Darla and Lana have begun to fight! Neither one really cares that much about the other, given the fact that they run in different circles. The only reason Darla's even fighting her in particular is because Lana was trying to attack her partner. But the two girls have one thing in common. They both have someone rooting for them to do their best! The question is, whose encouragement will prove the deciding factor in this battle, Kiana or Lila?

Hyphenman: Yep, Samarra had definitely taken a few serious losses. At this rate, she might lose one-sidedly. When things look that good, it's always nice to remind everyone just how dangerous her power really is, and how easily friend can be turned into foe.

KedharS: Yes, it is very wholesome indeed.

Tambry96bj: I think we can all sympathize with Kiana and the absolute mess she had to put up with. Being Samarra's friend might have been the best thing to happen to her on this trip, honestly.

Aakareo: She really has it rough. But at least now she doesn't have to put up with the craziness of her group, just Samarra's craziness.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1176

Lana was completely shocked by what was before her eyes.

I can't believe Darla Drake just said something that embarrassing… and her partner didn't even realize it! That was practically a love confession, wasn't it?!

(It was not.)

Lana was the kind of girl who let her emotions run away with her. When she saw something she had her suspicions about, especially if that thing was romantic in nature, she had a tendency to get a little carried away with her emotions, and Samarra's influence did nothing to alter that in any meaningful way. So while she was freaking out about what was happening between the two of them, the battle had been put on temporary pause-

After all, neither girl was in a state to fight at the moment, because both were reacting in their own ways to what Lila had said. For Darla that meant practically dying of embarrassment, while Lana just felt annoyed that someone could be that dense.

Samarra, on the other hand, was through playing around. She'd lost enough friends today, and she wasn't in the mood for games. So she urged Lana to attack, and that was precisely what the other girl did.

"Sari, use icicle crash!" She ordered.

"Sneasel!" Sari raised her claws and created large icicles in the air around her, which she fired at the injured Noivern.

"Midnight!" Darla shouted. "Use boomburst!"

"NOIVERN!" Midnight tilted her head forward and released a blast of sonic power that shattered the icicles before they got anywhere close to her. It was quite a useful move, and one that frustrated Lana to no end.

"Well, that is Noivern's trump card," she murmured, biting her thumbnail. "But it doesn't matter. Sari, she's just shown us how we can win!"

She silently apologized to her pokemon. That was one of the benefits of Samarra's harmonia.

I'm sorry, Sari. But it looks like we won't be able to hold back on this fight. I know you don't like showing what you can do, but we really need to win this one. Under normal circumstances, her Sneasel tended to back down when challenged. Not because she was a coward, but because a sneaky pokemon like Sari preferred to keep her true capabilities as close to her chest as possible.

But right now, they needed to win, so she didn't have that option.

Luckily, Darla just made a big mistake with that move. Lana resisted the urge to smile at what she'd just discovered. She couldn't give her plans away just yet. "Sari, use your agility!"

"Sneasel!" Sari lowered her head and ran towards Midnight, tucking her claws behind her back to pick up speed. She zigzagged through the grass to make herself a harder target to hit as Midnight tried to follow her with her eyes, a feat that proved nearly impossible.

Which gave Darla no other choice.

"Boomburst!" She ordered again. If Midnight couldn't get Sari in her sights to hit her with flamethrower, the only move that made sense was to attack the entire field again with a sonic shockwave. Midnight lowered her head and her two large ears began to thrum, building up sonic power to unleash on her opponent.

But that was exactly what Sari and Lana wanted.

"Now, Sari!" Lana shouted.

"Sneasel!" Sari leapt forward, raising her claw, and struck with a chop right on the base of Midnight's ears. The effect was instantaneous; her ears began to shake and throb with strange movements and she couldn't release the sonic energy she'd built up, causing her immense pain. She stumbled back and let out a cry.

"Midnight?!" Darla gasped. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"She's not okay," Lana said, narrowing her eyes. "Noivern release sonic blasts from their ears both as attacks and as guides to help them fly straight. If their ears are severely damaged then they'll have difficulty with both!"

"What did you do?!" Darla demanded.

"The move I had Sari use is called throat chop," Lana calmly explained, crossing her arms over her chest as Sari smugly mirrored the posture. "Although, I didn't have Sari strike your Noivern in the throat, of course. But that's just semantics. Throat chop is a move where the pokemon to strike in a specific area on the body where sound travels through, temporarily disabling it. So right now, your Noivern won't be able to use her precious echolocation or sound-based moves for a couple of turns. I'm sorry you won't be able to fight to your full potential, but right now, Sari's in control of this fight. Sari, use icicle crash once again!"

"Sneasel!" Sari raised her claws, summoning large icicles into the air that she dropped down on Midnight.

With her sound abilities disabled, Midnight had difficulty staying in the air; so of course, there was no way she'd be able to fly at the speed she needed to evade Sari's attack. The icicles crashed down on her for massive damage, pinning her wings to the ground.

"Midnight, retun!" Darla shouted, recalling her Noivern before she could sustain any further damage. Midnight would need time for her ears to recover, she couldn't just leave her out here. It would be too dangerous.

Lana smirked. "That was a good decision. If you left her out here in that condition, she would have absolutely fainted by now. So what will you do next? Already two of your pokemon have proven unable to catch up to Sari; and they were two of your fastest. I'm sure you've got something else up your sleeve though, isn't that right?"

"Darla…" Worry cracked Lila's voice as she stared at her friend, hoping that Darla would be able to figure something out.

She wasn't out of options, at least.

"Rex!" She shouted, throwing a pokeball into the air. Her Tyrantrum came out next.

"TYRANT!" Rex roared, stomping the ground furiously and causing tremors. Darla's previous choice had been a pokemon that emphasized speed, this time she would go with one who emphasized power and strength.

"That's certainly a choice," Lana had to admit. "But even a pokemon as tough as that one won't be able to do much if he can't land a hit! And with that speed of his, there's no way he can keep up with Sari's agility!"

"Wanna bet?" Darla asked, narrowing her eyes. "I'll warn you not to underestimate Rex!"

"I don't underestimate anything about your pokemon," Lana promised. "It's because I take you so seriously as a threat that I'll be fighting you with everything we have! Sari, use icicle crash again and take him down!"

"Sneasel!" Sari ran forward, creating several large icicles swirling around her. It was quite a risky play to get this close to such a large and aggressive pokemon, but she trusted her speed and skill to get her out of that situation before it turned bad. And the closer she got, the more damage she could do with her attack.

Sari stopped just short of crashing into Rex, and raised her claws, summoning the icicles to attack. And then she paused.

Suddenly… Sari wasn't so sure about attacking Rex like this. It wasn't that she doubted the attack would be effective, because it obviously would be. It was just… well…

Rex was so frigging handsome!

The Sneasel had to resist the urge to swoon in the face of such an attractive specimen of pokemon. He wore a big, toothy smile that emphasized the strength of his broad jaw, and his dark brown eyes seemed to pierce into her soul. There was something about the way the orange crown on his head swept back, while his collar flared out… and of course, those claws were even sharper than hers! How couldn't she be seduced by the sexy, scaled beast?!

Sari flung her icicles because her trainer ordered her to do so, but the move was so weak it was more like sending a bit of slush towards a boy you had a crush on in a snowball fight. She couldn't help but blush.

Lana stared at her pokemon in shock, unable to believe that her skilled Sari was actually falling for that old fossil.

Darla smirked.

"You know as well as I do what the strength of a good smile can do," Darla winked at Lana, using all her talents as an idol. "Someone like me who always captures the spotlight is more than prepared to sway the heart of a simple pokemon or two with my Rex's charms!"

"Hah! That's a good one, Darla!" Lila burst out laughing, applauding the girl's remarkable strategy. She would have only the cutest of her pokemon use charm, but of course, a trainer like Darla who loved Dragon types would want to emphasize the parts of her pokemon that she felt were the best. It was only rational, after all.

Lana felt her face heat up in shame. "I can't believe Sari was charmed by that thing," she muttered under her breath. Sari being smitten meant her attacking ability had drastically lowered, and even if Lana wanted to try another attack, it would probably end up the same way. "Whatever, Sari, return for now!"

She wasn't any good in her present condition anyway. Besides, Lana had other pokemon that could go up against that Tyrantrum!

"Cerelia, go!" She shouted, sending out her next pokemon.

"Sawsbuck!" Cerelia cried, emerging from her pokeball. Sawsbuck were a unique pokemon whose appearance changed with the season. If you asked Alcea Vermeil, she'd be happy to tell you all about how Sawsbuck's antlers and coat grew in different ways depending on what time of year it was, from the leafless branches and thick white fur of the Winter Form, to the bright and leafy green antlers of the Summer Form.

But right now, it was springtime, and in Agate Village the presence of nature was stronger than anywhere else in the Orre Region. So Cerelia took on just as broad of a burst of nature as any other Grass type.

Her antlers were decorated with countless pink flowers and a sweet aroma wafted over the battlefield. There were pink patterns in her fur as well, making it clear that this was a pokemon who appreciated the vibrant climate of the village.

Not that Darla gave a crap about any of that. As far as she cared, changing appearance to suit the season was just a dumb gimmick, and one that would be easily crushed by Rex's overwhelming power should the need arise.

"Rex!" She shouted. "Use dragon dance!"

"Tyrantrum!" Rex roared, stomping furiously on the ground. Draconic energy surged around him. Flames and lightning crackled, boosting his attacking strength. He charged at Cerelia with an increase in his speed, but Lana wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"Of course you'd come with a direct attack," she snorted. "But that won't help you! Cerelia, use leech seed!"

"Sawsbuck!" Serelia cried melodically, lowering her antlers. She fired a burst of seeds from the flowers that dug themselves into Rex's scaly hide, infesting him with tiny shoots that began to sap away his strength.

"Rrrgh!" Darla clenched her jaw in frustration. Leech seed was just annoying! But she'd already closed the distance. "Rex, use fire fang!"

"Tyrantrum!" Rex opened his mouth wide, and flames burst across his sharp teeth. He lowered his head and bit down on Cerelia's back, using his overwhelming size difference and the strength of his jaws to lift her up into the air.

"Rex's ability is Strong Jaw," Darla boasted. "Because of his sharp teeth and Strong Jaw, his biting moves get a 50% increase in strength! That makes fire fang similar in power to a flamethrower! Of course, with his phenomenal attack stat… it's going to hurt a lot worse, I'll say."

Lana scowled. "Well that won't be enough to get us down! Cerelia, use substitute!"

"Saw!" Cerelia disappeared, replaced by a thick log. The tree trunk immediately burst into flames in Rex's mouth, burning to ashes in a second, but Cerelia had managed to escape unharmed, standing several feet away.

"What?!" Darla gasped.

"Substitute? Didn't see that coming!" Lila was as surprised as she was, seeing a trainer other than Dokukage use that move was a rarity.

"Thank you for giving us the perfect opening!" Lana shouted, using her harmonia to boost Cerelia's attacking power. "Double kick!"

"Sawsbuck!" Cerelia lowered her head and dashed forth, digging her front legs into the ground. She used her momentum to turn and raise her hind legs to deliver two devastating kicks to Rex's face, and more importantly, she did it with her eyes closed, so she wouldn't be subjected to any of the Tyrantrum's charms.

"Tyrantrum!" Rex roared in pain, stumbling back. His arms flailed wildly, unable to reach his injured jaw, but he quickly regained his balance. Even if the moves were super-effective, Cerelia wasn't a Fighting type, so their power was reduced. And not only that, double kick wasn't a very powerful move in the first place.

So while it had certainly hurt, the damage wasn't critical.

But it certainly did wonders for pissing Darla and her pokemon off.

"So you want to play like that, huh?" She growled, narrowing her eyes. "Fine, we can play that game. Rex!"

"Tyrantrum!" Rex roared, standing up even taller. He charged at Cerelia.

"Cerelia, agility!" Lana ordered. She just had to keep her pokemon on her toes, so that Rex wouldn't be able to score any big hits. As long as they could keep out of the range of those sharp teeth, the leech seed would inevitably wear him down.

Of course, Darla anticipated that strategy. When dealing with a pokemon like Tyrantrum that specialized in getting in close and attacking with their body, keeping out of range was an obvious tactic. And one that she was more than prepared to combat.

"Rex, use rock tomb!" Darla ordered.

Rex stomped on the ground, and a giant rock emerged from the grass, trying to engulf Cerelia and reduce her speed so she was an easier target. But she wasn't caught off-guard.

"Sawsbuck!" Cerelia used her powerful legs to jump above the rocks, and turned her head towards Rex, who was waiting for her on the ground below.

"Horn leech!" Lana ordered. Cerelia turned her head as she fell, extending her antlers out towards the Tyrantrum. Her sharpened horns dug into Rex's scales as Cerelia turned to evade his attempt to bite her, and she began to leech away more of his strength.

"Tyrantrum!" Rex roared in pain, stumbling back as he felt his energy seeping away. Sawsbuck had a surprising amount of attacking power for such a gentle-looking pokemon, and Cerelia seemed to have been trained well in that regard.

But it was nothing compared to Rex's defenses. He shook off the horn leech and growled, narrowing his eyes into a glare.

"Rex, shrug it off," Darla urged him. She wasn't as upset as her Tyrantrum. "Don't worry, I have a plan of how we can take this thing down."

"Tyrant?" Rex looked at her questioningly. She smirked in response.

Lana was on edge, not sure what Darla was planning. But she didn't care. Cerelia could handle just about anything.

"Wow, Lana! You're doing so good!" Kiana cried, completely breaking her sister's concentration with her praise.

"Kiana!" Lana whined, not at all interested in hearing what her sister had to say. She was trying to focus on the battle, damn it!

"I'm serious! I can't wait to tell mom and dad how good you're doing here! They're going to be so impressed!" Kiana gushed over her sister, which only made Lana more embarrassed.

But at the same time, well… she couldn't really blame Kiana, could she? Even she was a little impressed by how good she was doing, holding up to a trainer like Darla Drake. Darla may have been in the Appeals Course, but her performance in the Phantom Cup had crushed any doubts that the student body might have had about how skilled with her Dragon types she was.

And somehow, Lana was holding her own against her. She was even at an advantageous position! Two of Darla's pokemon had been injured by Sari, who had taken very little damage herself, while Cerelia was pushing her Tyrantrum to his limits!

Just a little more, Lana told herself. A little bit more, and Cerelia would be able to take that Tyrantrum down, putting her in a REALLY big lead.

Lana may focus a lot on care and consideration when it came to training and study, but she was by no means an overly-cautious person. She took bets on the outcome of pokemon battles all the time (even if that was technically against academy rules) and she won more often than she didn't due to her good judgment.

Now the only question was whether or not her gamble against Darla would pay off in the end.

Well, that's certainly a question. But it's clear that Lana's doing really well so far. I don't think anyone expected her to give Darla this much of a challenge, she seems to be controlling the flow of the battle pretty one-sidedly! As for Darla, what will our little dragon idol do next? What sort of plan has she formed with her Tyrantrum? We'll have to see!