Marion's brought out two fishy friends to take Willa down, a Basculegion and Overqwil! Ange's completely shocked, and so is everyone else! She's taken advantage of their interesting type combinations to score some small victories off of Willa, but will it be enough? Her Slowbro is pretty bulky, and that Parasect probably still has a trick or two! Hopefully Marion can keep her head on her shoulders and take this drug dealer down!

KedharS: How fitting, given her love of fishing.

Hyphenman: Ange is a character I really have to be capable of striking a good balance with, out of fear of her coming off as obnoxious.

RKS Legacy: "Maree" is pronounced by dragging out the "ee" sound, unlike "Marie" where it's a flat stop. That's the difference. And yes, Hisui is great, I love the changes so much. I want more Pokemon Legends games.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1203

Willa didn't seem perturbed by the fact that she was facing off against a Ghost type pokemon and a Dark type pokemon. Marion made sure to stay on her guard, factoring that in. She took a deep breath, staring at the other girl, and wondered what she was thinking.

I guess that Slowbro really is just that powerful while under the influence of that drug, Marion noted with a frown. This was going to be trouble.

"Bradham, you're fine," Willa said. She could tell the condition of her Parasect not just with her harmonia but with her eyes, courtesy of Ayame Toujou.

"Parasect," Bradham chittered, scurrying to his feet. He'd taken some damage from the phantom force attack, but it wasn't nearly enough to put him down. Not to mention he wasn't the only one there; Pelletier was spinning already.

"Pelletier, aim for that Qwilfish," Willa ordered. She had no intention of allowing Marion to get away with anything. "Ice beam!"

"Slowbro," Pelletier nodded. He spun even faster, opening his mouth, and fired a beam of ice that arced in a curve across the water, freezing most of the river solid.

"Overqwil!" Harry cried in pain, returning to his original size as the ice beam slammed into him. He was partially frozen in the ice, but due to some quick thinking from Marion he expanded his body and broke himself free.

The only problem was, it took time to do that, time he didn't have.

"Follow it up with another ice beam, Pelletier!" Willa hissed.

'Slowbro!" Pelletier stopped spinning, aiming directly at Harry. As the Overqwil burst free of his frozen cage, the ice beam struck him directly, and he cried out in pain.

"Brr, that's cold!" Marion shivered, feeling the effects of the ice beam herself thanks to her harmonia. But she wasn't perturbed. "It's a good thing Harry's so tough, he can shake off that ice easily, can'tcha Harry?"

"Overqwil," Harry growled, swimming forward in the water. He was surprisingly fast given his cumbersome frame and the fact that there was a thick layer of ice covering most of the river's surface. He inflated his body and fired a dark pulse at the Slowbro.

"Pelletier, dodge," Willa ordered. Her Slowbro wasn't at all fast, but he was able to spin out of the way of the attack. But that put him right in the path of Bass, who was swimming through the air towards him.

"We've got him dead to rights, Bass!" Marion grinned. "Use last respects!"

"Last respects?" Ian asked, confused. "What kind of move is that?"

"Quite a special one," Marion grinned as her Basculegion began to glow with spectral energy. Ghostly souls hovered around his body and they only grew more numerous, until they covered him completely in a veil of energy. "It only has 50 base power normally, but that power increases by another 50 for each one of Bass' comrades that have fainted in battle! And since your Slowbro has already knocked out Donnie and Maree, that means you'll be dealing with a 150 point powerhouse of a Ghost type move, Willa!"

"Whoa, that's impressive!" Alden was actually surprised that there was a move with such high potential. It reminded him of all the stat boosts that Vic's Valkyrie had gotten, after she evolved into a Kingambit and her ability changed. A move that got progressively stronger the more pokemon that fainted… he could definitely see how a move that strong could turn a losing situation into a winning one. He imagined how strong the move would be if the pokemon losing it had lost all 5 of their comrades in battle…

300 base power? It was terrifying to consider.

But even if this move wasn't that strong right now, it was still powerful. It had already bypassed the power of any other Ghost type move after just two losses! When Bass slammed into Pelletier, everyone was expecting it to do some serious damage!

…Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Slowbro," Pelletier chirped. His shell wasn't even scratched.

Marion's jaw dropped. "Whoa, for real?!"

"You should know just how tough a Cloyster's shell is," Willa said, narrowing her eyes. "And this one is just as tough! And not only that, weren't you paying attention? We've reinforced it with iron defense three times! Even if that move is super-effective, it won't get through our defenses to matter! Now Pelletier, use stored power! And this time, aim at the one that isn't a Dark type!"

"Slowbro!" Pelletier nodded, releasing a burst of psychic energy that was greatly enhanced by the power of his stat boosts. Like with Bass' last respects attack, it had already reached the level where it was the strongest base power psychic move out there.

Marion had to think fast, and think fast she did.

"Bass, dodge it!" She shouted. "Use aqua jet!"

"Basculegion!" Bass shouted, covering his body with water. He turned and swam at top speed, shimmying through the sky to get away from the attack, but unfortunately he was too close to Pelletier to be able to dodge it complete. When the Slowbro released his shockwave, the last traces of it slammed into Bass, sending him tumbling out of the air.

And that was right where Bradham wanted him.

"Bradham, go," Willa ordered. That Basculegion had avoided their spores before with that phantom force move, but this time there would be no escape.

"Parasect!" Bradham flexed the mushroom on his back and sent a cloud of spores tumbling towards the falling Basculegion.

"That's not good," Donoma winced. If Bass was put to sleep, then things would be a whole lot harder for Harry.

Marion just smiled.

"Bass!" She shouted. "Use uproar!"

"Oh! That's something she could do!" Ian said, his eyes widening in surprise.

"BASCULEGION!" With a howl that shook the graves, Bass unleashed a burst of sonic power that nearly shattered the eardrums of everyone in the clearing. The cacophony that escaped his mouth was so deafening it was impossible to think. And when the spores landed on his spectral scales, the ruckus was too loud to even hope to put him to sleep.

"Uproar is a move that uses a pokemon's incredibly loud shouts to render them incapable of sleeping," Marion said. "I could have used it earlier when you tried to put Harry and Bass to sleep, but… I thought it would be better to catch you by surprise like this, so I just had him use phantom force!"

Willa clicked her tongue in frustration. She hadn't been expecting a move like that. But then, how could she? She'd never even HEARD of a Basculegion before, let alone seen one in battle.

Now that he wasn't in danger of falling asleep, Bass was able to right himself, turning to Bradham and Pelletier. He roared again, to make a point.

Chloe bit her lip. Sure, it was good that Marion managed to avoid the effects of spore. Thanks to that uproar from Bass, Willa's Parasect had become a much bigger liability. The pokemon was slow and cumbersome, and its other stats weren't very good, either; their one claim to fame was the move spore, to put pokemon to sleep with perfect accuracy.

Without that, he wasn't much of a threat.

But she also knew that Bradham wasn't the problem here. That Slowbro had just shrugged off a powerful Ghost type move like it was nothing, even though an attack like that would have done serious damage to any other pokemon. She wasn't sure if Marion's team had the power to put a pokemon like that down.

It was a really worrying position to be in, and she didn't know if the other girl would be able to pull it off in her present state.

But she didn't let her fears overwhelm her. She did that too much. Marion… well, sure, the Mermaid wasn't known for her battling prowess. But… she'd proven that she was tough at the very least, right? Her Dondozo had been a monster, and Harry and Bass were doing okay…

Chloe could believe that she could win this thing, couldn't she? That was alright, wasn't it?

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She didn't have the confidence to shout a cheer, but she could at least whisper a "good luck" from behind the safety of her mask.

Marion might not have heard her, but it still felt like her spirits had been lifted slightly. She turned to her pokemon. "Alright guys, we've got to deal with that Slowbro! Anyone got any bright ideas?"

"Overqwil," Harry grunted. Bass nodded in agreement.

Marion blinked. "Oh, you're right! We could do that, couldn't we? Well, not right now, though. We'll save it for a trump card, when we can REALLY make her sting! Alright you two?"

Both fish pokemon nodded. Meanwhile, everyone stared incredulously at Marion. They were all experienced with the abilities of harmonia at this point and how it let you communicate with your pokemon, but no one had seen it used so… blatantly before. Marion wasn't just linking with her pokemon's hearts and making their thoughts become one, she was practically holding a board meeting with her team!

It was a little bizarre.

"Okay, Harry!" Marion said, turning her focus back to the battle. "Aim for that Slowbro! Hit him with your toxic attack!"

"Overqwil!" Harry roared, surging through the water towards Pelletier.

"Ooh, now we're talking!" Donoma grinned, her eyes shining with glee. "Toxic's the perfect thing for handling a massive wall like that Slowbro! It'll wear him down and when he's all softened up- perfect to strike!"

"You're right, it's good thinking on Marion's part," Ian nodded with a grin. Donoma batted her eyelashes at him and made her cheeks flush, pretending to be flattered that he agreed with her decision.

Chloe rolled her eye and felt like barfing.

While that nauseating scene was taking place, Harry inflated his body up until the very tip of his spines, temporarily making himself a much bigger target. But it didn't really matter because he quickly deflated, firing a blast of toxic sludge at the wobbling Slowbro.

Willa snorted in disbelief. "Oh, please! Did you REALLY think something like THAT would be able to affect Pelletier?" She asked, shaking her head. "Do you KNOW how many experiments and medicines I test on my pokemon in a given day? And your plan is to poison him!? He practically eats poison for breakfast, I don't think so! Pelletier!"

"Slowbro!" Pelletier didn't even bother dodging. He allowed the poison to hit him head-on, and for a second it looked like it was going to slide right off his shell. But it leeched into his body and colored his veins, clearly having an effect on him.

Donoma smirked. "Oh, what was that? You were saying something about your pokemon being immune to poison?" She chirped.

Then the smile slid from her face.

Pelletier's complexion returned to normal and his veins lightened, and he seemed completely uninjured from the attack.

Willa smirked. "I just told you," she scoffed, lightly kicking Flemming's bag at her feet. "Among the medicines I tested on Pelletier today, one of them was a special anti-venom; a type of potion that completely nullifies any status conditions imposed on my pokemon. You didn't really think a renowned pharmacist like myself would allow her pokemon to be poisoned, did you? It's a special blend, derived from the pleasant odors of Bradham's aromatherapy attack, one that works quite well."

Across the world, Kate felt a great disturbance in the fabric of reality. It was as if everything she believed in was coming to an end.

"…That's dirty," Donoma seethed, her face red with anger. She narrowed her eyes into slits and resisted the urge to choke Willa out. It was only her desire to look like a "good girl" in front of Ian that kept her from strangling the little brat.

To Marion's credit, she was rather nonplussed by the attack herself.

"Ah well, time for Plan H then!" She chirped.

"Plan… H?" Willa asked, raising her eyebrow. "What about all the other letters?" The scientist in her that demanded order was bothered by Marion skipping that far.

"Bah, who needs 'em?" Marion laughed, waving her hand. "Plan B for Bass will come later, but for now it's time for Plan H, for Harry!"

"Overqwil!" Harry bobbed in agreement.

Chloe blinked. Didn't… she already do Plan H, then? Wasn't that the toxic? She sighed and remembered that there was no point in trying to make sense of Marion's madness.

"Okay, Harry! Plan H!" Marion ordered.

"Overqwil!" Harry inflated himself once more, growing as large as anyone had ever seen him, and then rapidly deflated.

A dark smoke billowed across the battlefield, covering the river and the entire bank, as well as a portion of the audience.

"Oh, yucK!" Donoma coughed, the cloying smoke making her eyes water. Chloe smirked a little in spite of herself. While the dust stung her eye, she was perfectly fine thanks to her mask covering her nose and mouth.

"You think this bothers me?" Willa asked, covering her nose and mouth with a cloth dipped in a certain chemical solution. "I deal with fumes of a far greater magnitude every day of my experiments, I'll have you know."

"Aww, that must be rough!" Marion said sympathetically. "But if I were you, I'd take a good look at your Slowbro!"

Willa squinted through the haze, and laid eyes on Pelletier. Then she gasped, sensing the change with her harmonia just as quickly as she spotted it outright.

Her pokemon's condition had rapidly deteriorated. His body and shell were softer now, much more vulnerable.

"You-!" She gasped in outrage.

"That's right, me!" Marion chirped. "You were making such a big deal about your Slowbro's strong defenses I just thought: 'hey, what if we got rid of all those stat buffs with a nice haze laid over the battlefield, huh?' and it worked like a charm!"

"Overqwil," Harry grunted.

"Yes, yes, you're right, I'm sorry," Marion apologized. "Actually, it was Harry who came up with the idea. And it's a pretty perfect one, if I do say so myself! I'm so proud of him! Since both of my pokemon are physical attackers, they would have a hard time scoring real damage on your Slowbro with all those iron defenses, but now they're free to go wild!

Willa growled. "It's not as simple as that! You may have nullified the changes with iron defense, but that isn't the end of things! Pelletier's still got the massive buff from the mega potion, which means his defense is still equal to that of a Cloyster!"

Marion's eyes bulged. "No way, really?!" The haze soon cleared, making it obvious that, yes, Pelletier's form hadn't reverted to that of an ordinary Slowbro, he still had all the boosts to his defense from the transformation.

Marion was shocked, she didn't know what to say. She'd expected the haze to not just cancel out the iron defense but also nullify the gains from the drug, but evidently that was wishful thinking. No, Pelletier's defenses may have lowered, but they were still very high, the strongest of all Water type pokemon.

This was going to be a little trickier than she'd though.

"It's fine though!" She called to Bass. "Even if he's still tough, without those iron defenses we can break through! Let's use our last respects, partner!"

"Basculegion!" Bass roared, swimming through the air straight towards the wobbling Slowbro. Spectral energy gathered around him in a veil and the ghostly aura boosted his power with the strength of the pokemon that had already fallen in battle.

Alden grinned. If this attack hit, it would be brutal one! He could "Sense" it.

A small smile crept of Willa's lips. A cloud of spores appeared between Bass and Pelletier, and he swam right into it, breathing in the powder before he could stop himself.

Suddenly Bass began thrashing in the air.

"Basculegion?!" He roared, pulling to a stop.

"What's wrong?!" Marion cried. Then she felt it. The emotions were flooding into her from Bass, the pure fury and rage and hatred. Marion made a face that no one had ever seen from her before, a dark, harsh look.

"…I see how it is," she glowered, and turned to Bradham along with her pokemon.

"What… what just happened?!" Chloe shivered. She'd never seen Marion look angry before; the fishing enthusiast was always bubbly and perky, always!

But now it looked like she wanted to choke the life out of somebody.

"it's rage powder," Willa said calmly. She twirled a lock of her fraying hair. "Don't feel bad that you've never heard of it. It's not a move that many pokemon are capable of using, and even fewer pokemon actually DO use it."

"Rage powder?" Alden had never heard of it before. But judging by the effect on Marion and her Basculegion, he could guess what it did.

"I had Bradham whip up a special batch," Willa explained. "Any pokemon that breathes it in will find themselves stricken by an overwhelming feeling of rage. That rage won't abate until the target of their ire is dealt with; in this case, Bradham."

"So she turned her own pokemon into a target?" Giselle asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "But that's so… why would she do something like that?"

"Because if Marion's pokemon are targeting the Parasect, they aren't going after the Slowbro," Ian scowled. "It leaves Willa free to boost her pokemon up again, and will give her a lot of free attacks as well."

"BASCULEGION!" The target of Bass' attack had shifted. He swam at top speed towards the Parasect with murder in his eyes, and he wasn't going to stop until he smashed that ugly mushroom into the ground!

"Now that you're attacking like a Tauros, you're not thinking," Willa scoffed. "We can avoid you quite easily. Bradham, energy ball!"

"Parasect!" Bradham raised his pincers and fired an orb of nature energy at the approaching Basculegion.

Bass was too enraged to even bother dodging, he slammed headfirst into the attack as it exploded, knocking him out of the air. Marion cried out in pain, shielding her face, but it did nothing to abate her anger.

"It took me a while to figure it out, but now that I have harmonia myself, I realized the perfect way to get the edge over you," Willa smirked. "The biggest weakness of a harmonia user isn't the fact that they share their pain with their pokemon… it's the fact that they share their emotions."

"What do you mean by that?!" Marion roared with anger.

"Just look at yourself!" Willa resisted the urge to burst out laughing as she pointed at the other girl. "You feel everything your Basculegion does, don't you? Both your pokemon are overwhelmed by the rage powder, and want nothing more than to beat Bradham! And as for you? Now you've completely lost yourself in your anger! That's nothing like the Marion Rivers I know! You've always been funny and helpful to everyone, a positively lovely girl. But that's not you right now, is it? No, thanks to my little drug, you're one step away from a raving lunatic!"

"SHUT UP! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Marion screamed. She didn't want to hear any more words out of that scrawny girl. She wanted to choke the life out of that bitch!

Everyone stared in horror as one of the sweetest most gentle people in the Pokemon Academy if not the whole world was twisted into a beast of rage and violence.

All from one simple attack.

Yikes. Rage powder is a surprisingly effective weapon against harmonia users, considering how easily it can cloud their emotions. And that's Marion, a girl who doesn't have a single malevolent bone in her body. I'm terrified to think of what would happen if it was used on someone like Elaina or Kitty who don't have nearly the same level of control over their feelings. What about Guinevere? This is a really dangerous strategy Willa just cooked up.