Things looked like they were going so well. Rafe brought out his ace, his Xatu. But before the Psychic/Flying type could get a chance to really show off what he could do, Mason took him down with destiny bond! What a cheap trick! He traded a pokemon that was almost dead for the team's strongest weapon! What are those two going to do now?!
KedharS: She has brother issues AND height issues. Not to mention the issue of being unsure if her position on the Eight Leaders is good when it clashes with her duties as president of the Pokemon Fight Club. She's got a lot of issues.
Hyphenman: Yeah, that's the thing. He doesn't take his battles that seriously, and that's part of what makes him so strong; he's rather unflappable.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1195
"Misaki, come back out!" Mason shouted, sending his Indeedee back out to support his Hatterene. The small maid pokemon landed on the ground, and the minute she took to the field she began to glow with an eerie light.
"This is that ability again!" Callie cried. "The one that lets her set up a psychic terrain the moment she comes out!"
"Psychic Surge," Rafe said calmly. The field was covered by a glowing purplish-violet glow and small wisps of psychic energy rose up from the grass.
"Rather exceptional, don't you think?" Mason said, pushing his glasses up. "Misaki sets the perfect stage for my pokemon. Now what about you, Rafe? Will you send out your next pokemon?"
Callie winced and glanced at her brother. Formalin and Elfuria were both worn out from the battle against the ninjas, and now that his other pokemon had been knocked out… he only had one pokemon left.
"Charon, go," Rafe said, sending his Medicham back out. The Fighting/Psychic type pokemon was snoring away, still asleep from the effects of Lilith's hypnosis.
"That's not good," Donoma winced. "Is that really all he has left?"
Ian was astonished. He'd never expected a trainer like Rafe to be pushed this far, forced to rely on a pokemon that was asleep.
"Rafe…" Callie mumbled, staring weakly at her brother. "Don't you have… anything else you could use? Please?"
"It's no big deal," Rafe laughed. "Come on, so Charon's asleep! That's something you can help with, isn't that right?"
Callie had no idea what he was talking about. "Uh… what?"
"There's a certain Fighting type move that's great for this situation in a tag battle, isn't there?" Rafe asked, winking at her. "The perfect move for waking up your partner?"
"…OH!" Callie gasped in realization. "Wake-up slap!"
"Yeah, that could work!" Chloe nodded eagerly.
"Definitely an interesting play," Alden agreed.
"Rafe…" Callie stared dryly at her brother. "Champie doesn't know wake-up slap. None of my pokemon do."
Rafe blinked, taking a second to process that. "…Ah."
"It doesn't matter! Don't give that Pangoro enough time to think!" Mason snarled. "Misaki, use helping hand to boost Tohru's strength! And Tohru, use moonblast!"
"Indeedee!" Misaki began to glow with a white aura. She clapped her hands, boosting Tohru's already massive special attack stat. As she did, Tohru's eyes flashed pink and she gathered up her power into an orb of fairy energy that she fired at the sleeping Medicham.
"Shit!" Callie cursed. "He's a sitting Psyduck like that! Champie, you gotta grab Charon and pull him out of the way!"
"Pangoro!" Champie roared, running for the Medicham.
"Oh, there's no need for that," Rafe assured his sister with a smile. "Charon is more than equipped to handle this on his own."
Then, to Callie's amazement, Charon stepped to the side at the last second before the moonblast hit, skillfully evading the powerful attack. All while still being fast asleep. He jaw hit the ground and her eyes bulged in shock.
"Wh-Wha?!" She stuttered. "H-How?!"
"That was detect," Alden said, narrowing his eyes. "A powerful move that allows the user to perfectly see through and evade any attack coming their way. But to pull it off in his sleep…"
"I see you're taking some cues from the Commander's Lucario," Mason said, narrowing his eyes. "Your Medicham is actually capable of fighting while he's sleeping?"
"Charon likes fighting more than my other pokemon," Rafe said with a shrug. "Probably because he's a Fighting type. The same way the Commander's Lucario can sense the position of her enemies using her aura sensors, Charon has a similar ability. Through arduous meditation and focus, he can fast for months at a time, sharpening his sixth sense and gaining the power to foretell when the opponent's attacks are coming, even in his sleep!"
Alden was impressed. He knew Rafe was strong, but he didn't expect another trainer to show up whose pokemon was capable of fighting in their sleep. He could feel his "Sense" screaming at him; he wanted a fight with Rafe himself, when this was all over!
"…Hey, wait a minute!" Callie shouted. Even she had been caught off-guard by the reveal that Charon could still keep fighting even while fast asleep. "If Charon doesn't need to be awake to kick some ass, why did you switch him out in the first place?! You could have kept up the offensive and we wouldn't have needed to use Vyasa and Shuka, right?!"
Rafe blinked. "…Well, yes, that's true," he agreed. "But then we wouldn't have had the opportunity to relive our childhood, right?"
She was gonna kill him. After this fight ended, she was absolutely going to kill him.
"Forget it!" She snarled. "Champie! Change of plans! We don't need to worry about Charon anymore, so let's just focus on those two! Use night slash!"
"Pangoro!" Champie bellowed, charging at Misaki. Because she wasn't part Fairy type she was the obvious weak link, and the pokemon his moves would be super effective against. He raised his claw and dark energy surged around it, preparing to strike the Indeedee.
"This is a bit of a problem," Mason admitted. "Misaki isn't used to direct confrontations, especially against Dark types. But that doesn't mean that a good maid doesn't have a few tricks up her sleeve to accommodate! Misaki, use dazzling gleam!"
"Indeedee!" Misaki began to glow, and she released a blinding light that covered the battlefield, striking both Fighting type pokemon with powerful rays.
"Pangoro!" Champie yelled, raising his arms to shield himself from the beams. But the attack was devastating.
"Champie!" Callie cried.
"That's not good, a Fighting/Dark type will take four times the amount of damage from a Fairy type move!" Ian cried.
"Charon!" Rafe shouted.
"Medicham!" Still asleep, Charon heard his trainer's voice through the "shrings" of the dazzling gleam. Because his eyes were closed, he wasn't affected by the blinding light as severely as his partner, allowing him some mobility as he tried to dodge. But Rafe's orders weren't asking for a dodge, they were asking for something a little more complicated.
But as a loyal pokemon, he was happy to comply.
Charon raised his hands, and a pink barrier of light appeared on their side of the battlefield. The light screen deflected the remaining rays from the dazzling gleam, protecting Champie and Charon from any further damage.
Mason scowled. He should have expected that. Oh, well, he still had a few methods he could use to put a stop to those tricks. Tohru had sealed away Lovecraft's ability to set up screens, after all, so this shouldn't be a problem.
And besides, with Tohru's power, it's not like the light screen was an issue in the first place, either. He smiled.
"Tohru, use moonblast!"
"Hatterene!" Tohru's eyes flashed and she created another massive orb of light, this time aimed at Champie. She fired the fairy blast at the injured Pangoro, and the light screen appeared in front of him to shield him from the attack.
"Champie, jump back!" Callie cried. Her instincts were screaming to get her pokemon out of the line of fire, and thankfully Champie's instincts were saying the same thing. He leapt back just as the moonblast smashed through the light screen, striking the spot where he'd been seconds before and exploding, just barely singing his fur as he got out of the way.
"Pangoro!" Champie snarled, narrowing his eyes. Now he was mad.
"I could have Tohru seal your moves with imprison like I did to your Malamar, but what would be the point?" Mason smirked. "That last exchange should have made it clear that none of your defenses will hold up to her destructive power."
Rafe shrugged, still smiling. He wasn't fazed by that in the slightest.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me either way. That was a move of necessity, after all. But I promise, we won't need to use it again, right Charon?"
Charon's eyes snapped open and he yawned. He'd finally woken up. He stretched, then nodded to his trainer. Even in his sleep he'd heard every word.
"Excellent!" Rafe grinned. "Now then, Charon, let's use something a little more unique, sound like a plan?"
"Medicham," Charon nodded, already sensing what his trainer was aiming for.
"Great! Then use rock slide!"
"Medicham!" Focusing his psychic powers, Charon tore giant boulders out of the ground and lifted them into the air, holding the rocks above the battlefield. He swung out his arm and sent them tumbling down on the Hatterene and Indeedee.
"An attack like that won't be much use," Mason promised. "Tohru, block it with your reflect, now!"
"Hatterene!" Tohru looked up at the incoming rock slide and her eyes flashed. A pink barrier appeared in air around her and Misaki, protecting the two of them from the falling boulders.
"Don't let them get away with that, Champie!" Callie shouted. "Smash through that reflect with your brick break!"
"Pangoro!" Champie charged at the barrier with his fist raised and smashed through it in a single punch, allowing the rocks to continue their descent. But it was pointless. The barrier had served its purpose already and stopped the rock slide long enough for the two pokemon beneath it to get out of the way, and now they were preparing for another assault.
"I think a double dazzling gleam should do it," Mason decided. "Wipe them both out!"
"Hatterene!"
"Indeedee!"
His two pokemon began to glow, focusing their power into a blinding burst of light that they directed at the Fighting type pokmon they were fighting. Because both pokemon were using the attack the light from the two of them was so bright that Callie and the others had to shield their eyes. But if they could see, what they'd see would be the sky filling with sharp beams of destructive fairy light, aimed to eliminate everything in their path.
"Charon!" Rafe shouted. "You know what to do!"
He didn't need to give the order because his Medicham was already well-prepared for such an eventuality. The Medicham closed his eyes and began to move in a swaying motion, like he was dancing. It would be a strange thing to see, if anyone was looking. Bathed in light he moved so slowly it was like he was standing still, but at the same time he moved fast enough to evade the storm of lasers raining down on him.
If only Champie could be so lucky.
"PANGOOOOORROOOOOOO!" The Fighting type's roars of pain echoed through the village and Callie fell to her knees, her eyes clenched tightly shut not just trying to withstand the blinding light, but to keep from crying for her beloved pokemon. He shouldn't have to take so much abuse from attacks like this, it wasn't fair!
But there was nothing she could do about it. When the light finally faded and everyone could see again, the first thing they saw was Champie, sprawled out in the grass, bleeding profusely from where the light attacks had struck him.
"…Champie…" Callie choked out, unable to stop the tears. She clenched her teeth and tried to resist, but her body was trembling. She needed to be strong now. She couldn't just start crying because her pokemon had fainted.
"…PANGORO!" Then to everyone's amazement, Champie leapt up with a roar.
"What?!" Callie gasped in disbelief.
"Dude," Donoma's jaw dropped.
"That thing can still move?!" Mason sputtered in disbelief. After all the abuse Champie had taken, it shouldn't be possible. And yet the Pangoro was charging right at him and his pokemon, leaking malevolent aura along with tons of blood.
"Seems like Champie really didn't want to go down without a fight," Rafe mused. "Go for it."
"Pangoro!" Champie raised his fist, dark energy emanating from his entire body.
"Go, Champie!" Callie shouted, not fighting back the tears anymore. She was too overjoyed for that. "Use payback!"
Champie slammed his fist into the stomach of the stunned Indeedee, hitting her with everything he had. The force of the blow was enough to send Misaki flying through the air, and she hit the ground hard at the same time as Champie did.
He'd put everything into that final attack, and didn't have the strength to keep going on. He lost consciousness.
Callie sighed in relief and sympathy. Champie had fainted… but at the very least, he'd fought his hardest, and managed to defeat one of Mason's-
"In… Indeeeeee…"
Callie's eyes snapped open and her head whipped up to see Misaki stand again, badly beaten but still conscious.
"No way!" Chloe gasped. She'd seen just how brutal that Pangoro's payback was, and after all the damage he'd taken there was no way that Indeedee should have withstood it!
"Nicely done, Misaki," Mason congratulated his pokemon. "Your endure was executed as flawlessly as ever."
"Indeedee," Misaki nodded.
"So that's it," Callie growled. "Endure."
"Yes," Mason nodded. "Your Pangoro's attack was brutal, and we were certainly caught off-guard. But fortunately, a good maid is prepared for all sorts of catastrophes, and that's why Misaki is always ready to endure even the most brutal of attacks.
"But you can't use a move like that continuously," Rafe said, narrowing his eyes. "Charon!"
"Medicham!" Charon was already running before his trainer had even given the order. In her present condition, Misaki was too weak to dodge; and with just a sliver of health remaining it didn't even matter what move Charon would use to finish her off.
"Power-up punch," Rafe ordered.
Charon landed on the ground in front of Misaki and slammed his fist up into the Indeedee's stomach to finish her off. But before the attack could go through, Misaki had time for one last move, and in Mason's eyes it was the most important one she could use.
"Heal pulse!" He shouted.
A good maid didn't prioritize their own success. They prioritized their master's success, and the wellbeing of their comrades. That was Misaki's purpose. As an Indeedee, it was her duty to serve, and she could serve the battle perfectly by using the rest of her strength to heal her badly-injured partner's wounds.
So her eyes began to glow, and she released a burst of healing energy aimed right for the Hatterene. The attack restored Tohru's health and the powerful Hatterene stood a little taller, glowing pink as she prepared another attack.
"Return, Champie," Callie mumbled, calling her Pangoro back. This really wasn't good. She was running out of pokemon she could fight with.
Mason recalled his Indeedee as well. "Thank you for your service, Misaki. You can rest up. Don't worry, you can trust in the rest of your colleagues."
He took his last pokeball from his belt and turned back to the battlefield. "You've pushed me quite far, the two of you. But I'm not beaten yet. I have other servants who will be able to pick up the slack, like this one! Maika, come out!"
Mason flung his pokeball into the air, and a white pokemon emerged from within.
"Froslass," his final maid, Maika, murmured. The air dropped in temperature as the Froslass' ominous aura spread across the battlefield.
"So your last pokemon is a Ghost type, huh?" Rafe sighed. "That figures."
Ghost type pokemon were super-effective against Rafe's Psychic types. And even worse, Callie's Fighting type pokemon couldn't use their strongest moves against them, either. It was definitely a tough position to be in.
…Not that it mattered to Callie, though. She didn't HAVE any more pokemon to use.
I-I could try with Rio… but she's still recovering… the others are in even worse shape… that just leaves Jaina… but she's still asleep. And unlike Charon, she can't fight while sleeping, either… Callie really didn't know what to do.
"Callie, just send out your Mienshao," Rafe said, giving his little sister a smile. Callie's jaw dropped.
"B-But… she's still asleep…" Callie had been on the receiving end of a double battle before, where one of the two pokemon was put to sleep.
It wasn't a double battle she had won.
"It'll be fine," Rafe assured her. "You can count on Charon and me. Even if Jaina doesn't wake up, the least we can do is try and handle these two for you, don't you think?"
Callie wasn't sure. She didn't know WHAT to think. Trust in her brother? The most unreliable guy in the world? That had all the makings of a terrible idea.
But at the same time, she didn't really have a choice.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gathering her nerves. This wasn't easy for her.
"…Alright," she finally agreed. "I'll trust you, Rafe. Jaina! Come back out!"
Callie sent out her last pokemon still capable of fighting. Jaina emerged from her pokeball curled up in the grass, sleeping contently. She wouldn't be much help in her present condition.
"Well… there's that," Callie mumbled, glancing at her big brother. She really hoped he had some kind of plan.
So Callie's been pushed to the brink, forced to rely on her last pokemon, and Jaina's asleep! Meanwhile, her big brother is asking her to let him handle it?! Is he for real?! Well at least Mason is down to his final two pokemon, even if his Hatterene's health was restored. The battle is approaching the climax, and this is going to get really intense from here!