Blake was pushed to the brink, his Scizor badly injured, and with little hope of pulling out the victory. That's when he had his pokemon retreat to his pokeball with baton pass- only to replace him with Tristan, Cynthia's ace?! What's Blake doing with a Breloom? It's certainly a good pokemon to use against Kanone and Samurott, but still, a pokemon like that… well, it's a little surprising, but it was definitely worth the surprise. Hopefully, things will keep going well as we reach the conclusion of the match and see which brother will emerge victorious!
KedharS: Nobody did, and that's exactly why it was the perfect pokemon to use! Tristan will definitely catch Kanone off-guard, which is just what the doctor ordered when it comes to emerging the victor in a battle like this!
Venoms Cross 2: Yep, Blake baton passing his Scizor to another pokemon was expected. But nobody would have seen him using Cynthia's ace. That's just shocking.
Hyphenman: Yep, I wanted to go back and forth for a while on whether or not Blake's last pokemon would be Sarah, before confirming that, no, it wouldn't be. But before anyone could figure out the real reason why Blake asked for Cynthia's help, I wanted to show just what he needed her for- his final trump card, Tristan!
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1283
"Breloom!" Tristan roared, punching Sammy in the gut with everything he had. Sammy coughed and clutched her stomach, flying backwards. She crashed into the ground hard.
"Urgh!" Kanone clutched his stomach as well and doubled over in pain, feeling the backlash from harmonia surge through him.
The crowd was in an uproar.
"What was that?! What even was that?!" Lila exclaimed, her jaw dropping. "Blake just… but I mean, isn't he… he doesn't have a…? Where did he get a Breloom?!" She demanded.
"He doesn't have one as far as I know," Darla said, shaking her head. "But then, it's not like I know everything about his pokemon…"
Both girls looked to Olivia. The Empress knew more about Blake and his pokemon than either of them. But Olivia looked just as shocked as they did.
"He doesn't have one," Olivia confirmed, shaking her head. "But I think… doesn't one of his friends have a Breloom?"
"That's right!" Lila gasped. "That redheaded girl, Cynthia, who made it to the semi-finals of the Fall Festival Tournament! She has a Breloom!"
"How insightful," Darla noted, hiding a sour expression. Lila's character wasn't supposed to be this perceptive.
"But still, I'm shocked," Olivia said, shaking her head. "To think that Blake would choose to use one of his friend's pokemon in this match. It goes beyond what I ever would have imagined."
"What are you thinking?" Kanone spat, glaring at his brother. His stomach was still aching and he was having trouble breathing. Sammy had just barely managed to pull herself back to her feet, and her breathing was irregular as well. "Where did you get that pokemon? I know it isn't one of yours, little brother."
"His name is Tristan," Blake said, nodding to the Breloom. "And I borrowed him from a friend of mine, so I could defeat you."
All eyes turned to Cynthia.
"Well," Sylvia grinned. "I'll give you this much. You certainly didn't make this battle boring or predictable, Cynthia Fafnir!"
"You let him use Tristan!?" Sango exclaimed. "Why?"
"For the type advantage, is it?" Alcea asked, raising her eyebrow.
Cynthia shook her head. "No, that was part of it. But really it's because we knew he wouldn't be able to see it coming."
"I certainly didn't see it coming," Maddi agreed. "But it's the perfect setup. With a Grass/Fighting type combination, he's got the right types to take her down. Good move relying on him"
"You got that right," Akira agreed. "Stacking all those bonuses onto a pokemon like Tristan… your Breloom's really got a lot of power, Cynthia."
"I know!" Cynthia boasted. "Tristan will tear that Samurott apart!"
"It's not a sure thing, though, there's still a chance he could lose," Elaina said grimly, earning her a scowl from the redhead.
"What do you mean?" Cynthia demanded. "Tristan's as tough as it gets!"
"He's got a four times weakness to Flying type moves," Maddi explained. "And that Samurott has been demonstrating just how powerful her air slash and aerial ace moves are, isn't that right?"
Elaina was grateful for the assist. She nodded. "Yes, that's what I was trying to say," she mumbled. "Flying type moves are strong against a pokemon like that."
Cynthia frowned, but she couldn't debate with the two of them. "We'll just have to see," she said, crossing her arms over her chest."
Kanone was still applauding Blake's tactics. "You had your Scizor use hone claws to boost his accuracy, when a swords dance would suit him fine. That was to set up for dynamic punch, wasn't it? It's very difficult to make a move that wild hit, after all, about half the time the move will fail before it hits the opponent. But with such a boost to accuracy your Breloom was able to land the blow perfectly, not a bad plan."
"That's really smart!" Lila gasped. "So he used the move in preparation?!"
"It makes sense," Darla nodded. "After all, this is the kind of fight where preparation like that should be expected. Blake needed something up his sleeve if he wanted to pull this off."
"Now the question just becomes whether or not this will be enough to win," Olivia said, frowning. She honestly didn't know. She wasn't knowledgeable enough about pokemon battles to be able to tell whether or not Blake's little trick would be enough for his pokemon to come out of this ahead and win the match.
"We'll have to see…" She murmured.
"Tristan!" Blake shouted to Cynthia's Breloom. "You managed to catch her off-guard with that dynamic punch just like we planned. But I doubt that what's coming next will be enough for that to work a second time!"
Blake knew what his brother was capable of. Just because he and Tristan had caught them off-guard earlier didn't mean that his brother wouldn't be prepared for them to try again. Knowing Kanone, he was expecting that. They'd landed their one dynamic punch already, and that was good enough, as far as he was concerned.
Even if it hadn't confused Sammy like it should have.
Oh, the Samurott had been afflicted with the confused condition, certainly. But as a harmonia user, Kanone was able to keep his cool and connect to his pokemon, preventing Sammy from hurting herself in confusion. Now they were both thinking straight.
"Sammy!" He shouted. "Use aerial ace!"
"Samurott!" Sammy nodded, disappearing in a flash.
As expected! Blake thought, narrowing his eyes. Sammy would obviously use aerial ace as her first move. It was still a move that was impossible to dodge. There was only one chance they'd have to evade the attack.
"Seed bomb!" He ordered.
"Breloom!" Tristan took a deep breath and tilted his head down. He fired a barrage of seeds that exploded when they hit the ground, working in tandem with the Breloom's jump to launch the pokemon high up in the air. At the same time, Sammy swung her sword and his nothing, caught up in the explosion herself.
"Nice thinking!" Darla applauded. "He used seed bomb to give him some lift over the Samurott!"
"That really was smart, Darla!" Lila agreed.
"But it's not over yet," Olivia said grimly.
"Sammy, he's a sitting duck!" Kanone snapped. "Now's the chance to finish him off!"
"Samurott!" Sammy's head snapped up and she looked at the Breloom who was in the middle of dropping back towards the ground. In his present state, Tristan would be powerless against an attack that used the air as a channel to strike.
"Air slash!" Kanone ordered.
"Samurott!" Sammy swung her shell sword, sending a blade of wind through the air. The wind attack sliced through the sky and struck Tristan directly, dealing massive damage to the mushroom pokemon. Tristan plummeted out of the air, hitting the ground hard.
"No! Tristan!" Cynthia cried, hopping to her feet. She clamped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming out.
"Breloom!" Tristan hopped to his feet, glaring at the Samurott. He wasn't beaten just because the Samurott had been able to land a lucky hit. He had some moves of his own, after all, and he was going to show Sammy what he was capable of.
"Try again with another air slash," Kanone ordered his pokemon. "He's already proven he can't avoid it, after all."
"Sam," Sammy nodded obediently, drawing her shell sword once again. The air began to spin around the blade.
"We're not trying to dodge it this time," Blake smirked. "Go, Tristan!"
"Breloom!" Now it was Tristan's turn to disappear. The sudden flash of green before he left Kanone's sight was enough to surprise the champion trainer, who for a second didn't know where the mushroom pokemon had gone.
Then Tristan reappeared in front of Sammy and struck her in the jaw with a powerful mach punch. Sammy was powerless to stop it. The Samurott rolled across the ground and jumped to her feet, panting, jaw sore and lips bleeding.
"SAMUROTT!" Sammy roared in anger, scraping her swords together.
"What's the matter, Blake?" Kanone called. "Your pokemon seems a little restless. Not that I'm complaining, of course. I'm actually quite impressed that you're able to control him so well, given the fact that he isn't yours!"
"Tristan belongs to my friend, Cynthia," Blake repeated, and Kanone flinched. Blake continued, "Cynthia and I, we spent the last three days training our pokemon together, so that Tristan would be used to following my orders. That's why I'm using him, because he trusts me. Certainly not as much as my own pokemon do, of course not. But Cynthia trusts me, and he trusts his trainer. And that's why he'll lend me his strength for this fight!"
"…I see."
"You said it yourself, big brother," Blake was happy to remind Kanone. "I could use whichever pokemon I wished. I just decided that one of them didn't need to be mine. Cynthia's trained Tristan up well; he's one of the strongest pokemon I've ever seen. And I thought that he would be the perfect choice for taking down you and Sammy."
"You definitely made a good decision," Kanone agreed. "But are you sure it's the right decision? It may help you win this battle against me, but it's not like you'll be able to borrow her pokemon in the actual match against Gwen, you know that, right?"
Blake frowned.
"Yeah, of course I understand that," he said, glancing up at the stands. He didn't know where exactly Cynthia was sitting, but he knew she was here somewhere. He smiled.
Blake had no way of knowing it, but the person he was looking at while he was smiling was Cynthia herself. She smiled back at him and nodded, holding her hand over her chest.
This was the strength she'd given to her friend, in the hope that he'd be able to defeat the older brother he'd never been capable of standing up against before now.
"I may not be able to use Tristan himself against Gwen, but that was never the point of this," Blake said, turning to his older brother. "The reason why I used Tristan against you… it was because I wanted to show you that I have friends."
Kanone shook his head. "I already knew that already, I-"
"No, you don't understand," Blake said, shaking his head. "It isn't just that I have them. It's that my friends were willing to do anything to support me. Cynthia believes in me. She thinks I can save my sister. That's what a real friend is, someone who lends you your strength in order to win the battles necessary for you to fight."
He stared directly into Kanone's eyes.
"You should know that better than anyone, big brother. After all, that's how harmonia works, isn't it? You use your power to support your friends, so that they'll be able to fight battles against stronger opponents, isn't that right?"
Kanone couldn't help but nod. "There is certainly some truth to that," he admitted. "But in the present situation, you won't be able to use this 'substitute' for harmonia against our sister," he repeated. "So defeating me like this-"
Blake grinned. "So you think I'll defeat you, eh?"
Kanone made a sour expression. "All I'm saying is that-"
"All you're saying is that a team of strengthened pokemon isn't going to be enough to defeat my sister because not all of them are mine, believe me, I get it," Blake said. "But that's the thing. Even if I don't have the chance to use Tristan against Gwen… that doesn't really matter. Because I still have Cynthia supporting me. With her fighting at my side and helping me get stronger, I WILL become good enough to save Gwen. And it's not just Cynthia, either."
He stared up at the sky and smiled. "I have so many friends who have helped me a lot, especially helping me get stronger," he explained. "In fact, three of them lent me a hand just in preparing to defeat you, big brother. That's the REAL strength I'm going to be facing Gwen with. And it's not something you can replicate on your own."
Kanone took stock of his brother for what felt like the first time in an eternity. It seemed like Blake had really changed in a considerable way.
What happened to the little brother I knew? He wondered thoughtfully. Blake was showing almost no trace of the angry, antisocial boy that Kanone had known him to be.
Briefly, whether as a result of harmonia or the fatigue of the battle, Kanone thought he could see silhouettes of other people standing behind Blake. The other people hwo were supporting him, guiding him to victory.
The sight of them brought a smile to Kanone's lips.
Well… you're right about that, little brother. You're not alone. The question is whether or not the strength you've gotten from your friends will be enough to take us down. Kanone had reached the end of the battle. He could see it clearly now.
And there was nothing left to do but embrace it.
"Go, Sammy!" He shouted. "Finish that Breloom off with aerial ace! The strongest one available!" Kanone concentrated his power, putting all of his harmonia into his pokemon. For a brief moment, he and Sammy were breathing in perfect synchronicity. The boundary between trainer and pokemon had fallen away, and they were just two individuals interacting in harmony with one another. They raised their sword and disappeared, crossing the distance of the battlefield in a flash to stand behind Tristan, where they raised their sword and began to attack.
Sammy's sword dropped down upon Tristan while she was still moving so fast she couldn't be seen. By the time she slowed down enough that another pokemon could conceive of where she was, her attack had already made contact.
Sammy could feel the fangs of her sword cut into Tristan's back, and Kanone felt the blade gouge into flesh. Tristan stumbled forward, vanquished, but refused to back down. He shot his foot out and planted it, keeping himself upright.
Blake and Tristan had seen this coming. They knew Kanone would want to end it in a flash, a single decisive move.
They were counting on it.
Just a little more! Blake thought, gritting his teeth. He couldn't connect to Tristan with harmonia so he had no idea how well the Breloom was holding up against the offensive slash, but he had to believe that Cynthia's ace wouldn't fall.
Do it, do it! He pleaded with Tristan, hoping the Grass type pokemon retained consciousness long enough to continue the assault. "NOW!"
"Breloom!" Tristan pushed off the ground with his extended leg and flung himself backwards, twisting his body as he did so. This caused Sammy's weapon to dislodge and ripped it from her hand, leaving Sammy wide open for a counterattack.
And a counter attack was just what Tristan had in mind. The Breloom's tail swung through the air, carried by the momentum of Sammy's slash. The Fighting type pokemon took all the pain that Sammy had inflicted on him with that last attack, and returned it onto the pokemon twofold, striking Sammy in the face.
Sammy was flung backwards and Kanone stumbled, nearly losing his balance. He watched as his pokemon flew through the air and crashed down on the ground, well outside the boundary of the battlefield. At the same time, Tristan collapsed, having succumbed to his injuries from the powerful Flying type move.
"Is that it!?" Lila exclaimed. "Is the match over?!"
"We can't see," Darla frowned. "The dust still isn't clearing."
A cloud of dust had been kicked up around Sammy, obscuring her condition from everyone. "So we have to wait and see if she's still capable of fighting?" Olivia asked, scowling. It would prove to be some of the longest seconds of her life.
"Come on!" Cynthia cried, pumping her fists up and down. "Come on, Tristan, your counter HAD to have finished her off!"
"He had to win," Sango nodded in agreement. "Blake just HAD to win!"
They'd all come too far for Blake not to emerge the victor in this fight.
"She fought off Blake's Mareanie and Snivy weakening her with poison, his Galvantula electrocuting her, his Crawdaunt bashing her and trying to use endeavor, his Scizor's multiple assaults, and finally hits from a +6 attack dynamic punch, seed bomb, and mach punch," Akira informed everyone of just how much abuse Sammy had been through. "If she's not finished off by that counter attack, then she's truly invincible."
Everyone was watching with baited breath as the smoke cleared. And when it finally did, Sammy was standing tall, sword in her hand.
She let out a triumphant roar that shook the stadium as Blake and his friends stared on in shock. Sammy took another step forward, towards the battlefield…
And collapsed.
"You did well," Kanone said, walking over to his Samurott and patting her on the head. Even now Sammy was struggling to stand, trying to get to her opponent. But there was no point. Everyone could see it.
The Samurott was no longer capable of continuing.
"Samurott is unable to battle!" Lila announced. She was shocked, and there were actual tears running odwn her face, not fake ones. "You know what that means, don't you, Darla?"
"You bet I do, Lila!" Darla nodded in agreement. "But let's hear it from the lips of the woman who initiated this match!"
Both girls then turned to Olivia who was staring on in shock.
"Y-Yes," she cleared her throat, finally finding her dignity again. "It is my honor to announce the conclusion to this pokemon battle! Neither Breloom nor Samurott is unable to continue the battle! However, as Blake still has his Scizor remaining and capable of fighting, that means that this exhibition match goes to Blake Harker!"
The crowd exploded in shocked applause, and no one was cheering louder than Cynthia herself.
Well, and that's that. It took an entire team of pokemon and one that didn't even belong to him, but Blake managed to defeat Kanone's strongest pokemon. It was quite an impressive showdown, and Blake really did his best. So what will this mean going forward? Is he ready to battle against Gwen? After all, he only defeated Kanone's Samurott. There is still a lot of work he has to complete before he's ready to stand up against his little sister.