I'd like to take a moment to address the flurry of disgusting reviews that were left on this story over the last 24 hours. That sort of behavior is horrid and will not be tolerated. I've already blocked that person, but unfortunately, I can't delete their reviews. The best thing we can do to solve the situation is just have more people review, and eventually bury those disgusting statements. And anyone thinking of doing something similar, just know that it will NOT be tolerated. That's all. Now, back to the fight between Val and Gwen!

KedharS: Yeah, that's kinda her thing.

Guest: I'd bet she's keeping that one in her back pocket for a rainy day. Can't wait to see what the result of that would be.

Jjjdunk1: Yep. You can always count on Val to make everything so much worse.

Gyvarius: Yup, Val is certainly a monster. One of the worst in the story.

Thunder Fire: That's certainly a possibility.

Hyphenman: Yeah Val is morally repugnant, and every moment she's onscreen is supposed to make you hate her. At the same time, we need her to beat Gwen, so she can be freed from Samarra's control. Quite a pickle, hmm?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1234


Val couldn't hear Gwen's furious howls over the sound of her own laughter. But she didn't have to. This was exactly what she was hoping for. Gwen was so easy to push around and manipulate, all it took was mentioning her beloved older brother and she was putty in Val's hands.

This is even easier than normal! Thank god for Samarra being able to communicate directly with Gwen! If not for her, little Gwenny wouldn't understand half the things I'm saying to her! Val thought with a smirk.

"BRONZOR!" Relic roared with anger, spinning furiously towards Sindra. They were just as enraged as their trainer was, and of course Gwen wasn't thinking of recalling them back to their pokeball, even if they couldn't do anything to Sindra with Psychic type moves and their Steel type moves were also of limited effectiveness.

Which was just what Val wanted.

"Brick break," she ordered.

"Incineroar!" Sindra raised his fist and delivered a powerful punch that smashed right through the reflect, hitting Relic cleanly on the other side. Relic spun out in pain as Gwen stumbled back, clutching her cheek.

Val wasn't even close to being done, though.

"Keep going, Sindra," she purred. "Darkest lariat!"

"Incineroar!" Sindra leapt after Relic, raising his arm. Dark energy surged through his bicep as he flexed his muscles, and he struck Relic with everything he had.

The Bronzor didn't stand a chance. Their dented body bounced off the grass and rolled to a stop at Gwen's feet, unconscious.

"Urraaaah!" Gwen didn't let her anger abate for even a second. She recalled Relic to their pokeball immediately, sending out her next pokemon without missing a beat.

"Anthony!" She shouted.

"Whoa, what pokemon is that?" Giselle asked, intrigued.

The pokemon Gwen had sent out next was another human-shaped pokemon like her Gallade. But unlike Lancelot, Anthony didn't wield swords. Instead, his body was covered in bulky golden armor and he wore a helmet like that of a knight, with a tuft of flame billowing out of the top.

"It's an Armarouge," Kanone stated. "A powerful fire warrior."

"So it's a Fire/Psychic type," Maddi guessed. It was pretty obvious to tell from the pokemon's appearance.

Kanone nodded.

"What's this? Is our sheltered little princess relying on another knight to save her?" Val cooed, licking her lips. "That's just darling. Well, if that's how you want it, Sindra and I will be happy to oblige you by playing the villains! Go, Sindra, bulk up!"

"Incineroar!" Sindra flexed his muscles, causing them to bulge as he pumped himself up, raising his physical attack and defense.

"Anthony… aura sphere!" Gwen snarled, narrowing her eyes. Her harmonia flared up, and with it the flame on Anthony's helmet began to burn even more intensely. The Armarouge's pauldrons shifted down to cover his hands and he clasped them together, forming what looked like a makeshift cannon on his arms.

An orb of energy formed at the mouth of the cannon, and Anthony fired the aura sphere at Sindra while the feline pokemon was flexing.

"…Well that's a surprise," Val whistled, raising her eyebrow. Sindra made no move to dodge; after all, aura sphere was guaranteed to hit. But Val didn't seem worried. If anything, she was intrigued by how large of an aura sphere Anthony had created!

"Incineroar!" Sindra cried in pain as the attack hit. The aura sphere exploded and sent him flying backwards. Fortunately, he was a cat, and thus could be counted on to land on his feet. He growled angrily at Anthony.

"Guinevere has watched so many of your battles, Valerie," Samarra said, walking over and stroking Gwen's cheek. If she noticed the way her sister flinched at her touch, then it didn't bother her. "But you only think about yourself. You never pay attention to the skills of others, and that's why you have no idea just what Guinevere's pokemon are capable of."

"Oh, please," Val snorted, rolling her eyes. "Give me a break. Like that girl has any right to talk about selfishness, Miss 'I only think about my big brother'. No, the reason I don't know what any of Gwenny's other pokemon are capable of is because she has such a sick obsession with her Gallade that she never uses anything else!"

Gwen twitched, her harmonia flaring up again. "Anthony!" She shook Samarra off and focused on her pokemon, making sure that this next attack would be a savage one.

"That pokemon's body is covered in armor, but in spite of that its special attack is incredibly high," Kanone noted. "As for that Incineroar…"

Anthony created a second aura sphere, which he fired at Sindra. Again, the feline pokemon didn't try to dodge, but he made another move instead.

He charged headfirst into it.

"We won't back down so easily," Val smirked. "That's the difference between you and me, Gwenny. You're so attached to your pokemon because they're your only friends, but me… I make my friends in the real world, with actual people."

"Incineroar!" Sindra took the attack head on, covering his body with dark energy to stave off the effects of the aura sphere. It had minimal effect. He managed to keep from being knocked over, but it was clear he sustained a significant amount of damage. But either way, he forced himself through the attack and came out the other side, charging right for Anthony.

"Arma!" Anthony gasped, quickly moving to reload another aura sphere. But Sindra was too close now for that to happen.

"In summary, if you let your pokemon take a bit of a beating, it can help you win," Val summarized as Sindra struck Anthony in the throat with a darkest lariat. "I'm sure your older sister will be happy to explain that to you."

Val wasn't wrong. When it came to the value of her pokemon as friends, Samarra thought it was a worthless connection for Gwen. SHE was the only friend Gwen needed, after all. But she couldn't force her sister to understand her side, no matter how hard she tried.

How frustrating!

"You talk of friends, but someone like you doesn't have anyone," Samarra spat. "But you don't need to worry. Once Guinevere and I defeat you, then you and I will share a connection as well. Won't that be lovely?"

"Ah, thanks, but that's not the sort of friendship I'm looking for," Val said, shaking her head. "I'm not the kind of girl who lets someone possess her body, you know? No, for me, a real friend is someone who is always there for me when I need her, someone who can delight me o the fullest with a symphony of suffering and misery of my own making. I've already got a best friend, Sammy, and she's a million times more fun to play with than you are!"

Samarra twitched at Val using her brother's nickname for her. Val seemed to have a talent for getting under her skin as well.

Alcea shook her head in disgust. "Sickening. Absolutely sickening, is it?"

Val rolled her eyes. She had no intention of debating the sophistries of friendship with some do-gooder. There were more important things to handle at the moment.

"Now that we've got the edge," Val said, as Sindra cracked his knuckles, "let's tear that armor off and see what's underneath, shall we?"

"Incineroar," Sindra nodded, raising his claw as he towered over the collapsed Armarouge. Anthony lifted his head just in time to see Sindra's strike drop down upon him.

Then he sprayed a burst of acid in the Incineroar's face.

"Incineroar?!" Sindra called off his attack and stumbled back, rubbing frantically at his eyes as his fur started to burn.

"That was acid spray!" Donoma winced. "And a critical hit, at that!"

"What's acid spray do?" Rui asked, starting to panic. That Incineroar had been winning and now it looked like he was half-dead!

"It's a Poison type move that drastically lowers the special defense of the pokemon who's hit with it," Donoma said grimly. "If you think those aura spheres hurt before, that Incineroar's going to be in some real pain now."

"That's so gross," Lila shivered in disgust. Why did Poison type attacks have to be so icky?! Things would be so much better without them!

Val sighed. "Ah, why am I not surprised to see poison getting in my way? Whatever. Sindra, go wash out your eyes."

"Incineroar," Sindra nodded, shuffling towards the riverbank, much to everyone's surprise.

"Is that Valerie… actually showing concern for her pokemon's well-being?" Hiromi asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"No, it's gotta be because her Incineroar won't be much use if he's blinded," Ian decided.

Whatever the reason was, though, nobody understood the thought process behind it. After all, it wasn't like Sindra's opponent had been defeated. He was leaving himself wide open!

Gwen didn't hesitate for a second. She was lost in her fury, and refused to give Sindra a chance to clean himself.

"FINISH HIM!" She roared, and Anthony formed another aura sphere, firing it at the feline's back. The aura sphere flew across the field and slammed into Sindra just as he reached the riverbank, knocking him into the water.

"Inciner-ughbelugg…" Sindra managed to choke out before he sank into the water. The attack had done incredible damage, and it wasn't like a fire cat knew how to swim.

Val watched him thrash about in the water for a few seconds, as if she was trying to see whether or not he'd be able to pull himself free on his own. He was not able to do so, and sank like a stone. So she recalled him to his pokeball once he lost consciousness.

"What a pity, I expected a better showing," she sighed, shaking her head. "But oh well. I suppose it is what it is, you know? Beel, come back out!"

She was completely nonchalant about the fact that she'd lost half of her pokemon, as if that was exactly what she wanted. So even when her Grimmsnarl emerged, it was hard to tell whether or not Val was hoping he'd win, or just planning on watching him squirm for a little.

"Grimmsnarl!" Beel bellowed, running towards Anthony.

Gwen was quick to change tactics. Aura sphere had been the perfect weapon to use against a pokemon like Sindra, but with Beel's Fairy type, there were other moves in Anthony's arsenal she could rely upon instead.

"Anthony, use flash cannon!" She ordered.

"Armarouge!" Anthony raised his pauldrons into a cannon again and formed a compressed beam of light. He fired it right at the Grimmsnarl. There was no comparison between this attack and the one her Bronzor had used.

"Dodge it," Val ordered. Now that aura sphere was nothing to be concerned with, Beel could easily evade the Armarouge's attacks.

"Grimm!" Beel leapt out of the way as the flash cannon passed right by him, and he continued to charge the armored pokemon, much to Gwen's chagrin.

"It's simple math," Val snorted. "Beel and I can easily see the position of your Armarouge's cannon. So when you take aim and fire, it's easy to guess where the attack will be coming from, and how much effort we need to put in to dodge it, like so!"

To prove her point, Beel dodged a second flash cannon from the Armarouge.

"…Fine then," Gwen snarled. "Anthony! Change it up!"

Anthony slipped his pauldrons back up to his shoulders and began to focus his power, building up fiery energy inside of him. Now that he was facing off against a pokemon he could use Fire type moves on, he was planning to unleash a whopper of one.

"Armarouge!" Anthony erupted with power, sending a wave of lave over the battlefield with his lave plume.

Val wasn't fazed.

"Beel, sucker punch," she ordered.

"Grimmsnarl!" Beel shot across the battlefield, easily evading the lava before it could even land close to him. He reached Anthony in a flash and raised his fist, socking the Armarouge in the jaw before the pokemon even knew what hit him.

"Arma!" Anthony cried in pain and Gwen clutched her cheek. Blood trickled out of her nose. She screamed and Anthony lashed out, sending another blast of flames Beel's way. The attack overwhelmed the Grimmsnarl, forcing him backwards.

"Will-o-wisp," Gwen hissed. An orb of flame danced around Anthony, floating towards Beel and engulfing him before he could dodge. The Grimmsnarl wailed in pain as he was set on fire, his hair beginning to burn.

"With a nasty burn like that it'll be very difficult for that Grimmsnarl to use its physical moves," Willa noted. "Not good for that one."

Val smiled. "Well, sometimes things like that happen," she shrugged. "Beel, use dark pulse!"

"Grimmsnarl!" Beel growled, ignoring his burns and forming a shockwave of dark energy that he released at the Armarouge, slamming into the pokemon and knocking him backwards. But it wasn't a total knockout. Beel stumbled back, roiling from the pain of his wounds.

Gwen didn't miss that.

"Destroy him NOW!" She shouted, stomping her foot. Her harmonia went wild. "NOW, NOW, NOW!"

"Armarouge!" Anthony's pauldrons covered his hands once more, and he raised his arm cannon towards the recoiling Grimmsnarl.

But he didn't fire a blast from the cannon; rather, his pauldrons themselves became the projectiles, soaring through the sky towards the injured pokemon and shining intensely with white-hot heat as they collided with Beel, devastating him with a powerful explosion.

Beel was flung backwards by the force of the blast, rolling across the grass until he crashed to a stop against a tree stump, the same one Val had been using as a bench not too long before. His body twitched for a few moments, but he didn't rise.

Anthony panted and stepped forward, recovering his armor. It was clear that they'd sustained some damage from being used in that manner, but the effects were well worth it. He'd knocked out a second of Val's pokemon.

"Oh, no!" Val gasped. "Woe is me! I've lost ANOTHER pokemon! Well that's just no good, no good at all!"

She said all that with a smile on her face, an the air took on an ominous quality. She called Beel back to his pokeball.

"Now then, what should I do?" Val thought, stroking her chin. "Your pokemon is REALLY tough. And I don't have many options left! Well, I just have to hope that Tyrant will be enough to settle this for me!" She stated, tossing her pokeball into the air.

"TYRANITAR!" Once more, a Tyranitar's roar shook the fields of Agate Village. But Tyrant was nothing like Giraud. There was no focus or control to be seen in that hulking monstrosity. Val had sent him out for one reason, and one reason alone- to cause as much carnage as he could.

Sand streamed out of Tyrant's scales and a massive sandstorm whipped up in seconds, buffeting Anthony. Gwen scraped at her own eyes as she felt the sand sting her pokemon, and could feel the countless tiny cuts beginning to carve their way into him.

But that was nothing compared to the agony of Samarra poking around in her brain. She was already in so much pain just maintaining this connection that something like the sandstorm might as well feel like a refreshing breeze.

"Now… Anthony…" She panted. "Aura sphere… again…"

Blood rolled down her face. She was giving this everything she had. And that's why it was clear to Val that she wouldn't last much longer.

"Your Armarouge is in pretty bad shape," Val noted. "That last attack he used… it took a lot out of him, didn't it? His defenses are shot."

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" Gwen spat. "Anthony… Anthony… Anthony doesn't NEED defense! I… I… I have nothing left… that I would ever care to defend!"

She didn't know where those words had come from. Maybe it was the yawning void in her gut, desperate to express herself, and finally being given the opportunity.

But if she was looking for sympathy, she was fighting the wrong opponent. Val had nothing to give her but more pain.

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "What a pity. A pitiful pokemon and his pitiful trainer. It almost brings a tear of joy to my eye. Tyrant?"

Before Anthony could unleash another aura sphere, Tyrant released an aura of his own. Only his was black and cloying, a shockwave of darkness the rolled across the battlefield and slammed into the Armarouge, knocking him backwards.

Gwen fell down as well, stunned. Anthony had been knocked unconscious from a single move. Even if he'd taken a few hits before, and had his defenses lowered from using armor cannon, the fact that Tyrant was able to knock him out with a single dark pulse spoke volumes about how powerful the Tyranitar was.

That pokemon… he could possibly give Giraud a run for his money… Wes didn't find much pleasure in that estimation. And that… isn't even the most dangerous of her pokemon, either… that's the horrifying part.

Val smirked. "Well, Gwenny? Gonna call on your big strong knight to protect you?" She cooed in a mocking voice. "Or go crying to big brother because the pretty girls are bullying you again?"

If looks could kill Val would have dropped dead on the spot. Gwen didn't send out Lancelot though. Whether it was to spite Val, or because she wanted to give her ace some more time to rest after the beating he'd gone through with Sammy, not even Gwen herself knew due to how twisted her emotional state was.

"Cleopatra!" Gwen shouted, sending out her next pokemon. It was a bird with frilly feathers and long, striped legs. Her body was covered in a myriad of orange, yellow, and purple, and her eyes glowed with an eerie light.

"Espathra, huh?" Val smirked. "Well, fine then."

Just a little more, she thought.

"Just so you know, Gwen… you're running out of time. This is my last pokemon, you know? And then I won't have any choice. I'll have to bring out the big guns!" Val warned.

It looked like there was nothing she'd rather do more.


Well, this battle's been going pretty fast! Val's pokemon are brutal, but Gwen's made some good moves of her own! It's surprising how easily Val's pokemon have gone down, though, they should have an advantage over Gwen's Psychic types! I guess that just shows how strong Gwen really is when she's letting her harmonia go wild!