Here is the final chapter of the battle between Caelia and Alcea! Who will manage to win? The girl with nothing, or the girl with everything?

As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?

Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina, Madison

Hellraiserphoenix: Passion, obsession, they're really quite similar when you think about it.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 223

The light engulfing the battlefield was blinding. When it died down enough for Alcea to see, and the lights stopped flashing in front of her eyes, she took in the awesome sight in front of her, and swallowed.

Hovering above the field was a massive pokemon Alcea had never seen before. It had a large, bulky body covered in white fur. Small blue eyes peered out of a shiny black head, and six large orange-red wings spread out from behind him, radiating heat. The pokemon seemed to be giving off intense light and heat, almost like a living sun. With a beat of its wings, a blast of heat rolled over the battlefield. That's when Alcea realized that it was no longer raining. The sunlight was beating down on them hard, the pokemon using sunny day to illuminate the sky.

"What is that thing?!" Kate cried, a sympathy shared by most members of the audience. Olivia was one of the few not stunned, instead drawn in.

"Volcarona?" Olivia said, raising her eyebrow. "That's quite the powerful pokemon. I've never seen one in person before, I've only ever heard about it in stories. Talk about a trump card."

"Volcarona?" Caelia echoed, staring at Mera's new form with a surprise-filled eye. Mera had been the first pokemon she'd captured, and at the time she hadn't put much thought into him at all. She knew that he probably wasn't fully evolved, but had no idea he would turn into… something like this.

"Mera… you did it for me?" Caelia whispered.

"Vol." Mera glanced back at her for a brief moment, her blue eye meeting his. He turned back to the floating, seaweed-covered shipwreck pokemon, and let out a buzzing wail that seemed to heat up the entire battlefield.

"We need to regain the terrain advantage," Alcea declared, getting back into things quickly. "Rain dance once more, Hollander!"

Hollander wailed, and began waving their anchor around, summoning more rainclouds.

"Volcarona!" Mera buzzed, releasing a stronger blast of light, illuminating the battlefield again.

So she isn't going to give me the rain, is it? Alcea scowled. "Then we shall do without! Hollander, forget the rain! Use phantom force!"

Hollander disappeared from sight, fading into the shadows. Mera slowly floated up and down, waiting for the scuttled debris and seaweed to reappear.

Hollander appeared behind Mera, swinging a large anchor infused with ghostly power. Mera whirled around and took the anchor in the side, crying in pain. But even as he received the attack, his wings began glowing with heat and light, and a blast of hot air released from his wings, hitting Hollander directly.

Hollander shook, letting out a wail of pain. Alcea took in the circumstances and made a quick decision, shouting for Hollander to come back to her side. The ghost pokemon disappeared, reappearing a good distance away from Mera. Alcea could see that they had taken some serious damage from the heatwave, and that the phantom force hadn't dealt as much damage to the Volcarona as she would have liked.

Still, there's something wrong about this. Caelia isn't giving her Volcarona any orders, Alcea noted. I wonder why… she can't be so stunned by her pokemon's evolution that she's gotten distracted…

In truth, Alcea wasn't that far off. It wasn't that Caelia was awed by Mera's evolution, but the fact that, with his evolution, had come a great deal of change to his abilities. Before evolving, Mera had been a tiny, fast little bug pokemon who specialized in getting in close and hitting with physical attacks. And while she had no doubt that this new… Volcarona, was it? Was powerful, far more powerful than Mera, she was still not sure what sort of moves and abilities it had. If Mera had evolved earlier, she could have spent some time training with him. But this was a new experience for the both of them. He had clearly used heat wave just now, and that was a move she knew well. But if she just kept firing the same move over and over again, it would run out of power fast.

"Mera, try flame charge," Caelia suggested.

"Vol," Mera nodded, his white fur igniting with flames as he flew towards the Dhelmise.

"Hollander, beat it back with liquidation!" Alcea ordered. Hollander swung their anchor through the air, water whirling around it into a powerful torrent. They slammed the anchor into Mera, the two attacks colliding. Mera pushed forward, gaining ground with his bulky body, the flames kicking up due to their boost from the sunlight. But Hollander pushed back, and managed to overwhelm the hulking moth pokemon, knocking him backwards.

"Vol!" Mera righted himself, flapping his wings and putting distance between himself and Hollander.

Even with the boost from the sun, and the type advantage, Mera was still beaten. Caelia noted this with suspicion, putting the pieces together. As a Larvesta, Mera was a physical attacker. But it seems that Volcarona isn't the same. In that case…

"Bug buzz," Caelia ordered.

"Voooooool!" Mera hummed, his wings vibrating intensely. A powerful sonic buzz rang out over the battlefield.

"Owwiee!" Kate wailed, holding her ears as her head began throbbing in pain. Olivia rolled her eyes. It was only a mild irritation at this distance, a light headache. But Alcea…

Alcea winced, biting her lip. Hollander shook, the soundwaves causing their body to rattle, nearly tearing them apart.

Caelia wasn't bothered in the slightest. The sound didn't cause her any pain at all, but she did feel a little dizzy.

"Hollander… phantom force…" Alcea spat out. Hollander disappeared into the darkness, the soundwaves dying down with no target. Alcea regained her balance, shaking her head slightly.

Caelia frowned. The bug buzz had done some damage, but clearly not enough. Hollander was still more than putting up a fight, much to her frustration.

"Mera. Burn the sky."

"Volcarona!" Mera growled, beating his wings intensely. The temperature rose drastically as the hot air attack was boosted by the sunlight. Alcea wiped her forehead, frowning.

Hollander appeared and swung their anchor, but Mera was able to buffer the attack with a veil of hot air, cooking Hollander's body. The debris began to blacken, before lighting ablaze. The phantom force attack barely did any damage, only pushing him back slightly. Mera flapped his wings, another gust of hot air knocking the burning pokemon backwards.

"Hollander!" Alcea cried, the seaweed wailing in pain as the body it was controlling was ablaze.

Hollander waved their anchor, and rainclouds gathered again, suffusing the field in a powerful deluge that cooled everything down, extinguishing the flames. When the rain struck the hot ground, steam erupted, blocking Hollander off from sight. When the steam finally cleared, Alcea took a look at her pokemon. The rubble was scorched, and the seaweed badly cooked. Hollander was in no shape to continue. She sighed, and recalled them.

"Oh no," Kate frowned. "It's okay, milady! You can still do this! Don't worry!"

Alcea knew that, of course. But still, she was backed into a corner.

Caelia looked up at the sky.

"No more of this rain," she ordered. Mera nodded, releasing light into the air, parting the clouds as he used sunny day for the third time.

Alcea raised her eyebrow. Caelia was quite desperate to clear the rain away. In that case…

"Rayne, it's your turn," Alcea said, tossing out a pokeball. In a cloud of sparkling bubbles, a bulky Ludicolo danced forward, a big smile on his billed face. Rayne knew what do to from the minute he appeared, dancing forwards and summoning more rain. Caelia narrowed her eye.

"You can fight it if you like," Alcea said. "But you've used three sunny days. You only have two remaining. If you fight a weather war, you will lose."

There was merit to that, Caelia had to admit.

"Then I'll beat your pokemon and bring the sun back after," she declared. "Mera. Bug buzz."

With the rain, I can't use flames. So this bug move will have to be enough. Caelia decided.

Mera sent out another sonic shockwave across the battlefield, Rayne crying in pain. He narrowed his eyes, holding his hands up, and conjured a tidal wave that he flung at the large bug.

"Vol!" Mera cried, flying up into the air and avoiding the surf attacks, sending another blast of hypersonic pulses.

"It isn't enough," Caelia frowned. "Mera, we need more power. We need to defeat her!"

Mera glanced at Caelia, and nodded. He was trying his best, but he was just too unaccustomed to his new body. There had to be something he could…

A compressed blast of water hit Mera directly, dealing the moth massive damage.

"Volca!" Mera wailed, plummeting out of the sky. His wings were soaked through, preventing him from staying airborne, and he hit the soaked ground hard.

"Mera…" Caelia stared at her newly-evolved pokemon. As tough as Mera might be now, he didn't have enough experience with his new body and what it could do. Fighting in the rain was difficult, and he'd taken several strong blows from Alcea's previous pokemon. If only he had some…

The air around Mera began to stir as Rayne charged towards him, whipping up the water with his hands. Mera's wings began to heat up, the water covering them boiling away. With a few strong flaps, Mera took to the sky once more, just fast enough to dodge the waves crashing down towards her.

"We should probably step back," Olivia decided, taking a few steps away from the battlefield as water began to roll towards them. She did NOT want to ruin her shoes just watching a battle. The rest of the audience felt similarly, except for Kate, who stayed loyally at Alcea's side even was water splashed against her ankles.

"What is that?" Alcea murmured. It seemed that the Volcarona, whatever it had done, had increased its speed and power.

"Mera?" Caelia asked, also confused.

"Volcarona," Mera hummed, spinning around in the air. Green and orange lights, like fireflies, danced around him, his entire body glowing with energy. Neither Alcea nor Caelia knew it, but after evolving, Mera had learned the move quiver dance, a move comparable to dragon dance, even surpassing it. Mera's special attack and special defense both rose, and his speed was picking up as well, allowing him to maneuver effortlessly through the sky even as the rain poured down on him.

"Volcarona!" Mera howled again, the beating of his wings releasing a powerful bug buzz that was quite stronger than the ones he'd used previously. With the boost to his special attacking power, Mera was able to wreak havoc on Alcea and her pokemon. Alcea's headache grew more intense, and Rayne let out a cry in pain, clutching his ears desperately. Unlike Hollander, he actually had ears, and not only that, but he was weak to bug moves as well, where Hollander was not. The attack was causing him significant damage, damage that was quite clear for Alcea to see.

"Rayne!" Alcea cried out, though it was pointless considering that her voice was being drowned out by the deafening hum.

"Mera," Caelia shouted. "What you did before… again!"

As the caster and not the target, Mera was able to pick up Caelia's voice quite clearly, and nodded his head. The sound dying down as he began to twirl through the sky once more, stacking up another quiver dance.

"Not good," Alcea frowned. "Rayne!"

Rayne shook his head, clearing his ears, and caught his trainer's voice, glancing back at her.

"That Volcarona is much more powerful than I anticipated! I don't know if you'll be able to beat it now that it's used that move! But we must try! With your swift swim, your speed is comparable. Launch as many water attacks at it as you can!"

Tactics won't help me now. She's fighting with pure power. We need to overwhelm her with pure power, then. It's not my preferred strategy, but it's all that I currently have. Alcea frowned. This was troubling. Rayne had almost been able to win by launching powerful water attacks that Caelia couldn't fully overcome. The aid of the rain had been vital to her plan, and now it might not even be enough.

What a powerful pokemon… maybe as tricky as her Charizard, or even moreso… This is not good.

They both only had three pokemon remaining, and for each of them, one was on its last legs. This would be the critical turning point in the match, Alcea knew that quite well.

Rayne heeded Alcea's commands, opening his mouth wide and dancing in place, waving his hands. With his special ability doubling his attacking speed, he fired off hydro pumps and scalds, and covered wide with high and powerful tidal waves. But it wasn't enough.

Mera was significantly damaged, so much so that Alcea expected a single powerful water move would be enough to do him in. Unfortunately, try as hard as he might, Rayne simple could not score that crucial hit. Mera was simply far too fast. Even swift swim couldn't match his speed, the large moth showing surprising grace and agility as he danced through the sky, evading every compressed blast and wave of water that came near him. The rain pounded down on him from all sides, but it wasn't enough. Caelia and Mera were determined, and neither one was willing to let this end so quickly.

Mera opened his mouth, his wings flapping so fast all six of them seemed to be fused together in a single circle of heat and light, the large moth looking like he was framed by the sun itself. The sky opened up with a deafening cacophony, Alcea clutching her ears in pain. Kate fell to her knees, the sound of chirping insects burrowing into her skull. She felt like her head was about to split open! She glanced helplessly at her highness, who was doing a much better job of retaining her composure, at least managing to stay upright. But they were just collateral damage. It was Rayne, the actual target of the attack, who suffered the most. The Ludicolo fell into the water and held his ears, thrashing around helplessly as blood trickled out of his ears, the deafening sounds tearing him open.

"Lu…di…" Rayne whimpered, his hands falling limp as the sounds forced him into unconsciousness.

"Sorry, Rayne," Alcea whispered, her ears still ringing from the attack. She recalled her Ludicolo. This was not good. Not good at all. That Volcarona was a monster, now that Caelia knew what to do with him. She was so close to taking it down… but she was unsure if she truly could manage it or not.

Either way… I only have one choice left. Alcea knew that Venus was not in good enough condition to take on a pokemon like this. She still needed to recover. So that left Alcea's final pokemon.

"Mera. Rain. Done. Sunny day. Last time. Burn them to ash." Caelia's whisper went unheard by her temporarily hearing-impaired trainer. But it was clear enough to see what was going on when the sky brightened once more, clearing away the clouds, and leaving the only remaining traces of the rain being the massive puddles on the ground.

"Give up."

Alcea blinked, unsure if Caelia had really said those words, or if she was still hearing things. She shook her head, tightly tapping the side in order to try and dampen the ringing.

"Give up, is it?" Alcea asked.

"Mera will destroy whatever you have left," Caelia explained. "Just give up. Give up on this battle, give up on Blake. Let me have him and this can end."

"Oh?" Alcea narrowed her eyes. How curious… she doesn't seem like the merciful type…

"Will you have your pokemon suffer for nothing?" Caelia murmured. "Pathetic. Give him to me. Now! Now, now, NOW!"

Alcea smirked, in spite of her situation.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid not," she murmured, flicking her wet hair out of her face, standing proudly in defiance of Caelia's demand. Caelia's eye twitched. "Blake is not mine to give. He's not something to own. If you want him, go speak with him yourself, little girl."

"Lies, lies!" Caelia shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Alcea. "You took him! You're taking him! Not fair! He's mine! I won't… won't let you have him, can't let you have him, still need him, mine, mine, mine!"

"I thought for a moment that you loved him," Alcea murmured. "It seems like I was mistaken. I may not know what love is, but I know that your selfish desire to possess him isn't it. Love is not ownership, I know that far too well. Even if I did 'give him to you' does that matter? If Blake doesn't feel the way you do, then it's meaningless, wouldn't you agree?"

"Shut up! Shut up! You're just trying to distract me!" Caelia screeched, shaking her head. "I know he… he does! He belongs with me! He wants to, he wants to!"

Quite popular, aren't you, Blake? Olivia smirked, stepping a bit closer to watch this exchange, folding up her umbrella. Too bad you aren't here to see what your indecision has wrought… poor girl.

"Neither Blake nor I desire this façade of a union," Alcea continued. "If he wants you, then by all means, have him. But you know he doesn't, don't you? If you thought otherwise… you wouldn't be this desperate, now would you?'

Of course he doesn't. Who could love a scarred, broken little shell of a girl like you? Caelia's words stung far more than Alcea's ever could. Blake accepted her for who she was. She knew he cared about her, he showed her, after all! His love, it made her heart beat! She could feel it! It was real, she knew it was!

And yet…

How could he?

How could he love someone like her? Her body could not feel his touch. She could not respond to his advances. To say nothing about her scars. She was broken, inside and out. Unable to love or be loved. Blake… of course he'd choose Alcea. Over her? Absolutely. Any boy would. But she had hoped that he… hoped he would be different. NO. Same. Same, same, same.

They were all the same. But not Blake, not Blake! Blake was special! Blake made her feel! Blake, he… he had to, it…

That damned woman. She was like the rest. So beautiful and perfect. She had so much that Caelia could never dream of. Caelia could give him nothing. Because that's all she was, in the end. Nothing. She remembered that woman, the tall one. The one Blake had given the doll to. The doll she'd tried to destroy, until she'd been stopped. She was right, then. Not fair. It wasn't fair. Another girl had something she couldn't have.

So she'd tear them down. Drag them down to her level.

Caelia's eye narrowed as she gazed upon Alcea's flawless face, glowing with regal eminence.

I'll burn her… Caelia would destroy that bitch's pretty face. Mar her so badly that Blake would be repulsed by her. It was so simple. And it was the only way he'd ever look at her.

No more surrender.

That was fine with Alcea as well. She couldn't see the torment brewing in Caelia's mind, but she had no interest in giving up. She would stand proudly until the end, and refuse to give up.

"Your pokemon is powerful," Alcea admitted. "But we shall not give in! Oui! Anastacia! Stand at my side!"

Alcea tossed her pokeball into the air, and from it emerged her Tsareena in a cloud of rose petals, standing proudly on the ground, staring defiantly up at Mera.

"Burn her away!" Caelia shouted. Mera flapped his wings, heat burgeoning in them.

"Teeter dance!" Alcea ordered. Anastacia spun around, dancing in a confusing pattern that drew Mera's eye all over the place as he tried to get a good look at the elusive pokemon, Anastacia making sure to stay just outside of his sights. The bug pokemon couldn't get a grip on her, it was all too disorienting. Dizzy, Mera sent a wave of heat far off his initial target, heating the skies above instead of directing the attack towards the pokemon below.

"Now, Anastacia, high jump kick!"

"Mera, dodge," Caelia ordered. But Mera was far too confused to fly properly. He was still getting used to his body, and it was taking all of the concentration he could glean just to stay afloat.

Anastacia ran forwards towards a chunk of rock sticking up out of the field, planting one of her long legs upon it. She let out a mighty kick, leaping into the air and destroying the rock in the process.

Anastacia tumbled through the sky, curling into a ball, and spinning right towards Mera. She straightened her leg, and brought an axe kick down directly onto Mera's head, the Volcarona crying in pain. Anastacia put a large amount of force into her leg, slamming Mera down towards the ground, Mera hitting the ground hard from a powerful attack. As strong as he was… he was done.

Caelia stared in stunned silence. Mera, who had so effortlessly demolished Alcea's previous pokemon, even with the power of the sun, had been beaten by confusion? Because he couldn't aim properly? Her stunned look turned into a stoic glare as she recalled Mera, sending out Tori for the second time.

Be calm, she told herself. Be calm, be calm, be calm!

This would be fine. That pokemon, whatever it was, was a physical attacker. Tori demolished physical attackers. That's what her shell was for.

"Tori. Flamethrower."

Tori's snout flexed and she unleashed a blast of flames at Anastacia, the leggy pokemon nimbly cartwheeling to the side. Landing on her feet, Anastacia shook her head, her hair whipping to the side as she shook out some sharp leaves. The razor leaf attack shot towards the stationary turtle, who braced herself. They struck her shell and bounced off harmlessly. Any damage they might have inflicted would have been a sliver.

"Now wait," Caelia ordered. Tori nodded, and stayed put. Alcea raised her eyebrow. She'd seen this tactic before. She knew what happening. Caelia had commanded her Turtonator to use the move shell burst. It was a move that only Turtonator could use, one that Alcea had seen her use on Sylvia. The minute Anastacia went in for an attack, she'd be caught in the counter explosion. Boosted with the sunlight, against her fragile frame… Anastacia would be dealt a wound that might end things for good.

Not a chance, Alcea decided. She wasn't going to just waltz right into the Turtonator's trap. But even so… Tsareena was certainly a poor choice for this matchup, her fighting style almost exclusively relying on kicks. And since the Turtonator was a reactionary pokemon, any attempt at confusion would be spotty at best. If only she still had Rayne, or if Venus was in better condition. But no, Rayne was fainted, and she would need Venus to stand a chance against that Charizard if she managed to wake up. There was no choice. Anastacia would need to pull this one out somehow.

Unfortunately, Alcea had not taught Anastacia how to use seed bomb. It was the perfect physical attack to make use of her stats without having to get in close. But she didn't, so she was left with Anastacia's close combat moves. She brought a hand to her chin in contemplation. What could we…

"Tsar." Alcea blinked, and looked up. Anastacia was looking back at her. The look in her dark red eyes made Alcea's eyes widen in surprise. That was a look of resolve.

"Are you sure?" Alcea asked.

"Tsareena," Anastacia nodded. A weary smile crossed Alcea's face.

"Thank you, Anastacia," Alcea nodded. "We'll do it."

Anastacia charged forwards, surprising Caelia slightly.

A suicide run? Caelia wondered. No.

She wasn't fully wrong, but wrong enough. Anastacia's legs began glowing green and she leapt into the air, a swirl of flower petals dancing around her heels. She kicked off the cloud, jumping off a cushion in the air, dodging above Tori's shielding shell. She kicked down again, landing in front of the tortoise pokemon, on the opposite side of her shield, spinning on her heel and swinging in a powerful kick.

Caelia had expected that. Tori was not the sort to be beaten by someone walking around her shell. As she'd practiced many times, hitting the ground. Lying flat, all weak points were covered, Anastacia's kick harmlessly passing over the shield.

Anastacia glanced at her trainer, and Alcea nodded. It was time. She planted her leg and swung the other in a follow up kick, which DID surprise Caelia. Anastacia brought her heel down on Tori's shell, dealing a decent sliver of damage. But the resulting explosion was far more devastating for Anastacia. Tori's shell erupted with destructive power, blasting Anastacia up into the air, engulfing her in flames. Anastacia tumbled through the sky and hit the dirt, nearly blown to pieces. Tori rose to her feet and glanced over her shoulder, facing her with her shell.

"Weak and foolish," Caelia murmured. Anastacia picked herself up off the ground, her body shaking. She was badly burned, and only had a few slivers of health remaining. "Finish her."

"Anastacia!" Alcea cried. "Now!"

Anastacia's eyes flashed and she kicked off the ground, running forwards. She dodged Tori's flames, running around it and charging straight at Tori. Her body glowed with white light, which dimmed until only her right leg was glowing. She planted her other foot and swung at Tori with a powerful kick, hitting her shell directly. The energy transferred into Tori's shell, exploding in a shockwave of power that startled Caelia, Tori being blown away in the resulting blast. Anastacia's leg dropped, and she panted, nearly done.

"Tori…" Caelia's eye widened as she looked at her badly injured pokemon. Tori tried to rise off of the ground, shaking. Her shell was badly cracked and blood leaked from her snout.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, Anastacia," Alcea nodded to her nearly-unconscious Tsareena.

"Milady, that was amazing!" Kate gasped. "What attack was that?! It was way stronger than a mega kick!"

"Endeavor, is it?" Alcea replied. "Anastacia… she was willing to sacrifice herself to win."

Both pokemon were now on the edge of consciousness. The first one to strike would win. But Anastacia was faster, and already mobile. By the time Tori managed to pick herself up, Anastacia was upon her, finishing her off with a powerful kick in the face.

Caelia silently recalled Tori. She only had one pokemon left.

Please wake up, Kara. Caelia silently pleaded, throwing her pokeball into the air, releasing her Charizard. Kara landed on the ground, still fast asleep.

"Endeavor… once more…" Alcea pleaded. Anastacia warily walked forwards, her legs shaking as she began gathering energy.

"Kara…" Caelia's voice started as a whisper, and then rising into a shout. "Kara!"

Kara's eye snapped open and her head shot up, seeing the approaching pokemon. Kara's jaw opened wide, and flames erupted from within it. Kara glowed bright orange, her blaze triggering, and she lit Anastacia ablaze.

"Anastacia!" Alcea cried, recalling her burned pokemon. Now they both had one pokemon left.

"Kara…" Caelia glanced at her worn and wary Charizard. Kara panted. The fatigue was getting to her.

"Here we are, once more," Alcea murmured. "Venus. Commencer la danse finale!"

In a blast of black and red petals, an exhausted and injured Venusaur emerged, panting. The two pokemon glared at each other from across the battlefield, the sun hot overhead.

"Charizard!" Kara roared, flapping her wings and taking to the sky, draconic energy surging around her as she flew straight towards Venus.

"Venusaur!" Venus bellowed, firing off a powerful and swift solarbeam at the approaching pokemon. Kara rolled out of the way and continued her approach, flames erupting from her mouth.

Venus skidded out of the way, her speed boosted by the overhead sunlight. As she dodged Kara's attack, a large and powerful vine shot out from her leaves and wrapped around Kara's leg, pulling her from the sky.

Kara turned her head and unleashed a blast of flames squarely at Venus just as Venus slammed her into the ground.

"Venusaur!" Venus cried, a large green barrier appearing around her body, pushing aside the flames.

"Charizard…" Kara growled, rising to her feet. She panted, smoke billowing out of her nostrils. She spat flames down onto the vine wrapped around her leg, Venus withdrawing it swiftly. She fired another solarbeam, which Kara matched with a powerful flamethrower.

Light and fire collided, the two attacks forcing each other down. Kara began glowing orange, the flames burgeoning.

Blaze… if Venus had overgrow, she could overpower it, but…

Venus dodged to the left, the flames scorching her leaves and petals, causing her to wince in pain.

The left again… Caelia could see what was going on. Every time the Venusaur dodged, she would run into Kara's blind spot, the one she shared with her. It was frustrating, and Kara's reaction time was slowing due to the façade. Venus hit Kara in the side with a power whip, knocking Kara over. But Kara wasn't down long. She rose up, spitting fire, and flew towards Venus once again.

They're just beating each other down… Kate shook her head. Tactics were on the backburner now. Kara's powerful flames were almost certain to destroy Venus in a single blow, and it was all Venus could do to dodge them. Meanwhile, her own attacks were striking more, but doing far less damage.

Will Venus be able to chip away at Kara enough? Alcea wondered. Or will we slip up first?

"Kara. Enough. Burn the entire battlefield with heat wave."

"Charizard!" Kara roared, flapping her wings, powerful heat radiating towards Venus. Venus conjured another protective barrier, withstanding the heat.

She already knows this won't work, Alcea frowned. What's she doing?

The answer was simple. Caelia wasn't planning anything. She'd run her patience, and was drained of energy. Like her Charizard, she just wanted to end.

"Chaaar!" Kara roared, panting, the heat wave dying down. She flew towards Venus, opening her mouth, a blast of powerful flames erupting from deep within her belly.

Venus panted, just barely dodging the stream of flames. Alcea could see it clearly. Venus was running out of stamina. Even if she boosted her health with synthesis, Venus would not recover her stamina.

We have to end this now.

"Fire blast!" Caelia ordered.

"Charizard!" Kara let out a throaty roar, opening her mouth wide. A massive star of flames flew towards Venus.

"Venus!" Alcea shouted. "Don't dodge!"

"Venusaur!" Venus nodded, knowing what her trainer had in mind. It would hurt. A lot. But it was what she needed to do to win. Venus leapt forwards, plowing straight through the flames. Caelia blinked, surprised.

"Venusaur!" Venus cried, the burns from the fire attack causing serious damage, lighting her ablaze. But the look in her eye showed she refused to give up. The sun boosted the power of the flames, but it also boosted Venus's speed through her chlorophyll. She emerged from the other end of the flames, burned but mobile, barreling straight towards Kara.

Kara's eye widened in surprise. She'd put all of her strength into that attack, and Venus had somehow managed to hold on.

Venus's body began glowing with green energy, and she let out a loud roar, the ground shaking beneath her feet.

"Venusaur!" Energy surged through Venus's body, invigorating the plantlife underneath her, the ground erupting with power. Thorny vines and roots shot out and stuck Kara from all sides, wrapping around her tightly, practically squeezing the life out of her. Kara thrashed against the powerful vines, roaring and spitting power, but Venus had put all of her remaining energy into that frenzy plant, devastating the opposing fire pokemon. Even with all of her resistance, even with as weakened as Venus was, Kara was far worse off. She put up one final resistance, one last, pitiful breath of fire to try and burn away the vines, her tail thrashing frantically. And then it crumpled, drooping down. The fire at the end fading into a tiny ember.

"Kara…" Caelia stared in shock at her unconscious pokemon. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, but didn't seem to notice or care. She only looked at Kara. The vines retracted and Kara plummeted to the earth, deep wounds and lacerations covering her scaly hide. She was more red than orange, blood pouring out of her. Her good eye was open in shock. She was hardly breathing.

"Forgive me…" Alcea panted. Now that the battle was over, it felt like a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She sighed, the tension draining from her body along with all her remaining energy. She raised a shaky hand, and recalled her Venusaur. She was barely conscious, badly burned, and completely exhausted. But she was the victor of the match.

"Kara… Kara…" Caelia repeated Kara's name over and over as the crowd approached the arena again, cheering for Alcea's victory. Caelia's whispers were drowned out.

Alcea walked over to Caelia, looking down at the girl. Her face wore a look of concern.

"Caelia…" Alcea extended a hand to her, to help the girl to her feet, but Caelia didn't take it. Alcea knelt beside her and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, her eye widening. The skin beneath Caelia's shirt felt… strange. Rough and jagged, yet strangely squishy. Odd. Caelia didn't seem to have any reaction to Alcea's hand. Her dull, unfocused eye stared away into nothing, not even able to see Kara anymore. The only indication that she was even conscious was the sound of her voice, barely a whisper. Unheard to everyone but Alcea.

"Forgive me Kara… forgive me Kara… forgive me Kara…" Caelia repeated over and over, her mind feeling as numb as her body. She didn't even think to recall her injured pokemon, blankly staring at her open wounds in shock.

Alcea managed to pull out a victory. But at what cost?