Borrowing a little something from Sylvia Driscoll, Maddi had her Duskull use trick room to take advantage of his incredibly low base 25 speed! With that, she's set herself up to have the fastest pokemon around, and with Ayame's pokemon being a Voltorb that can't switch back to their pokeball, it looks like she's seized quite an advantage over her opponent! The only question is, will she be able to maintain that advantage or not? Remember to review!

KedharS: I don't know, we'll have to see.

Hyphenman: Yep, Ayame's got a lot of skill. Especially since she's borrowing some wisdom from Wes as well.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1210

Ayame was having a hard time moving. The effect of the trick room was weighing her down, making it difficult to even lift her arms. A move like this… it was a problem, for sure. Of course, the smart thing to do would be to switch out the fast Roll for a slower pokemon more capable of matching Grim's speed, but she couldn't do that. After all, the Duskull had struck her Voltorb with mean look, meaning she couldn't call him back.

All she could do now was fight with her pokemon to the best of her ability in this prison where her movements were severely restricted.

Meanwhile, outside the trick room, Samarra was contemplating Ayame's condition. It was an odd feeling. This was the first time she'd ever been this close when one of her friends was having a pokemon battle, and it wasn't like she'd expected. It was a bit of a cognitive drain, being in such proximity to another person whose vision was linked to hers, but the bigger drain was definitely dealing with the trick room. She felt hindered by the effects, but at the same time, on the outside of the barrier, she knew that she wasn't.

How curious! Samarra needed to experiment with this more. It was such a pity that Maddi couldn't become her friend. The snarky girl was a regular thorn in her side, unfortunately, and she needed to be dealt with.

And Samarra had no qualms about killing.

First things first, though, they needed to win. And while Samarra didn't doubt Ayame's ability in the slightest, she knew that it would be a lot trickier for her now that the trick room was set up; Ayame didn't have any pokemon as slow as that Duskull.

"Grim, use shadow ball!" Maddi ordered. It was one of those moves that she'd gone out of her way to teach her pokemon, even if he was nowhere near the level when he'd learn it naturally.

"Duskull!" Grim flew across the field, raising his arms and forming a ball of shadowy energy. He fired the shadow ball at Roll who tried to dodge, but their movement speed was far too restrained for that to happen. The shadow ball struck Roll head-on and exploded, sending the Voltorb flying through the air. They crashed down into the grass.

"Urgh," Ayame winced, feeling the pain surge through her body. But pain was nothing new to her, and she quickly regained her composure, focusing her harmonia to get Roll back in the fight.

"Roll!" She shouted. "Change of plans!"

The next move she was going to use was definitely risky. But she had confidence that Roll would be able to pull it off; her Voltorb was tough, after all.

Maddi felt something odd in the air. The Voltorb wasn't moving. They were just… resting there, thoughtfully, as if they were waiting for Grim to make the next move.

That was odd. She wondered why that would be. Could it be that Ayame had run out of ways to fight, now that her pokemon's speed had been rendered a liability?

…No, she's smarter than that. She's preparing something. This is a trap. So what could she be expecting us to do…? Maddi did a quick think about what sorts of moves that Voltorb might have up their sleeve, and the answer she arrived at was unpleasant.

"…Grim, use payback!" She ordered.

"Duskull!" Grim flew towards Roll. His body was glowing black from the dark energy he gathered and he released it into the Voltorb's body as he crashed into them. Roll rolled backwards, surprised from the attack, and Maddi smirked.

"Just as I thought," she said, noting the frustrated expression on Ayame's face. "You were preparing to use mirror coat, weren't you?"

"So what if I was?!" Ayame exclaimed, her face hot with rage at being found out.

"Nothing, nothing, it just made perfect sense," Maddi said, shaking her head with a laugh. The other girl really was easy to read, no wonder Blake had her wrapped around his finger. "See, it's one of those odd moves that Voltorb can learn, even though it doesn't make good use of its speed, and Voltorb aren't generally strong enough to withstand multiple attacks in the first place. So when I thought about the kind of move you'd use in a situation like this, well… it was an obvious choice."

"Fine," Ayame spat. "Forget it! We can still keep going! We'll use something else, then, right Roll?" She shouted to her pokemon.

"Voltorb!" Roll's body crackled with electricity and they rolled forward, building up the charge until soon their entire body was surrounded with a corona of lightning.

Maddi wasn't sure what the goal of that move was, since there was little chance that the Voltorb would be able to hit. But she wanted Grim to stay on his guard.

"Grim, watch out for them," she ordered.

"Duskull!" Grim kept his distance, waiting to see what Roll would do. But he didn't see Ayame's next strike coming! The Voltorb suddenly launched themselves forward, springing up like a catapulted stone towards the Duskull.

A brief burst of speed? Maddi was surprised that they could defy the trick room so easily.

"Roll isn't just a speed demon, I also find them to be quite reliable in Jumping contests!" Ayame boasted. "They know how to leap from a stop well! Now, volt switch!"

So that's her game… Maddi scowled. Volt switch was a move that switched the pokemon out, but the real problem was that it allowed the user to get around mean look. And well… that wasn't something that she could let happen.

Voltorb was going to lose against Grim. It was the only outcome Maddi would accept.

"Grim!" She shouted. But she didn't need to shout. Harmonia was a two-way street, after all, and Grim had sensed what Maddi had wanted before she was even cognizant enough to give the order.

Before Roll's lightning-infused body could strike Grim, he disappeared completely, causing the Voltorb to sail right on by him.

"He vanished!?" Ayame sputtered, her eyes bulging in disbelief.

Maddi cracked a grin. "Nicely done, Grim!" She called out in praise. Just as she'd hoped, Grim had disappeared into the shadows again, preparing for another shadow sneak. And that was exactly what happened! With his awesome speed he shot across the ground, slamming into Roll just as the Voltorb landed and pitching him across the trick room.

Roll skidded to a stop at Ayame's feet, sputtering for a few seconds before losing consciousness.

"Yes!" Maddi cheered, pumping her fist. It was unlike her, that was for sure. She was far more taciturn when it came to pokemon battles. But again, harmonia was a two-way street, and part of her personality was being influenced by the exuberance of her energetic little Duskull.

Ayame said nothing as she recalled her pokemon to their pokeball, she was feeling a little woozy from her harmonia. But now her head was clearing with her pokemon unconscious and no longer affected by taunt.

She had to think carefully about her next move. She squinted at the Duskull to take a good look at his condition, and she didn't like what she saw. The ghostly pokemon had a Relaxed nature, which means his physical defense was higher than normal, and his speed was a little lower. The perfect nature for a defensively-oriented pokemon in a trick room, annoyingly enough. And he'd raised his special stats with a calm mind as well. Even at a glance, Ayame could tell he was going to be trouble; his speed was low, far lower than any of her pokemon. Which meant that, in this trick room, he'd be able to outpace them all.

Well, let's not make it easy for her at least, Ayame decided. None of her faster pokemon then. "Rhox! We'll go with you!"

"Golem!" Rhox bellowed, emerging from his pokeball. The ground shook when he came out, and he looked around, confused by the trick room. He'd just been in this fight, and now it felt like things were completely different.

"Sorry," Ayame apologized. "Things got complicated since you left, and Roll fainted. But don't worry, this trick room won't be a problem!"

Ayame had a plan or two about how she could deal with it; the first matter, however, was dealing with that Duskull.

"I expected you to send out your Golem!" Maddi shouted. "How predictable! Grim, hit him with your shadow ball!"

"Duskull!" Grim was incredibly fast due to the trick room, and fired a shadow ball at the Golem. Unfortunately, Rhox was able to dodge it with little difficulty.

"What?" Maddi gasped.

"You don't have much experience with trick room, do you?" Ayame asked, ignoring the fact that she didn't have very much experience herself. "Well, it might feel like your Duskull is on top of the world, able to evade and attack with impunity, but just because he's the fastest pokemon around now, that doesn't mean other pokemon can't be quick themselves! Rhox's base speed is 45, which is only 20 points higher than your Duskull! While he wouldn't beat your ghost in a race, you can bet that he's able to dodge a shadow ball or two!"

"Golem!" Rhox nodded, cracking a grin.

"Now let's show her what we're made of!" Ayame declared. "Rhox, use curse!"

"Golem!" Rhox bellowed, flexing his muscles. Maddi's eye twitched.

"That's… a problem," she muttered, shaking her head. Curse was the last thing she wanted to see in a trick room. Putting aside the strange effects that the move had when used by Ghost type pokemon, when used by a pokemon like Golem curse served as a strong buff to attack and defense- at the cost of a drop in speed, when the pokemon tightened their muscles.

Usually, that speed loss was a downside to make the move balanced. But right now, under the effects of trick room, it was like Rhox had buffed three of his stats at once.

And even though Grim could learn curse as well (and he DID know it) it wasn't like Maddi could do the same; after all, the effects were completely different when Grim used it!

"Just because you're altering your speed, that doesn't put you at a match for Grim!" Maddi snapped. "We've still got shadow sneak!"

"Duskull!" Grim sank into the shadows, surging at top speed towards Rhox. But Ayame just smirked. She didn't even order her pokemon to try to dodge.

"This should nicely demonstrate to you the difference between our two pokemon," she said calmly, focusing her harmonai.

Maddi, for her part, was putting everything she had into attacking power. When Grim emerged from the shadows to strike Rhox, he did it with all the force her harmonia could muster.

But his shadow strike bounced right off the Golem's tough exterior, barely leaving a scratch.

"Your Duskull is a defensive pokemon as well, so you should be well-aware of the benefits of defensive buffs," Ayame proudly declared. "My Rhox? He's in peak condition, I'll have you know. And the Pokeathlon events he specializes in aren't just limited to snowball fights. His Power and Stamina are both 4 for 4, which are some of the highest stats in those categories, he's definitely a powerhouse! A dinky little shadow sneak from such a weak pokemon hasn't got a prayer of hurting him!"

"Golem," Rhox nodded in agreement, sharing in his trainer's smirk.

"As defensively-oriented as your Duskull is, he's lacking the raw power of Rhox!" Ayame said, her eyes flashing as she focused her harmonia. "Now go, Rhox, show her what you can do with your stone edge attack!"

"GOLEM!" Rhox ripped stones from his body and sent them flying towards Grim like missiles, the sharp rocks crashing down on the little Duskull. But in spite of his boosted speed from the curse, he still wasn't fast enough to overwhelm the little ghost.

"Dusk!" Grim evaded the sharp stones to the best of his ability with a little help from Maddi and her harmonia. She increased his evasive abilities, which gave him a good chance. That Golem only had a few stone edges left.

That must have been what Ayame was thinking as well. Because when the rain of rocks stopped, she had Rhox attempt a different strategy.

"We won't pin him down with just a stone edge," she explained to her pokemon. "It's time for something new! Rhox, get him with your rock tomb!"

"Golem!" Rhox stomped on the ground, and this time rocks shot up from the earth instead. Where before Grim had been forced to dodge attacks from the air, this time he was being assaulted from below, and it was taking everything he had to keep away from the erupting pillars of stone coming from beneath him.

Maddi was feeling quite a bit of pressure herself. Even if Grim had the speed to evade the rock tombs, the trick room wouldn't remain forever. She needed to strike while she had the opportunity, but the problem was, that Golem was still fast enough to avoid her best moves. To land something meaningful, they'd have to get in close, which was a risk.

Cynthia's smirking face flashed through her head and she scowled reflexively. Yeah, that's exactly what she'd do in this situation, isn't it?

Maddi really didn't like following in her "friend's" footsteps, but she had to admit, her inner Cynthia certainly had some wild ideas. After all, the redhead was a risk-taker, she didn't do things cautiously. She threw herself into everything she did with all her heart, whether that was pokemon battles, romance, or being a pain in the ass.

Well, I can be a pain in the ass too. Just watch! Maddi grinned. "Grim! Use disable!"

"Duskull!" Grim's red eye flashed and Rhox felt his body freeze just as he was about to use rock tomb. Ayame froze alongside him, scowling.

"You shouldn't spam moves like that," Maddi advised her opponent. "That might help you win in Pokeathlons, but battles require a bit more finesse! Grim, use shadow ball!"

Taking advantage of the Golem's pause, Grim flew in close, making sure that he wouldn't be able to dodge should he get the chance to move. After all, Grim's traveling speed was a lot faster than the speed his shadow ball flew; if he wanted to have his best chance of hitting his opponent, then he'd need to get up close and personal.

And that was exactly what he did.

Grim waited until he could feel the Golem's breath on his face; it was gritty, like the pokemon was breathing sand. And just as the hulking pokemon's arm flexed and he regained his movement, Grim struck!

"Duskull!" Grim hit Rhox head-on with a shadow ball, the orb of darkness exploding right in the pokemon's face.

"Nicely done!" Maddi cheered. Golem might be physically-defensive pokemon, but when it came to their special defenses, like most Rock types they were sorely lacking!

"GOLEM!" Rhox roared, clutching his face as he stumbled back. Ayame felt her own face burning, damaged from the attack. But not really, of course, Maddi wasn't so cruel as to tarnish the other girl's handsome features.

But she needed to overcome that Golem.

"Nice work, Grim, now get back here!" Maddi ordered. The attack had been a success, no point in staying behind to get injured by Rhox's counterattack.

"Dusk!" Grim turned and fled, but unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. Rhox was angry now, and right beside the Duskull.

"GOLEM!" With a roar, Rhox threw himself at the ghost, bringing his massive frame to bear on the little spirit. He slammed into Grim with a heavy slam and practically flattened the pokemon into the grass, something he very much might have done if Grim hadn't been capable of sinking down into the ground to get away.

But unfortunately for Maddi, Grim's escape didn't mean he was free from the damage of the attack. She felt her own body pressed, almost as if she was being squashed like a grape. When Grim emerged from the ground, he was pretty badly injured.

"Rock blast!" Ayame wasn't about to give up the momentum. She ordered her Golem to continue his assault and the pokemon did so gladly, firing a wave of rocks at the retreating Duskull.

"Grim, shadow ball!" Maddi ordered. She needed to make sure there was distance between the two of them.

Grim fired a shadow ball to counter the rock blast, and the two attacks exploded in a shockwave of energy. That gave Grim enough cover to get away, so Maddi could prepare her next attack.

Maddi stole a glance at Rhox to judge the Golem's condition. While she was no Ayame, she could at least tell what shape her opponent was in.

And to her good fortune, it seemed as though her gamble had paid off… at least partially. The shadow ball had been a complete success, and the Golem had lost a good chunk of health from the exchange. But it wasn't perfect, either, because Grim had lost a lot himself.

The Duskull was in bad shape, that much was obvious. He'd taken a heavy slam from Rhox, after all, and that wasn't counting the other injuries from various moves in the battle. Maddi sighed. If only he knew pain split, she might be able to make up for some of this, but that was just a pipe dream.

She needed to come up with another plan.

"Okay, Grim, no more getting in close," she said. "We'll come up with something else, so long as we can-"

"Rhox, use sandstorm!" Ayame shouted.

"Golem!" The stones on Rhox's body shifted, and sand poured out of the gaps in his skin, filling the trick room with a tornado of sand and dust. Maddi shielded her eyes from the stinging attack and winced. This was awful! As if her eye didn't hurt enough already.

"So that's your game!" She shouted over the swirling sand.

"Your Duskull is pretty fast!" Ayame shouted back. "But it's going to be a lot harder to find us in this sandstorm!"

That wasn't all. Maddi was no fool. Sandstorm didn't just impair vision and chip away at the health of pokemon that weren't Rock, Ground, or Steel type. As someone who'd assembled teams of pokemon for all those types herself, she knew that sandstorm had another bonus; Rock type pokemon got a sharp increase to special defense while under it.

Shadow balls will be half as effective, she cursed internally. Ayame was really trying to force Grim out of this battle! But Maddi couldn't do that. With his current health, he'd barely be able to do anything if she sent him out into the stealth rocks again.

As much as Maddi hated to admit it, she was in a bit of a bind. She was still thinking about what her next move should be when it was made for her.

"Golem!" Rhox emerged from the swirling sandstorm with his hands raised, a curtain of rocks following behind him.

"Rock slide!" Ayame shouted. He swung his hands forward, sending the wave of rocks crashing down upon an unprepared Grim.

Maddi's harmonia flared and she gave her next orders to her Duskull. But sadly, her instructions weren't enough to save things. The rocks buried Grim alive (or dead, in this case) and unlike with the heavy slam he didn't sink up through them.

Maddi felt her connection to grim sever and knew that her pokemon had lost consciousness. It was her first loss of the match, and even though she'd already defeated one of Ayame's pokemon, with only four pokemon of her own remaining she was still very much behind.

This wasn't turning out good.

Maddi lost her first pokemon, her Duskull! And now she has to deal with a buffed Golem in a trick room AND a sandstorm! Things got really bad pretty quickly, even though she was able to defeat one of Ayame's pokemon! So what now? Will she be able to take out Rhox? Or will Ayame keep the momentum going and defeat the rest of her team?