Kanone was at a major disadvantage against Wes, so he decided to stop playing nice. By sending out his Kommo-o, the mighty dragon was able to completely change the tone of the fight! He smashed through two of Wes's strongest pokemon like they were nothing, completely destroying his Espeon and Typhlosion! With power like that, Kanone's ready to turn this whole battle around, and now the outcome is up in the air completely!

KedharS: And he's only going to get more frightening from here.

Venoms Cross 2: Well, pseudo-legendaries are supposed to be frightening after all, so I've gotta make sure they FEEL like threats.

Hyphenman: Yep, Kommo-o is definitely one of his aces. And he hasn't even brought out his Samurott, either.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1224

With a silent grimace Wes withstood the searing pain of losing two of his pokemon at once. They'd both fainted, so he was no longer connected to them with harmonia, but at the same time he felt his body overwhelmed by the sonic assault, and found it difficult to stay standing.

He managed to regain his composure enough to recall his pokemon, however, and prepare for the next phase of the battle.

Kanone had just knocked out two of his pokemon in one move. It was a similar display to the one he'd piloted earlier, using his Typhlosion to take out the Skarmory and Klefki.

They were evened up in terms of number of pokemon remaining. But Kanone's Blaziken had taken quite a beating. If he didn't have Speed Boost for his ability, the effect of Blaze would have probably already been triggered. Add onto that the paralysis, and it was clear that Kanone was at a disadvantage in this fight.

So why did Wes feel like he was the one on the back foot?

Whatever. There was no point in feeling overwhelmed like this. Samarra wouldn't allow him. He would give it his all and defeat Kanone, for the sake of his family. He promised himself that he would create a peaceful world for Vic and Rui to grow up in.

I've seen too much violence and pain already, he thought darkly. Samarra will be the end to all of that. I have to do this.

Wes had been through a lot these past few weeks. He'd learned that the professor he'd once respected had been unhinged, and had created a monster in his laboratory that had managed to escape and threatened the world around her. That professor was now in a coma in Phenac City's hospital. And if that wasn't bad enough, his old enemy Ein had returned, and brought the Shadow Pokemon back with him, something that couldn't be allowed to stand.

Wes didn't know what to do. He didn't have a solution. He'd spent the last 25 years of his life fighting evil and corruption, and it had all been for nothing. Could he really keep fighting the battle? Again and again, until he dropped dead?

"No, of course you can't do that," Samarra whispered into his soul. "And you shouldn't have to, either. Just embrace it. Embrace who you really are. Understand that all of this… all of it… it doesn't have to be this way. You can be the one to change the world… right at my side."

It was compelling. She spoke directly to him and his doubts, letting him know that it was alright to feel uneasy and insecure. Because the truth was, she was completely correct. If she could bring real peace through her abilities… why fight her? What was the point?

Rui and Vic would understand. They'd have to. He just had to defeat Kanone Harker. Then when that was done… then they'd think about what to do next, and how to expand Samarra's power so that nobody could question her.

"Orgon! Megan! Go!" Wes snarled, sending out his Feraligatr and his Meganium. The two pokemon emerged from their pokeballs, Orgon snarling furiously while Megan bowed her head demurely, preparing to fight in her own way.

"Well, you had a Typhlosion, so it's not a big surprise you've got the other two on your team," Kanone said, stroking his chin. "Well, we'll just have to deal with that, won't we? Komei! Use aura sphere on the Feraligatr!"

"Kommo-o!" Komei roared, raising his claws. He formed a sphere of energy between them, sculpting it until the blue of his aura turned white with power. Then he flung the sphere at the Feraligatr, locking onto his opponent's aura.

"Megan, light screen!" Wes ordered immediately. Aura sphere wasn't an attack that could be dodged and Komei had launched it very quickly, but there was more than enough time for Megan to respond, creating a barrier of green light between the pokemon and the attack. The aura sphere smashed into the barrier but it didn't break through, leaving Orgon ready for an attack.

"Aqua jet," Wes ordered, narrowing his eyes.

"Feraligatr!" Orgon lowered his head and lumbered forward, water rising up to swirl around his body in a torrent. He picked up speed until her turned into a living torpedo, aiming right for the Kommo-o with his claws raised.

"Dodge it!" Kanone ordered. Komei leapt to the side, evading Orgon's first attack, but the Feraligatr was craftier than that. He dug his claw in the grass and turned on his heel, slamming his body into the Kommo-o and pushing him back. Then, raising his claw, he stabbed his sharp nails into Komei's chest with everything he had.

"Not bad," Kanone winced, clutching his chest. Komei roared in pain.

"No way! That attack did so much damage!" Lila gasped. "But he's so strong! And aren't Dragon types resistant against Water type moves, Darla?!"

"They are," Darla nodded, a shadow crawling over her face. "But remember, that Kommo-o used scale shot. It increased his speed, but it caused his defense to drop as well. That makes him more vulnerable to physical moves."

Lila winced.

"That's not all," Alden said, frowning. "I think that other move he used, clanging scales, reduced his defense as well. I saw the aftereffects of that move, and it looked exactly like what happens when Corin uses close combat."

"I agree," Darla nodded. As a Dragon type expert, there were admittedly a few gaps in her knowledge about certain species. She'd never raised a Kommo-o herself, for example, so she didn't know all the ins and outs of what it was capable of. Clanging scales was its signature move, and judging by the effects, Alden was right on the money. So Komei was facing two defense drops.

Factoring that in, it was no wonder he'd taken such severe damage from even a weak, resisted move like aqua jet.

It wasn't like Komei was powerless though. Sure, he'd taken a hit from the Feraligatr, but that just made him angrier.

"KOMMO!" He shouted, raising his fist and driving it into Orgon's stomach. He brought his fist up into a powerful uppercut, lifting the Feraligatr off the ground and holding him aloft with pure muscle for a second, before flinging him across the battlefield.

"Hack!" Wes coughed, doubling over in pain. But Samarra stepped in to mitigate it and that gave Orgon enough focus to regain his balance in midair, landing safely on his feet.

"Don't think you'll get away that easily," Kanone narrowed his eyes. "Phoenix!"

"Blaziken!" Phoenix was already running, taking advantage of the tailwind to get as close to his opponent as possible. He raised his fist and lightning began to charge through it as he prepared to strike with a thunder punch.

"Oh, no you don't!" Wes growled. "Megan!"

"Meganium!" Megan began to glow green and released her energy into a pulse that shot through the ground. As the shockwave traveled over the field the grass was reinvigorated, growing stronger and reaching up to wrap around Phoenix, pinning the Blaziken down.

"It's grass knot," Alcea informed everyone. "A useful move for slowing down one's foes, is it?"

"Trying to trip us up, huh?" Kanone smirked. "Well I hate to break it to you but we've fought against Grass type masters far more powerful than this!"

Alcea felt her face heat up a little at Kanone's praise, something that didn't go unnoticed by Olivia, hwo made a sour expression.

"Blaziken!" The electricity crackling through Phoenix's claw dissipated as he switched to another move. This time we was using blaze kick! His feathered legs lit ablaze and he tried to tear himself free of the grass, seeking to burn his way out of the brush.

But to Kanone's surprise his pokemon remained pinned. The grass refused to burn.

"…Well I've gotta say, I wasn't expecting that," Kanone admitted. It seemed like he had just now realized that there was something wrong with the fact that the fields of Agate Village retained their greenery even after being smothered in lava.

"Agate Village is home to a very special power," Wes said. Even under the influence of Samarra he was careful how much information he revealed about Shaymin to a stranger like this. "As long as that power is here, 'nature' is protected within this village. So no matter how hard you try to burn the grass away, there's no point. It won't yield to your power."

"…Well, that's certainly difficult," Kanone admitted, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Of course, I already knew all about that."

"What?" Wes flinched at that, confused.

"It was obvious, just seeing the condition of this place," Kanone said, glancing around the field. "As a Pokemon Champion, I'm very well-informed about the goings-on in the world, so of course I would know all about the natural disaster that plagued the Orre Region all those years ago. How natural life has all but been extinguished thanks to the toils of human greed."

"…What's your point?" Wes seethed. Shaymin was supposed to be a secret. He really hoped that Kanone didn't know anything about it.

"It's part of the reason we chose this mountain to imprison my sister," Kanone said, glancing at Samarra. The woman's face stared vacantly back at him, but there was something there, just beyond the surface. Something primal and filled with hate.

Kanone ignored it.

"My father knew that this place had a unique quality. After all, you're not too far away from the peak of an active volcano, and yet the land here is so lush and full of life, even though the surrounding areas are barren and desolate." Kanone swept his hands across the field to emphasize. "Of course, we didn't know why that was."

Wes relaxed slightly. So apparently he didn't know anything about Shaymin after all, that was a relief. The situation was complicated enough.

"I suppose my old man was thinking… that if there was some magical power restoring the life of Agate Village, then maybe being nearby, my cold-hearted sister who thinks nothing about the lives of others… maybe she could be fixed somehow."

"You and father misunderstand everything," Samarra coldly rebuffed his statement. "I am not the one in need of fixing. This world is what's wrong, and I'm the only one who can change it."

Kanone didn't respond to her. Not verbally anyway. But his face tightened into a wince at the sound of her voice. He quickly shook that feeling aside.

"But anyway, seeing a place like this, it really makes you stop and think. But I suppose if we can't burn through the grass, we'll just have to break free, right Phoenix?" He nodded to his Blaziken, concentrating his power.

"Blaziken!" Phoenix roared, lunging forward. The grass started to snap and break off as he forced his way through the snares, coming out relatively unscathed.

Wes wasn't about to take that lying down, though.

"All I needed to do was hold you in one place for a little while," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Orgon! Use aqua jet!"

"Feraligatr!" Orgon shot across the battlefield, claw raised. He covered himself with water again, aiming for Phoenix just as he broke away from the last of the grass. Komei had managed to resist the attack, but Phoenix was in much worse condition.

And he was weak to Water type moves as well.

"Quick attack!" Kanone ordered.

"Blaziken!" Phoenix jumped to the side, taking advantage of his powerful legs to get him just out of the reach of the Feraligatr. Orgon's claws sailed harmlessly past him, and as the Feraligatr turned to make another go of it, he saw that Phoenix had already placed considerable distance between the two of them.

And not only that, Komei was barreling towards him. Violet flames and lightning crackled around his arm.

"Dragon claw!" Kanone ordered.

"Kommo-o!" Komei swung his claw at the Feraligatr.

A barrier of green light appeared between the two pokemon; Megan had used reflect to block the attack! But even the power of the barrier couldn't stop all of it. Komei's claws still hit Orgon before it could finish materializing, drawing blood gashes across his scales. Wes felt like his own chest was being ripped open. But he withstood the attack and focused his harmonia on a counter.

"That won't be good enough!" He snarled, clenching his fist and swinging it in a punch. Orgon mimicked his trainers movements and the air around his claw started to freeze.

"Ice punch," Gabrielle whispered as the attack struck, and Komei let out a pained roar, staggering back as his claw clenched his side.

"That's bad," Darla winced. Ice type moves were super-effective against Dragon type pokemon, and Komei was vulnerable due to his defense drops.

Wes spotted the perfect opening.

"Now, Megan!" He shouted to his Meganium. "He's stunned! Hit him with your poisonpowder!" If they would wear down the Kommo-o, then Kanone wouldn't have a chance.

"Meganium!" Megan stomped on the ground and the flower around her neck flexed, sending a cloud of purple spores flying through the air. It drifted towards Komei, and to Kanone's misfortune the tailwind picked just that moment to peter out. So not even the backdraft would blow the spores away.

"Blaziken!" Phoenix leapt forward, throwing himself in front of the Kommo-o with the aid of his quick attack. The spores landed on him, but because he was already paralyzed, they had no effect.

"Nicely done, Phoenix!" Kanone nodded to his Blaziken. Phoenix may have been in bad shape, but like all of Kanone's pokemon he refused to go down without a fight. The flames on his wrists flared up and he howled into the air, taking up an offensive stance.

"Bold of your pokemon, leaping into the fray like that," Wes said. "But the tailwind is gone. Without it, your Blaziken can't hope to match Orgon in speed!"

"Ferealigatr!" Orgon sneered, showing his sharp teeth. Water whipped up around him.

"He won't need to," Kanone assured Wes with a smile. "That's Komei's job, after all."

As he said that, the air around Komei began to change. Energy crackled and burned around him as he rose to his feet, shrugging off the pain in his side from the devastating ice punch. He was awash in fire and lightning, and let out a roar so loud his scales began to shake.

A wicked grin spread across Darla's face as her eyes lit up with glee. This was it, this was what she was waiting for!

"Dragon dance," she breathed.

Komei had already gotten a boost to his speed from scale shot. And now his speed had risen even higher! And if that wasn't enough, his offensive powers had increased as well! Wes didn't have a Dragon type pokemon, but Kanone would be happy to show him just how fearsome they could be.

"Komei! Use brick break!" Kanone ordered.

"Orgon, jump back," Wes shouted. Brick break would need to get close enough to trigger the barriers before it could smash through them. If they stayed at long range and attacked with special moves, then even with Komei's speed they would be able to outpace him.

After all, the Kommo-o didn't have any priority moves to close the distance, and brick break was a physical attack. And if Phoenix tried to use it… well, it would be the last thing he did.

Kanone just smiled as his Kommo-o wound his arm back, preparing to punch.

"What's he doing?" Lila asked, confused. "The Kommo-o's not going to punch from all the way over there, is he?"

"Nah, he's just getting revved up!" Raizer assured her with a laugh. "Then he's gonna go charging in on a rampage."

"That's what you'd do," Willa muttered under her breath. It was the most recklessly idiotic strategy she could think of.

Alden watched patiently. His "Sense" was shouting at him that something was about to happen.

"Well, Komei? Don't be bashful, now," Kanone smiled.

"Kom!" Komei nodded, flinging his fist forward. It looked like a rather pointless display of force, punching at nothing like that.

Then the green barrier appeared in front of Wes's pokemon and he nearly fell over in surprise.

"What?" He muttered, shaking his head. Why had the barrier appeared like that? And why was there a crack in the middle of it now?

He was still processing this while Komei wound up for another punch again.

"I guess even brick break will take a little more to do the job," Kanone sighed. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

"W-Wait, he can't be serious, right?" Chloe sputtered, her eye widening in shock.

"Dude, no way," Donoma said, shaking her head in disbelief. But a wide smile on her lips told everyone just how thrilled she was at the possibility.

Ian was stunned.

"KOMMO-O!" Komei roared, punching the air again. He did it with even more force than last time, and the crack across the barrier began to spread, spiderwebbing out until it covered the entire surface of the screen.

Then the barriers shattered and Orgon was blown backwards. Wes felt the sensation of a fist jammed into his gut, and doubled over in pain.

"Holy fucking shit!" Raizer sputtered. He actually DID fall over.

"Did that just-?!" Tommy didn't even have the words to describe what had just happened. He owned a Hitmonchan, a pokemon built for the express purpose of delivering powerful punches, and he just… this was just…!

"He broke the light screen and reflect… with the air pressure from a brick break?!" Mason shouted at the top of his lungs. An uncharacteristic outburst to be sure, but given the circumstances it was hard not to be shocked by that.

"That's… you turned… brick break into a RANGED move?!" Wes shook his head, trying to make sense of it. But in all his experience as a trainer, he'd never seen anything like that.

Kanone shrugged.

"Komei is powerful. And the scales on his body are good for conducting sound, which we can then use to translate the force of our punch through the air, like a shockwave," Kanone explained. "So I figured if your pokemon were just going to hide behind your barriers all the way across the battlefield, we'd just smack 'em down easy with a little bit of pressure from our punch. No big deal, right?"

The menacing gleam in his eye made it very clear just how big of a deal it was. Samarra was suppressing Wes's fears and doubts with her harmonia, and given his life up until this point, those were few and far between to begin with.

So why did he feel like no particularly he was being threatened like never before?

Whoa. Kanone's trained that Kommo-o into something FIERCE! Smashing through light screen and reflect with just the pressure generated from punching the AIR? That's not a pokemon you can defeat through conventional means. It looks like things are going pretty poorly for our Orre Champion, maybe Kanone will win this whole thing after all!