"
She put on a saccharine smile that enraged Hiromi. "You… you came into MY home, and attacked MY family, and now-!"
"And now I'm fighting to HELP you," Val snorted, rolling her eyes. "Stop living in the past, loli momma, we've got more important things to think about."
"Wh-What did you just call me?!" Hiromi's face turned red in confusion and shock.
It fits, Olivia thought, resisting the urge to burst out laughing. She'd thought exactly the same from the moment she met Ayame's mom.
Okay yeah that's the perfect nickname, Donoma thought, doing her absolute best to keep up her good girl routine.
I hate to admit it, but… it's kinda fitting… Chloe was the sweetest person in the world, and even she couldn't help noting the accuracy of Val's insult.
Val sighed, scratching her hair. "Where was I…? Oh, right. Mt. Silver. Blake and I. We got together aaaalll nice and snug in bed."
She licked her lips. "It was phenomenal."
What happened next nearly made Samarra sever her connection with Gwen then and there. She was knocked over, overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion from her little sister. And thanks to the fact that she still had Ayame's memories, she knew just how justified Gwen's outrage really was.
"WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOO!?" Gwen roared, nearly tearing a crater in the village with the force of her harmonia.
Val cackled with mad laughter.
Ah, perfect. I just knew you wouldn't let me down, Gwenny! Just a little more…
Uh-oh. Val did the no-no thing. Don't talk about Blake while Gwen's present! It's not a good idea! And yet she just can't help herself. Hopefully Val bringing up her… ahem… well, let's be clear here, Val sexually assaulted Blake and was about ready to rape him. Yup. Doesn't get more direct than that. Gwen probably won't take that revelation lying down. We'll see if Val knows what she's doing, or if she's bitten off more than she can chew.
