The battle between Val and Gwen has reached the climax! Val has cruelly exploited her Dark type pokemon at every turn, and thanks to Gwen's overwhelming harmonia, she's been able to stay in the game in spite of her type weakness! But will harmonia be enough to overcome the tricks Val has in store for her? Or will Val score a decisive victory? And at this point… is either choice really going to be good, I wonder?
Venoms Cross 2: Well, her ace in the hole was never revealed, so it makes sense you don't remember it lol.
KedharS: No. No they will not.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Trust me, this chapter will bring a whole new amount of hatred down on her, I promise.
Hyphenman: Believe me, Val's pokemon is definitely going to make a difference.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1235
"Cleopatra! Dazzling gleam!" Gwen roared, focusing her harmonia into her pokemon.
"Espathra!" Cleopatra squawked, her eyes flashing with energy. She spread her wings and began to glow, filling the battlefield with a blinding light. Piercing rays struck Tyrant as he shielded his eyes, and the massive pokemon roared in pain.
"That one's gonna sting a bit," Val said, lowering her hand as the light faded. In spite of her statement, it was no surprise that Tyrant hadn't fallen. The attack was powerful, but not nearly enough to take down a pokemon of his magnitude.
"Now, let me return the favor!" Val cackled. "Stone edge!"
"Tyranitar!" Tyrant stomped on the ground and tore massive stones up out of the dirt, sending them flying towards the bird pokemon.
Gwen narrowed her eyes. She was still furious and desperate to destroy Val. But if the other girl thought that meant she would get reckless and get caught up in such obvious attacks, she had another think coming.
"Agility," Gwen snarled. Cleopatra lowered her head and used her long legs to run even faster, weaving around the falling boulders and getting in close to Tyrant.
"Now, energy ball!"
Once Cleopatra closed the distance between the two pokemon she opened her beak, conjuring an orb of nature power that she spat up into Tyrant's face, hitting the pokemon head-on. Tyrant roared and took a step back, swiping at her with his tail, but the Espathra was too quick to be caught up in such a simple attack.
"This isn't good," Chloe winced. "That Espathra is really taking advantage of her speed… and with her harmonia…"
"Tyranitar are powerful pokemon," Wes said, frowning. "But they still need to land their hits. Against a pokemon who can exceed their speed, they won't have much luck."
Val didn't seem worried though.
"All you're doing is scurrying around, trying to avoid my attacks," she smirked. "With cowardly tactics like that, it almost makes me wonder if you're serious about protecting your big brother."
Cleopatra froze in place as Gwen stopped everything, trying to figure out what Val was saying.
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked cautiously. With Samarra's powers worming through her brain she could understand what was going on much better than she ever had before, but that boon didn't mean she could understand everything. She had no idea what Val was getting at.
"Oh, I thought it was obvious?" Val smirked. "You're trying to get stronger so that your big brother will accept you, right? So you can protect him instead of him always protecting you. But if you're not even strong enough to defeat a Tyranitar… well, there's no way you'd be able to keep him safe."
"I will!" Gwen snapped, stomping her foot like the impetuous child she was. "I can protect him!"
"Uh, no, you can't," Val said, twirling her finger through her hair. "And I'm going to prove it to you. So here's the deal. If you can't defeat Tyrant by the end of this battle… then I'm going to track down Blake and do whatever the hell I like to him."
The tension in the air was so thick for a second it felt like even the sandstorm had stopped spinning. Everyone was processing the ultimatum Val had just delivered.
"That's sick," Lila said, holding her hand over her mouth. She was gonna throw up.
"I can't believe you would threaten something like that," Hiromi snarled.
Alcea just shook her head. She was thoroughly disgusted by Val and her actions. But at the same time… they couldn't afford for this girl to lose. It made her sick to her stomach. She had to root for one of the worst excuses for a human being she had ever seen.
Val seemed to be delighting in the discord she'd sewn in the hearts of ally and foe alike. Her eyes were filled with laughter and she fought off the urge to snicker.
"Well?" She goaded Gwen, who finally snapped out of her fugue.
"I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH HIM!"
Gwen's harmonia reached a level it hadn't yet this entire fight. Samarra was knocked over by the force of the psychic shockwave, staring up at her little sister in a mixture of awe and horror.
I had no idea… she thought, shaking her head. I knew Guinevere had power, but this… it's as if there's a limitless well of potential inside my little sister. And all of it is drawn from her pain and anguish… I can't believe I never noticed it until now!
A shaky smile spread across her lips.
With this much power at my disposal… I could do so much…
"Do it," she snarled, filling Gwen with her own harmonia as well. It was like a drop in the bucket compared to her sister. "Take her down!"
"Espathra!" Cleopatra screamed, her body glowing with fairy energy as she prepared a devastating dazzling gleam.
"Uh-oh, this isn't good!" Anabel winced.
"You're telling me?! That attack's got some real power to it!" Vic shouted back. Everyone with harmonia was reacting to the violent surge in Gwen's power.
The wave of light that erupted from Cleopatra practically vaporized everything in its path. It swallowed up Tyrant whole and kept going, wiping out the sandstorm completely. Val had to jump out of the way to keep from being caught up in the blast.
And the entire time, the wild smile never left her face.
Yes, that's it! More! Get more and more worked up! Push those emotions of yours into a frenzy! Val urged her opponent. You've got so much more than this, I just know it! But I want to see it, Gwenny, I want to see you completely snap!
"Haah… haaah…" Gwen nearly collapsed from the strain of overusing her harmonia. Blood trickled down from her nose and she nearly fell over if not for her sister coming to support her body.
The light died down, and…
"No…!" Gwen cried.
A sphere of darkness stood in the center of the battlefield, completely safe from the effect of that blast. It dissipated into fog, revealing Tyrant inside- completely unharmed.
"What? Disappointed?" Val smirked, curling her hair around her finger. "Come on, haven't you ever seen a pokemon use protect before?"
"Uuugh… AAAAAAAAAAH!" Gwen screamed in frustration. The veins on her forehead throbbed as a splitting headache shot through her skull.
Val just laughed. "Time for our counterattack, I suppose. Tyrant! Let's see if that bird can outrun an earthquake?"
"TYRANITAR!" Tyrant stomped on the ground and sent a tremor through the battlefield. Agate Village began to shake and Cleopatra was thrown off her balance, stumbling backwards as the force of the earthquake shook her.
"You put everything you had into that last attack, didn't you?" Val cackled. "But it just wasn't enough! Now you barely have the energy to keep your pokemon standing! Go, Tyrant! Rock slide!"
"Tyranitar!" A wave of rock fell upon the shaken Espathra, nearly burying her alive. Cleopatra tried to use her speed to evade the falling boulders but with her trainer's mental state so frazzled it was impossible to keep her concentration, and several of them managed to score direct hits. Gwen screamed as she felt the pain surge through her body.
"That's the problem with freaks like you," Val smirked. "Your bond with your pokemon keeps you from being level-headed about this. That's how it works, right? You two share your thoughts and feelings? How pathetic."
"SHUT UP!" Gwen screamed. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UUUUUUUUUUP!" She didn't want to hear any more. She just wanted Val to go away!
But Val wasn't the type of person to let her prey slip through her fingers. She shook her head, her eyes shining wickedly. "Oh, no, I don't think I will. Because you know as well as I do why you're performing so poorly, Gwenny. It's because you're just a crazy person. If you could keep your cool and remain calm and focused, then your Espathra would feel the same, right? She'd be able to dodge all my attacks fairly easily with those long legs of hers. But she can't, can she? Because her mental state is linked to yours, and you, well…"
Val clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disappointment.
"You're just a lunatic. You can't even keep your cool long enough to have a decent pokemon battle! You overwhelm everyone with your emotions, making it impossible to win when it really counts. Even your big sister is having a hard time keeping you in check."
Samarra scowled. Val wasn't wrong. Gwen's emotional state was so volatile not even her powers could tamp it down completely. With the other people she made friends with, keeping them under her thumb wasn't difficult. Some resisted more than others, but everyone followed her wishes in one way or another.
Gwen was different. While their connection was the same, and her motivations were shifted to follow Samarra's wishes instead of her own, her emotions made her difficult to keep under control, and Samarra needed to use all of her concentration to keep Gwen from executing her orders in the form of violent outbursts of anger.
It was like trying to perform surgery with a sledgehammer.
"I'M NOT CRAZY!" Gwen screamed, clutching her head and falling to her knees. "I'M NOT! Blake says I'm just… I'm just different! And that's okay! I'm not…" She broke into tears, trembling. Perhaps if Samarra was a more human sister she would have comforted Gwen with kind words or a hug. Things that she so desperately needed right now. But Samarra was Samarra, and she felt no need to do those things.
"Gwen…" Kanone's voice cracked as he saw his sister's condition. He stood up to go to her side, but was stopped by Rin.
"Are you insane?" The redhead snapped. "If you go out there, you're gonna risk turning both of their attacks on you!"
Kanone clenched his jaw. He knew she was right, yet…
Blake wouldn't care. He'd have run to her side anyway.
But Kanone wasn't his brother. He had to keep the people here safe, and that meant not putting more undue stress on his sister, or risking Val turning against them and sending her Tyranitar on a rampage. He shook with fury, wanting nothing more than to comfort his little sister, and not being able to.
Even if I could… she doesn't want my support. In Gwen's heart, there was only one older brother she treasured, and it wasn't the one related to her by blood.
"Well, I think it's time we hasten the climax, shall we?" Val cackled. "Prove to me you're still capable of continuing, Gwenny! If not, then we'll end things right here! Tyrant! Use giga impact!"
"Giga impact?" Wes gasped. "That's…"
"TYRANITAR!" Tyrant charged towards Cleopatra, just as the bird managed to dig herself out of the rubble. She turned towards him and tried to run, seeing a massive mountain of pokemon approaching her like a runaway train. But Tyrant was picking up speed.
"Giga impact… that's a brutal one," Ian winced.
"What's it do?" Hiromi asked worriedly.
"It's like hyper beam," Alden answered. "The pokemon uses all the power they have to unleash a devastating blow." He remembered just how devastating Giraud's hyper beam had been against Corin. Just the memory of that fight made him tremble in anticipation. "If all that power… was directed inwards, on the pokemon, instead of outwards, into a beam…"
In summary, Tyrant was bearing down on Cleopatra with the full might of a hyper beam. And Gwen was too shaken to give her pokemon adequate commands to dodge it.
"ESPATHRA!" Cleopatra screamed as Tyrant collided with her. The devastating blast from the impact made her dazzling gleam look like a party popper. The ground cracked beneath them as Tyrant slammed her forward, the force of the blow cratering the field as Cleopatra flew across the battlefield, smashing into one of the village's houses.
It was demolished on impact.
"…Ouch, Ernie's not gonna like that," Wes winced.
Gwen's body convulsed and she threw up. Blood, food, and stomach acid stained the grass as she hurled up her guts, and Samarra had to hold her down to keep her from flailing around and hurting herself.
"Gwen…" Kanone winced, staring at his sister's sorry state.
"Well, is that all? I do believe you have one pokemon left, isn't that right?" Val smirked, leering across the battlefield at Gwen like a demon.
"…Assuming Lancelot even still has the courage to fight for you, that is."
Gwen glared up at her foe, regaining control of her body. Mostly, anyway. She was still shaking as she stood, and recalled Cleopatra to her pokeball.
"I will… not… let you get away with this…" Gwen growled. Her harmonia fed off of her hatred and it made every harmonia user there feel sick. Even Samarra had a hard time looking at her sister in this state.
Gwen didn't even need to throw out her pokeball. Lancelot emerged of his own accord, charging at the Tyranitar with fury burning in his good eye.
"DESTROY HIM!" Gwen roared.
"After using that giga impact, her Tyranitar will be stunned for a while," Ian frowned. "That's really not good."
"He's four times weak to Fighting type moves," Maddi nodded. "And that Gallade is a monster in his own right."
"GALLADE!" Lancelot raised his fists, not even bothering to turn his swords on the Tyranitar. That would take too much time. Instead, he unleashed a pummeling with all he had, using close combat to devastate the Tyranitar's armored body.
"Those moves… that Gallade might be even tougher than Corin," Alden said, marveling at the brute strength the Fighting type pokemon had, even after the intense battle he'd gone through against Kanone's Samurott. Lancelot was running on pure fury right now, and he was putting it all into his punches.
Every blow forced Tyrant another step back. And the final one caught him in the jaw, actually launching him into the air. Lancelot leapt up after him, sending him flying with a spinning kick. Roaring in pain, Tyrant crashed down onto the ground in front of his trainer.
Val smirked. All the pieces are finally in place…
Snarling, Tyrant rose to his feet.
"Yes!" Donoma cheered. "The giga impact has worn off!" It felt wrong cheering for such an awful person, but the way Donoma saw it, Gwen and Samarra weren't exactly saints either. At least this way, they didn't have to worry about being brainwashed.
Lancelot tensed, waiting for Tyrant to try and strike back. But the Tyranitar didn't move.
"…Why isn't he attacking?" Lila asked. "Is he still stunned from using that move?"
"No, it can't be," Darla said, shaking her head. "Giga impact's recoil is severe. If it was still active, he wouldn't have even been able to stand."
"Oh, Tyrant can still fight," Val said. "He's just not going to. It's not like he HAS to attack, right?"
Gwen stared at Val in confusion, her anger fading for the first time as she struggled to understand.
"Are you… giving up?" Samarra asked, leading the students to gasp in horror.
"What? No, not at all," Val shook her head. "I'm just saying Tyrant's done fighting. I don't want him to anymore. You can do whatever you like with him."
If Tyrant was upset at how his trainer had just thrown him under the bus, he didn't show it. He stood calmly, almost Giraud-like in his serenity as he accepted his fate.
Gwen snarled, her anger returning. "FINE THEN!" If Val was going to make a mockery of her, then she'd show her! "Lancelot!"
"GALLADE!" Lancelot charged at Tyrant, raising his arm. It began to glow.
"Sacred sword!" Gwen screamed, and Lancelot swung with everything he had, practically slicing Tyrant in two.
"TYRANITAR!" The beast roared in pain, falling backwards. The entire battlefield shook when he hit the ground.
Silence reigned for a moment before Val recalled her fallen pokemon.
"Ha…" A tiny squeak escaped her lips. "Ha! HAHAHAHAHA!" She doubled over laughing. "You did it! You actually did it! You defeated all of my pokemon! Oh, how wonderful! How fantastic! It's exactly like I hoped! You're really perfect, Gwenny, you know that?! You do EXACTLY what I want, every time! It's almost creepy how perfectly you set me up!"
"What are you talking about?!" Gwen snarled.
"I couldn't do it under normal circumstances," Val said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Shaw wouldn't let me. He said it was for emergencies only! If you went on such a fierce rampage that I had no other choice!"
She opened her palms and swept her arms across the battlefield. "And I'd say this applies, don't you? Crow… Elesdee… Sindra… Beel… even Tyrant… none of them were enough to stop you! Now if Shaw asks… I can say I was forced to."
"Forced to what?!" Gwen screamed. "FORCED TO WHAT?!"
Val sobered up. The smile left her face as she gave Gwen a look of utter malice.
"…Why, break you, of course," she said, taking out one final pokeball.
"Oh no…" Chloe trembled.
"That's not good," Tommy winced. Ross nodded in agreement.
"What?!" Lila asked. "What's she doing?!"
"It's that pokemon," Wes scowled. "She's going to use it."
"What?" Vic demanded. "Dad, what pokemon?"
"Shaw told me that this pokemon could only be used against you… if the risk of you going rogue was too high," Val said. "Do you know how long I've waited to use this against you?! It's why I set you up with your brother in the first place at Stow-on-Side! I had hoped that he would turn you against us, but no, you stayed loyal. So I had to keep thinking. And then… the Phantom told me about your sister. How she controls people. And that's when I knew. I had to bring you here. Get you back under her control. And then, when there was no other choice, when I was the very last person who could stop you… then I would have my opportunity."
"So that's why she threw away her pokemon so carelessly…" Kanone seethed. "It was never about winning. She just wanted to use this secret weapon of hers."
"That's not true," Val scoffed. "I tried very hard! You see, I needed it to be a situation where that Gallade was the only pokemon she had left. The pokemon she put all of her hopes and dreams and faith in! It was a LOT of effort! Arranging the battle so flawlessly that I could take out her other pokemon while sacrificing my own, all so I could set this up!"
"It doesn't matter what pokemon you have," Gwen snarled. "Lancelot and I will destroy it!"
Val just smirked. "Oh, no. Not THIS one, Guinevere. Not YOU. This is what real darkness looks like, foolish girl. The stuff nightmares are made of. Show her! Remind her what true terror looks like, Nightmare!" She crowed, flinging the pokeball into the air.
It burst open, and the pokemon that emerged was truly nightmarish.
"No… you can't!" Kanone shouted, his heart stopping as he saw what pokemon was inside Val's pokeball.
"What… what even IS that?!" Lila screamed, falling on her ass.
Darla shook her head, her eyes wide with amazement. "It… it looks like a Salamence, but… it isn't."
The pokemon indeed resembled a Salamence, but anyone with eyes could tell it wasn't one. Its body was rougher and spinier, with sharp, jagged scales and long claws. And its wings were combined together in the shape of a crescent moon, and covered with feathers unlike the other dragon's leathery ones. It was a prehistoric monstrosity and the primal gleam of madness in its eyes struck fear in the heart of anyone who laid eyes on it.
"ROAAAAAAARRRRGH!" The monster roared, and Agate Village shook.
Gwen stared dumbly at the beast in front of her.
And just as Val predicted, she broke.
Well. Val just changed the game with that little trump card of hers, didn't she? That's quite a powerful ace she had up her sleeve. I wonder what the repercussions of using such a pokemon in this situation will be?