The Speed Course ended with Ayame being the victor! A lot of people expected that, of course, given her skills, but Ange really gave her a run for her money! Now that that's been resolved, it's time to move onto Block B, who will be competing on the Jump Course! This should be a pretty exciting series of events as well! Let's see what they'll be competing at! Remember to review!
KedharS: Yeah, everyone did really great. Even Ange has a lot to be proud of! You know, if she could be happy about coming in anything other than first, of course.
Jjjdunk1: No, it's not healthy behavior. You could sum up Ange's entire personality like that, to be honest.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, it should be interesting. As for who wins, well, we'll have to find out, won't we?
Arbiter8991: Well, she seemed pretty determined to win, so you never know…
Hyphenman: Yup, even though she lost, it was a good thing that Ange gave her a real challenge, nice to see she still has room to sweat.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1315
"Allow me to explain the first event our students will be competing in," Leanne said, gesturing towards the large trampoline. The camera shifted over to get a closer look, displaying the large area. Upon closer inspection it looked less like a traditional trampoline you might find in a store, and more like the floor of a giant bouncy castle. The trampoline sat in front of a massive wall that resembled a climbing wall, only instead of rocks, it was covered with bright lamps.
"This is the Lamp Jump, right?" Lila confirmed.
Darla nodded. "That's right, Lila. Pokemon will be competing to jump and touch those lamps, isn't that right, professor?"
"Exactly," Leanne confirmed. "More specifically, trainers will use all three of their pokemon, and have them test their jumping ability using the trampoline. The pokemon will jump into the air and try to touch as many lights as possible. The lights are specially designed so that once they are touched, they will go out immediately."
"So what's the strategy here?" Lila asked, confused. "Because it sounds like just a bunch of jumping. The other games seemed… I don't know, like they had more of a point?"
"Well, the more lamps you knock out, the more points you get," Leanne explained. "And the number of points raises progressively."
Lila stared at her.
The professor sighed. "Let me explain. Instead of getting one point for every lamp you hit in a single jump, the number of points you get continues to increase. So if, in a jump, you only touch one lamp, that's 1 point. But if you touch two lamps, you get 1 point, and then another 2 points from touching the second lamp, so you get 3 points in total from that jump."
"Oh! I get it," Darla nodded. "So that number will keep rising?"
"Whoa! So if you manage to get 10 lamps, then you'll get, like, a whole bunch of points!" Lila gasped. "Way more than 10!"
"More or less," Leanne said. "The number stops increasing after you touch five lamps. So for example, if you touch six lamps, you get 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 5 for a total of 20 points, not 21 points."
"That's still a lot of points, though," Lila said.
"And you said this contest only lasts for a single minute?" Darla was surprised at how short it was, but given how fast points could accumulate, she supposed it made sense. "That's really quick."
"Well, for the Jump Course, it's important to stay light on your feet," Leanne said. "Most importantly, this is one of the few Pokeathlon events where the trainer doesn't have to do as much physical work as their pokemon. After all, it's rather difficult for them to get even one lamp to go out."
It was hard to judge the height of the wall from this distance, but if one were to inspect it closely they would see just how far someone would have to jump to get to a second light. It wasn't something easily accomplished with a human's physical ability.
"Then what will the trainers be doing?" Lila asked curiously.
"The trainers will be standing on the trampoline and directing their pokemon," Leanne explained. "This is a test of balance for them. Can you imagine what it's like, trying to maintain your position on a trampoline when a bunch of heavy pokemon are crashing down all the time? It takes a lot of focus and skill."
"That does sound pretty hard," Darla agreed. She and Lila were exceptionally coordinated as it was, and she doubted that even they would be able to maintain their footing under such circumstances.
"It's very tricky," Leanne agreed. "And most importantly, they have to make sure not to be crushed by the pokemon."
Lila shivered. She suddenly had a terrible thought about what would happen if a really heavy pokemon like a Snorlax or an Aggron was part of this competition.
"Is there, like… a weight limit?" She asked worriedly.
Leanne shook her head. "Unfortunately there is no such thing," she admitted. "But at the same time, we do take measures to ensure the trainers' safety. See that sectioned-off area of the trampoline?"
Upon closer inspection, there was part of the trampoline that was split off from the rest by a red line drawn over the material.
"Because the trainers don't have to jump up and touch the lights themselves, they'll be standing behind that red line," Leanne explained. "Giving orders to their pokemon to jump. Hopefully, this will prevent them from being in the landing area while also giving them a bit of a challenge at maintaining their balance.
Darla had another thought. "But what about the pokemon themselves? After all, with all this jumping around, and the focus being on getting as high as possible, isn't there a chance that two pokemon will just…"
She smacked one hand over the other to simulate a collision.
Leanne nodded. "Yes, that's always a possibility. In fact, that's one of the responsibilities of the trainers, working to ensure that doesn't happen. When they guide their pokemon to jump, they want to keep a watchful eye out and try to direct them away from other pokemon. After all, if two pokemon collide, they could get injured, and that would make winning the Pokeathlon exceptionally difficult, don't you think?"
Lila winced. That did sound rough.
"This seems a lot more risky than the events in the Speed Course," she mumbled.
"I suppose that's true," Leanne admitted. "But even the Pennant Capture had the chance of pokemon colliding into each other. Same thing for the Relay Run as well. These little risks just happen sometimes, and you've got to account for it."
Lila sighed. It seemed like this really wasn't the sort of activity for her.
"What about the other pokemon?" Darla asked. "Can a trainer really control all three at once?"
Leanne shrugged. "That will depend on them. Some trainers choose to rely on only one pokemon at a time. It's not the best strategy, but it can work. But all three pokemon on a team must all be on the trampoline. That's one of the rules."
"So you said that the teams get a lot of points because of how the lamps are calculated," Lila said, desperate to change the topic off of pokemon crashing into each other. "Are there any other things we need to know about point calculation?"
"Yes, actually," Leanne nodded. "You see, it's not as simple as just getting all those points. After all, with the Lamp Jump, it's fairly easy to accrue a great deal of points very quickly. Getting at least 300 is considered average for this event."
Darla and Lila both gasped.
"That is a lot!" Lila marveled.
"So what, do they divide it by another arbitrary number?" Darla guessed.
"Exactly correct," Leanne nodded. Once the event is over and the points for all the teams are calculated, that number is divided by 3.5 to determine how many Athlete Points are given to each team's score, understand?"
"I understand 3.5 is arbitrary," Darla muttered under her breath.
Leanne scowled. "It's not, actually," she replied. "That number was chosen because it aligns the average potential score achieved with the potential scores of other events."
"That actually makes sense," Lila gasped. "I mean, think about it! If this was a competition, and you could get, like, a ton of points from one specific event, way more than the others, then wouldn't that totally ruin the tension? Like in the last course, where the Yellow Team suddenly got a ton of flags! Imagine if every flag was worth, like, 5 points instead of 3! Then the points the teams got from that event would be so high, it would be like the other events didn't even matter, right!?"
Lila had been so excited to explain her thinking she forgot that, given her role as an idol, thinking deeply with math wasn't something that she was supposed to be doing. She gasped and turned red, sinking down into her seat.
Darla sighed. "I suppose I understand," she agreed. "I still think it seems arbitrary, though. Anyway, Leanne, what about the other event? The Disc Catch?"
Everyone in the audience had already seen the Hurdle Dash up close, so there was no need for an explanation on that event.
Leanne nodded. "The next event, the Disc Catch, is another one where the trainer doesn't need to be as physically involved as in the Speed Course. But that isn't to say that they won't be playing a major role in the event."
"What do you mean by that?" Lila asked curiously.
"Simple," Leanne said, reaching under the table and lifting up something that looked like a t-shirt cannon. Lila gasped in shock, her jaw dropping.
"What is that thing?!" She exclaimed, scooting away from the teacher.
"It's a disc cannon," Leanne explained. "Watch."
She pointed it away and pulled the trigger. A round plastic disc shot out, spinning through the air like a razor blade and flying across the stadium.
"That's so cool!" Callie gasped.
Lila stared in amazement, and Darla had to admit that it was a pretty cool item.
"The trainer of each team will be given one of these," Leanne said. "They contain colored discs for their team, though it doesn't really matter. Then they'll be using these to fire at their pokemon; or more specifically, firing in the air above their pokemon. The goal is for the pokemon to jump up and catch these discs that their trainers are firing."
The camera shifted to the raised platform where the Disc Catch would take place. Upon close inspection, on the shoreline, there were four painted boxes on the ground, each colored a different color.
"The team leaders will stand in their boxes and shoot discs out over the platform," Leanne explained. "Their pokemon will be standing on the platform, and they'll try to jump up and grab the discs before any other pokemon can get them."
"Well in that case, wouldn't it be better to shoot low?" Darla asked. This didn't seem to be a contest that needed all that much jumping. If she was competing, she would aim the discs right for her pokemon and shoot, so they could grab them easily.
"You could try shooting low," Leanne admitted. "But then you might not get as many points. Remember, the disc still has to make it OVER the platform to be caught. Shoot too low and the disc may be liable to drop into the water before it can get there."
"Oh, that would be a problem," Lila nodded.
Darla wasn't so sure she agreed. Sure, for someone like her, it would be difficult to angle things right. But if someone was a math nerd, they might be able to calculate the right angle. Or someone with exceptional coordination might be able to do it, like Sango.
"There's another reason it's not advisable to try that approach, too," Leanne continued. "You don't want to give your opponents an opportunity to catch the discs you're shooting, right? The lower they are, the better chance they have at getting caught, and this is true for everyone."
"This is another event where all of a trainer's pokemon are out at once, huh?" Darla frowned.
Leanne nodded. "The Jumping Course's events are all events that require active pokemon participation at all times. On the positive end of things, that means the events themselves are very short. This one only lasts for two minutes."
"That's a lot of discs that could end up being fired," Darla said. "So how many points is there for each disc?"
Leanne smirked. "That depends."
Lila gasped. "Depends on what?" She asked curiously.
"Where the pokemon is standing, of course," Leanne said, gesturing at the screen. "Take a closer look at the platform. You see how it's divided into different colored sections?"
Upon closer inspection, the girls saw that Leanne was correct. There were four sections separated out on the platform. The largest section was at the front, closest to the shore, and was colored yellow. "1 Point" was emblazoned on it.
The sections got smaller and smaller the further back they got, and grew redder. The next section was slightly narrower than the yellow one, and colored a bright orange. This area was labeled as being worth 2 points. The next section, a reddish-orange, was half the size of the yellow area, and was worth 3 points.
But the final section was so thin it was basically just a line on the platform. Darla wasn't sure a pokemon could even stand on it, unless they were in one of the larger sloped corners. The deep red section was so narrow you could barely see the "5 Points" written on it.
"Depending on what section your pokemon is standing on when they jump, that determines how many points they get," Leanne explained. "So if your pokemon is in the 2 point section when they jump and catch a disc, then they get 2 points. But if they're in the 5 point section when they catch a disc, then they'll get 5 points."
"Wow!" Lila exclaimed. "That sounds really difficult!"
"She's not kidding…" Nikita's mouth was hanging open as she tried to work her brain around the strategy for this one. "There are three pokemon… and different sections for scoring… there are a ton of complicated methods for winning!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Julia asked, confused.
"Well, think about it. If you're a trainer, you want your pokemon to get as many points as possible, right?" Nikita explained. "So you'll want them in the 5 point section. But if all your pokemon are crowded in the back, then trainers who are playing more conservatively and having their pokemon stand closer to the front will have the opportunity to have their pokemon capture discs before the other pokemon even get a chance!"
"I see what you're saying," Alcea nodded. "Oui, that is very complex. It could be said that the proper strategy is a balance, is it? Have your pokemon spread out in different zones, a distance apart from one another. That gives them the opportunity to capture as many discs as possible, not just from you, but from other trainers, is it?"
"Yeah, that… that does sound hard…" Kitty gulped.
"The pokemon would have to be moving at all times," Callie nodded. "And that's not even getting started on the most difficult part."
Everyone turned to her, surprised.
"What do you mean?" Kitty asked, going pale. "What's the most difficult part?"
As if Leanne could hear them, she continued to speak.
"There is one other element of this event we have yet to describe," she said. "And this element is the most difficult part of this."
Lila winced. "The difficult part?" The whole thing sounded difficult. And complicated. Even though Lila wasn't nearly as much of an airhead as she pretended to be, she still thought that this event sounded really complicated.
"Yes," Leanne nodded. "After all, look at the size of that platform, and the different sections. They're pretty narrow, aren't they? It would be difficult to fit 12 pokemon on that platform."
"Now that you mention it, you're right," Darla nodded. "And if you're trying to win… one of the strategies to do that would be pushing pokemon into lower-ranked areas."
"What?!" Lila gasped, shocked that her partner could come up with such an idea. "You can't do that! It's too mean!"
Darla raised her eyebrow. "Uh… it's kind of how the game works… the trainers are trying to win, aren't they?"
Lila pouted. "Still!"
"Unfortunately, Darla is correct," Leanne nodded. "If you want to reduce the amount of points your opponents can get, having your own pokemon muscle them into lower territory is a good way to do that. Take the 5 point section, for example. It would be very difficult to keep multiple pokemon in that area. So pushing them out would be the best way to ensure you get more points for yourself, you understand?"
"But, uh… in that case… wouldn't it be possible to push pokemon into the water, then, too?" Lila winced.
Nikita and the others immediately pictured Cynthia's face, smiling gleefully as her pokemon pushed other pokemon off the platform.
Yeah, she'd absolutely do something like that… they all thought collectively.
"It's certainly a possibility, and a viable strategy," Leanne replied immediately. "I won't deny that for a second."
"But that's so dangerous!" Darla gasped. "What if a pokemon like Charmander fell into the water, and its tail flame went out?"
"Oh, don't worry, that won't happen," Leanne assured her. "They won't actually hit the water, after all, take a look."
Darla squinted at the screen, and gasped.
"There's a net!" Lila said, her eyes widening.
Indeed, stretched under the platform was a very thin wire mesh net.
"That net is incredibly resilient and can take a great deal of strain. It's immune to most elemental damage, as well," Leanne said. "It's used for stuntwork. We had it strung around under the platform to make sure it could catch any pokemon that fall, so they can climb back up and get to work."
She winked at the camera. "It also helps by catching any discs that the pokemon fail to catch. After all, we don't want to pollute the ocean, right? And don't worry! If all else fails, we have a team of students from the Ranger Course ready to step in and assist!"
With all those factors in mind, the event didn't seem so dangerous. Lila and Darla both sighed in relief.
"So what about scoring?" Lila asked, changing the subject back. "I find it hard to believe that pokemon can catch enough discs in two minutes to get a score in the hundreds!"
"Ah, don't worry about that!" Leanne grinned. "There's a special formula we use for calculating the Athlete Points a team will get from the disc catch."
"Ooh, a formula?" Nikita sat up in excitement.
"Uh… a formula?" Lila looked much less excited.
"Yes," Leanne nodded. "A simple one! {30 Points + [(120 x number of points) / (12.5 + number of points)]} See? Very simple!"
Darla sighed and shook her head.
Lila stared at the professor with blank eyes, like her brain was short-circuiting.
Oh yeah. A nice simple formula. That definitely doesn't look like something that would haunt my nightmares in an advanced math class. I'm sure Nikita must be just loving this. But yes, these events are getting complicated and exciting! And next chapter, we'll see which pokemon our teams will be using, and the Jump Course will officially start!