With the first event coming to a close, we move onto the second event, the Goal Roll! In the previous course, the Goal Roll was pretty wacky and exciting due to the collusion between Serefina, Dakota, and Nick, and Sylvia's trickery and genius defying them. But now we'll see a more traditional approach to the event, without all the collusion. Will Blake be able to pull out the win here? Remember to review!
The Elimination Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 4 has started! Make sure to get those votes in, we've only got a few so far! You can vote for up to 5 girls, so make sure your favorites have a chance to shine!
Nominated: Alcea, Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Callie, Chloe, Cynthia, Dakota, Donoma, Elaina, Gabrielle, Joyce, Kate, Maddi, Misato, Nikita, Rui, Sango, Sylvia, Vic
KedharS: It's the soccer event from the previous round. And far, far less annoying than that gym test, I'll say that much.
Hyphenman: Yep. Their moments together playing in the snow were really heartwarming. They had a little of that over winter break back on Mt. Silver, too. With any luck, those days may return again soon. We can hope, at least.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1333
The sun was high in the sky as the competitors walked onto the field. They each stood in their respective zones, waiting for the match to begin.
"Okay girls, we can do this," Blake said, crouching down so he was addressing his pokemon directly. "We just need to make sure we can keep our wits about us."
Blake knew he was playing from a disadvantageous position. While not as far behind in the points as Marion, and not behind the others by very much, he was coming into this event from behind. If he wanted to secure the lead, it would take more than just playing defensively. He needed to go on the offensive and get points.
Of course, there's not going to be any convenient team-ups like in the match against Sylvia, he thought, frowning. It would be a lot more difficult for him to get points than it had been for Serefina and Dakota, unfortunately.
And he didn't have any easy targets, either.
Andy had demonstrated her great synergy with her pokemon in the previous event, working with them to score a bunch of points. Marion, of course, had harmonia, which mean that she wouldn't even need to use verbal commands to guide her pokemon to fight him. And Sango, while using pokemon that weren't her own, had still somehow managed to get the highest score in the first event, a testament to how skillfully she had made use of them.
Blake couldn't see any weak points to exploit against those three. And Sango in particular had a grudge against him (and not an unearned one) meaning that his situation was going to be pretty complicated and rough.
She'll probably target me first out of principle, he considered. If that's the case, then I'm going to have to do the best I can to take her down. But if I get roped into a battle with her, then the other two might team up against me as well, sensing blood in the water… hmm. This is pretty tricky. There's also the fact that Sango is the current point leader as well, meaning she can afford to be a little bit more reckless than I can…
Blake found himself in a pretty tight spot.
The only advantage I have right now is the fact that the others are also fighting against each other, he noted. Andy and Marion will probably want to take Sango down a notch or two themselves, to get ahead of her. So if Sango steps out of line and comes after me with her pokemon, that would open up counterattacks…
It was a risky game. But one he didn't have any choice but to play. He hoped that what he thought up was going to be enough. In the brief period before the event began, he searched his mind for as many strategies as possible, coming up with ways to win.
"Look at Blake," Reiner said, using his good eyesight to take note of the complex expression on his friend's face. "He's really lost in thought."
"He probably has to think," Nick said. "After all, he's pretty far behind. This isn't like the match with me at all."
"Hey, he's not that far behind," Julia scowled, feeling the need to defend her friend. "He's only behind by like ten points! Or 15 or whatever! He can absolutely come back and take this whole thing," she asserted.
Kitty smiled, happy that Julia was taking a stand for Blake. "That's right, this isn't over yet. Ayame, you said that, right?" She asked, glancing shyly at the tall girl.
"That's right, this is anyone's game still," Ayame nodded. "Sango has a bit of an edge, but it's not a serious enough advantage to merit being too concerned. The only issue will be whether or not she can keep her momentum. That's probably what Blake is strategizing about right now, how to overcome that lead and beat her."
"I think he's got a shot!" Callie asserted. "Blake is pretty smart!"
"It will come down to the strategies of the others, is it?" Alcea mused, glancing at the three girls who would be going up against him. All of them were discussing with their pokemon.
"Blake's strategies won't lose to anyone else's though," Cynthia pointed out. "He's way smarter than the other three… right?"
"It's not about brains," Ayame said. "It's about coming up with a good strategy on the fly. You don't need to be particularly clever to read the situation and determine what to do."
"Lucky for you," Olivia teased, nudging her friend with her elbow. Ayame rolled her eyes and sighed, not amused.
"Sango will think of something," Elaina asserted. "But then, Blake is not the kind of person who gives up, either."
While she may have been rooting for Sango to win, a part of her was also supporting Blake. She was in a very confused space, emotionally-speaking.
"Okay everyone!" Lila said, grinning from ear to ear. "Our trainers have begun preparing themselves for their strategies, and are ready for the match to begin! Are you excited, Darla?"
"Definitely," Darla nodded. "I'm looking forward to see how this match differs from the one in the previous block. What about you, Leanne?"
"I feel the same way," Leanne nodded. "Now then! Let's begin the second event!"
The firing gun went off, and the Goal Roll began as the ball rose up from the center of the field.
"Mukuro!" Sango shouted immediately.
"Decidueye!" Mukuro flapped his wings and flew for the ball, aiming to get it first. But as fast at the spectral bird may have been, he wasn't the fastest pokemon on the court.
"Basculegion!" Bass shot forward like a rocket, lowering his head. He headbutted the ball with everything he had, knocking his out of the way. Mukuro crashed into him, and both Ghost type pokemon spun out.
The only problem was, Marion's pokemon was so focused on hitting the ball, that he hadn't cared where he was aiming at.
Which was a pretty big problem for Blake, because his goal was right across from the Green Team's, and the ball was headed right for them.
"Tara! Ruru!" Blake shouted to his Snivy and Galvantula.
"Sni!" Tara jumped onto Ruru's back, and the spider leaned forward, raising her hind section to fling Tara up into the air. The Snivy struck the ball back down into the grass, right where Ruru was waiting for it.
"Galvantula!" Ruru swiped her front leg at the ball and knocked it towards Sango's goal, just where Blake had been hoping it would go.
"Nice work, you two!" Blake cheered. He didn't even mind that Ruru didn't follow up after the ball to try and make the shot. He was trying to goad Sango into responding now, and come after him, while her Decidueye was still stunned from the collision.
But Sango didn't take the bait. She narrowed her eyes his way and shook her head. Silver flew in front of the ball and brought it to a stop, and that's where it stayed.
"Of course! That strategy works, too!" Lila gasped.
"What strategy?" Darla asked. For once, she was the one who was confused.
Lila was happy to explain, enjoying the opportunity to be on top for once. "It's simple," she said. "Sango's in the lead points-wise, right? So she doesn't even have to score! If she can keep the ball away from the others, then the event will end with no points, and that way she'll keep her lead! See, doesn't that work?"
"It's certainly a bold play," Cynthia said, amazed. "Even if I was in the lead, I'd still try and increase my lead by scoring more points!"
"But that has the potential to backfire," Callie pointed out, frowning. "After all, if another team gets the ball, then they can overtake you; especially when Sango's got such a narrow difference in point totals, you see?"
"This method can backfire as well, though," Ayame said, narrowing her eyes. "It can be risky to keep a ball in your own court."
"Ace!" Andy shouted to her Ambipom, happy to take the initiative. "Let's do this!"
"Ambipom!" Ace cheered, running across the field towards the Red Team's goal.
"Mukuro, intercept him!" Sango shouted.
"Decidueye!" Mukuro picked himself up off the ground and flapped his wings, flying towards the agile monkey. But that was exactly what Andy had been hoping for.
"Ace, now!" She shouted.
"Ambipom!" Ace whipped his tail forward, and Mukuro spread his wings to brake, expecting to be attacked. But he should have remembered that attacks were off-limits in a Pokeathlon, and that was unnecessary.
What Ace did was completely different. The Ambipom flung something, but it wasn't an attack, and it wasn't aimed at Mukuro.
"Rellor!" Pewpa chirped, clinging to his ball of mud. Ace had flung the Bug type pokemon over Mukuro's shoulder, and right at the Yellow Team's section of the field.
"Eww, that's so gross!" Lila winced. "Imagine throwing something like that?!"
"I hear Aipom and Mankey in zoos do it all the time," Darla snickered. She found it gross herself, but Lila's response was amusing.
"Ew ew ew!" The pink girl gagged, shivering.
Pewpa quickly picked himself up, and pushed the ball of mud towards the soccer ball. Sango fought back her urge to vomit, considering the texture of the gunk the Rellor was rolling. She'd seen her fair amount of pokemon leavings in her training as a Pokemon Ranger, and she knew it when she saw it, no matter how much Andy insisted it was just mud.
"Doria, don't let him get the ball!" She ordered.
"Oricorio!" Doria flapped her wings and put herself between Pewpa and Silver, guarding the ball with her pom-poms. At the same time, Mukuro turned and headed back to the Yellow Team's goal in order to help her.
That was the moment Marion decided to join the fray.
"Now then, Clawz!" She shouted, turning to her Clawitzer. She didn't need to issue any further orders due to her perfect connection with her pokemon; using harmonia, she could guide Clawz exactly as she wanted.
A grin spread across Marion's lips as her Clawitzer turned back to their goal and opened his massive pincer wide. This is just like fly fishing! She thought, as she adjusted her pokemon's aim. Clawz fired a massive blast of water that sent him hurtling through the air, aiming right at the ball and the Yellow Team's goal.
"Whoa, what the heck?!" Lila gasped, shocked.
"It's just like that time in the preliminaries!" Darla said, remembering when Marion had employed a similar strategy back in the first round, to win the race.
"That's part of the reason why it's legal," Leanne said. "While we shouldn't allow using the water itself to directly influence the ball, in this case, Clawitzer is just doing what it would normally do in the wild, so it's fine."
"What do you mean?" Lila asked, confused.
"By expelling water from the nozzle in the back of its claw, Clawtizer can propel themselves at high speeds," Leanne explained. "It's their primary means of travel. So right now, it's just moving the way it would almost move."
"…Like a torpedo," Darla noted dryly as the Clawitzer soared past them, angling right for Silver and the ball.
"Silver!" Sango shouted. Her Castform nudged against the ball as best he could to push it out of the way, but he couldn't do much against Marion's mid-flight adjustments. With her brains and the instincts she'd honed from her time spent fishing she could guide Clawz wherever she wanted him to go by ordering him to make precise bursts of water.
"Clawitzer!" Clawz collided with Silver and the ball, and sent them both spiraling into the Yellow Team's goal. Silver rolled through the grass and the ball was absorbed by the holes in the back of the goal, much to Sango's irritation.
"Nice! That's the first point of the round!" Lila cheered.
"And a pretty impressive point, too," Darla nodded. "She didn't just sink the ball, she sunk one of Sango's pokemon, too!"
Sango grumbled and glowered at Marion, who waved at her.
"Fun, right?" The green-haired girl called over to her friend. "I thought it was a blast myself!"
"You're a riot, Marion," Sango said, picking up Silver. The Castform was still a little woozy himself, barely able to float.
Only Blake could see the situation for what it was. Andy and Marion's pokemon were both on Sango's side of the field. Which meant the ball coming up out of the center of the field was up for grabs! What an opportunity!
"Tara, Ruru, go get the ball!" Blake shouted.
"Snivy!" Tara nodded. She hopped on Ruru's back.
"Galvantula!" Ruru scuttled forward, using her legs to make great time as she approached the ball. Maria stayed back in the Blue Team's section of the field on defense, much to her disappointment. Even if it meant she could spend more time with her trainer.
"Maria, you've gotta be ready," Blake warned her. "Remember, you can't use any attacking moves, or even defending moves. Just your body, alright?"
"Mar!" Maria nodded. She spread out her tentacles wide, showing Blake just how sharp her spines were. A mischievous grin crossed her face.
Blake winced. "I-I guess… that's not against the rules…" He acknowledged. "But still, let's save that for a last resort, okay?"
"Mareanie," Maria nodded again. But judging by the look in her eye, he wasn't so sure he could count on that.
Hopefully it won't come to that, though, he thought, staring across the field at his two pokemon, who were running for the ball. In the future, he was going to make sure one of them was waiting at the center at all times, both to intercept the ball as needed and to serve as a pivot for if things ever got too tight.
The problem was, Ruru and Tara were the only pokemon aiming for the ball, and they weren't the closest, either.
"Basculegion!" Bass had recovered just like Mukuro, and was swimming through the air towards the ball. His head was lowered, and Blake couldn't be sure if he intended to strike the ball again, or the two pokemon coming after it.
But he wouldn't get a chance to find out.
"Ambipom!" Ace darted towards the ball, but kept away from the two charging pokemon. With a flick of his tail he snagged the ball, pulling it back towards him. Denied of their prize, Ruru and Bass were on a collision course for one another.
"Galvantula!" Ruru braced herself for impact as Tara leapt off her back. But it wasn't necessary, because Bass phased right through the spider, coming out the other side and circling towards Ace, who was running for Marion's goal. The only pokemon he had left on guard duty was Mana, and the Mantine would probably be an easy target.
"Ambipom!" Ace raised the ball up with both tails, and flung it at the Green Team's goal.
"Mantine!" Then, to his amazement, Mana surged up and spread her fins wide, creating a large shield just big enough to block the strike. The ball hit her in the belly, stunning her momentarily, but due to her size she was able to keep from falling over.
"Nice work, Mana!" Marion cheered. "Sorry for that, by the way." She picked up the ball from where it had rolled to her goalie box, and kicked it with everything she had, aiming right for Bass.
"Basculegion!" Bass swam for the ball. But in his hurry to get there, he'd missed something crucial. And that something was a tiny little green pokemon hiding away in the grass.
"Snivy!" Tara leapt up, putting herself between Bass and the ball. She swung her tail with all her might, sending it towards Ruru. A last-ditch effort, because a second later, Bass collided with Tara like a boat hitting a Magikarp, not even bothering to phase through her and instead using his bulk to send her spiraling away.
"Galvantula!" Ruru wasn't about to waste Tara's sacrifice. She received the ball, clutching it tightly in her feelers as she scurried towards the Red Team's goal. There was only one pokemon there at the moment, and it was her fellow spider pokemon, Silk.
"Spidops," Silk hissed. She lifted her legs and began to weave a net, preparing to intercept the ball from her opponent.
"Oh, come on! That can't be legal!" Lila groaned. "She can't just make nets!"
"It's not illegal so long as she's not directly putting obstructions in front of the goal," Leanne informed her. "She can create nets of that sort as a Spidops would do, but anything beyond giving them to another pokemon or using them to block herself would be against the rules."
In that case, Lila thought the rules were pretty stupid.
"Hiyahoo!" Andy whistled. "Come into my parlor, said the Spidops to the Cutiefly!"
"Galvantula!" Ruru snarled, glaring at the girl. She seemed to be saying "I'm a spidere too, you know!" with her eyes.
"Galvantula has the speed, but Spidops has the defensive ability," Leanne noted. "It's a complicated situation. We'll have to see which one of them has the better plan."
"Gal!" Ruru darted around Silk, and flung the ball at the net directly.
"Spi?" Silk was actually surprised it was that easy. She leapt in front of the ball, blocking it with her net. She made sure to adjust the stickiness of the web so the ball would bounce off, heading right for Andy, her trainer.
Which was exactly what Ruru was hoping for.
"Galvantula!" Ruru braced herself against the ground and lunged forward, leaping over the red grass towards the ball.
"What's she doing?! Is the crazy?" Andy raised her arms to shield herself from the incoming pokemon attack.
"If that Galvantula touches the ground, then it's a major foul for the Blue Team," Lila said, turning to Leanne for confirmation. "Right?"
"Right," Leanne nodded. "The Blue Team will get a three point penalty."
So Ruru just had to not touch the grass. She raised her leg and kicked the ball in the air, sending it over Silk's head and into the net. The Blue Team got a point, but when Ruru fell, that point would quickly be taken away.
Blake grinned. He hadn't planned this out ahead of time, but he knew what Ruru was planning to do, because he knew how she fought.
"Nice work, girl!" He shouted to her.
"WHOA!" To Lila's amazement, and the audience's as well, Ruru suddenly flew back as if she were yanked by an invisible hand. She flew through the air, and out of the Red Team's territory, heading back towards the safe zone.
"So that was the plan," Darla said, cracking a grin. "Just look!"
The camera zoomed in on Ruru, and that's when everyone saw the thin strand of silk coming out of her rear end.
"She made a tether!" Lila gasped.
"Ah, I see. That way, she could pull herself back to safety after her jump," Leanne said, nodding in appreciation. "A very bold play, but quite a risky one. If she miscalculated her jump, or the speed with which she can retract herself, then she'll still hit the ground and get a penalty."
But Ruru wasn't the kind of pokemon who would do that, and Blake knew it.
"Galvantula!" Ruru chittered, landing safely in the green grass instead of the red.
"Safe point!" Leanne declared, and the crowd went wild at that daring display.
Yeah, now that's what we're talking about! Blake's getting really bold here! Way to go, dude! He's gotten a point, which is pretty good! The question is whether or not that will be enough to keep him ahead! This game is pretty exciting and it just got started. Sango and Andy probably won't make it easy, and Marion's no slouch, either!