The Eon Academy [S.S. Wishmaker Side-Story]

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 12: Miscalculation

Spoiler:

“Go, Lucario!”

Justin sent out the Pokemon contained in the Pokeball very intentionally selected, and couldn’t help but notice one of the giant screens mounted in the stands, where a camera had already framed the shot of Lucario, which Justin presumed was being broadcasted already.

“Go, Rotom!”

Sophie sent out her first Pokemon, and at first, Justin thought he may be in trouble, battling a Ghost Type. However, after a moment, it became clear that Sophie’s Rotom had possessed a washing machine, and whilst that did give it a little more power, and Water typing and attacks, it did remove Rotom’s Ghost typing, making its own Ghost Type attacks just as weak as if Lucario were to try and use them.

Not wasting any opportunities, and Lucario briefed prior on what to expect, Justin gave his first command.

“Laser Focus!”

“Laser Focus?” Chris asked Charlotte. “Why would he use that? Lucario doesn’t have any hugely powerful but inaccurate moves, does it?”

“Wouldn’t have a clue…”

Lucario roared, using its move, while Sophie gave Rotom her first instructions.

“Thunder Wave!”

Rotom cried out gleefully, before launching a small, targeted blast of electricity at Lucario, which whilst didn’t harm it, caused Lucario’s muscles to seize and cramp, restricting its movement and slowing it down.

“It appears that Sophie has anticipated a brutal attack from Justin’s Lucario, and opted to try and interrupt it,” Camilla commented, before turning to Jon. “Though Lucario doesn’t learn any moves that make the best use of Laser Focus, does it Jon?”

“None of the traditional combinations, like Fissure or Sheer Cold,” Jon answered. “But at the same time, Iron Tail and Focus Blast would both hit hard from Justin’s Lucario, and whilst they are more likely to hit than not, I think Justin has figured Lucario could stand to take a hit if it meant guaranteeing a hit itself after.”

“Well, it seems Sophie may have thrown a spanner in the works,” Camilla answered. “I wonder if he will go ahead with this brutal attack, now that Lucario has been compromised…”

“Hex!” Sophie shouted, causing all watching from the Eon Academy to cringe. This tactic was nothing new, being used multiple times, as Hex would deal much more damage if the target was under a condition such as a burn, poisoning, or in this case, the paralysis caused by Thunder Wave.

Rotom launched a spectral orb of ghostly energy at Lucario, striking it which caused Lucario to screech in pain, and struggle to keep its footing.

“Agility!”

Lucario, despite the cramping of its muscles, darted forward, getting itself moving towards Rotom, before darting from side to side erratically, building up momentum, and giving itself enough speed to not be slowed down by the paralysis.

“I guess he has had to postpone going on the offensive,” Camilla noted. “Lucario’s strength is partially in its speed, and being slowed down dashes that.”

“Sophie definitely made the right call in how she responded,” Jon added. “By paralyzing Lucario, not only did she interrupt her strategy but bought herself time for a follow up attack

“Now Drain Punch!” Justin commanded. Lucario’s fist became engulfed in a red aura, as it leapt out of the stride it had taken, towards Rotom, and striking it with its palm. Lucario was a strong physical attacker, and had landed a solid hit, Justin thankful that some of the damage that Rotom took was returned to Lucario as pure energy, keeping the Pokemon moving. However, the amount was small, and Lucario was clearly losing this match-up, now in close range of Rotom.

“Hydro Pump!”

The hose of the Rotom possessed washing machine shook for a moment, before gushing a thick and heavy torrent of water out of it, striking Lucario, who was knocked back, struggling to remain standing. However, Justin knew Lucario had one attack left to make this opening match worth it…

“Focus Blast!”

Lucario placed its palms outwards towards Rotom, letting out a loud and determined roar. Starting as a pinprick of light, the attack appeared between Lucario’s palms, as a pale blue flicker, before exploding into a powerful beam of light, striking Rotom an instant later, and knocking the Pokemon out…

“It’s hard to tell at this point whether Justin’s win in this matchup is due to luck or skill,” Camilla noted, irritating Jon. “Using Agility to make up for the loss of speed from Thunder Wave, and immediately following with Drain Punch to recover lost ground was definitely the right move. However, Focus Blast, while strong, is relatively inaccurate and could have easily missed.”

“I don’t think it’s as simple as skill or luck,” Jon said, keeping his tone professional. Camilla would get her shock soon enough, and he didn’t want to sour that moment by giving too much away. “A skilled trainer will account for luck as much as they can, and be prepared for it to not be in their favour. And Justin is an exceptionally skilled trainer…”

Lucario, stood shakily on his feet, and Justin knew that Lucario only needed time to take one action for his plans to succeed. However, it could go either way at this point, and whilst he had contingencies for Lucario not being able to do what Justin had instructed it prior, none were as effective as Justin’s primary tactic.

Rotom was called back, as Sophie selected her next Pokemon, Justin sighing internally when he saw it. Infernape stood opposite Lucario, and Justin knew that Lucario was extremely disadvantaged in whether it would be able to carry out his instructions.

“Flame Charge!” Sophie instructed, Justin admiring the intelligence behind that decision. Lucario could barely take one more hit, and Flame Charge, whilst weak, would increase Infernape’s speed if the attack landed. And Infernape was naturally a faster Pokemon than Lucario…

Justin watched in horror, as Infernape bounded across the space between itself and Lucario, covering itself in flames, whilst Lucario, muscles spasming from the Thunderwave, seemed to struggle to move.

“Come on Lucario!” Justin shouted, hoping for a miracle, though not expecting one.

Justin couldn’t tell if Lucario simply pushed past its own limits of pain, or managed to break free of the cramps caused by Thunderwave. Either way, when Lucario in a desperate bid to buy time, roared in pain, and darted aside from the seemingly inevitable attack by a matter of millimetres, Justin didn’t waste time wondering how, and took the opportunity.

“Copy Cat!”

Jon couldn’t help but beam at that split second decision. Justin had gotten lucky, something that no good trainer relies on, or plans for. And in that moment, he made the perfect call.

Lucario roared, before being encased in flames like that of Infernape, the initial flare being more intense than Infernapes, before being dialled back a moment. Jon looked over at Camilla, who whilst watching the match intently, didn’t react, Jon figuring she hadn’t noticed.

Infernape, having stumbled by bracing for an impact that didn’t happen, turned to face Lucario, only to be slammed by Lucario’s flaming form. The attack barely affected Infernape, however it had its intended purpose.

“Justin was relying on Lucario having superior speed, and whilst that was the case against Rotom, Infernape being faster caused problems,” Jon explained. “However, Flame Charge increases the user's speed on a successful hit, and Justin, having not expected a lucky break, responded perfectly to the opportunity…”

Lucario, now faster than Infernape, had a split second to make one more move. However there was shock from all watching, followed by understanding from Jon after the initial confusion, when Justin gave his next command.

“Lucario, return!”

Lucario cried out, before Justin returned Lucario to it’s Pokeball.

“I don’t quite see the point of that,” Camilla noted. “I understand that if Lucario attempted another attack, Infernape would have the opportunity to retaliate and Lucario isn’t in a position to sustain another hit. However, Lucario’s speed is increased beyond its normal, when you balance the increases by Agility and Flame Charge, and the decrease from Thunder Wave, the former now disappearing with Lucario returning to its Pokeball. If Justin needs to send Lucario back out, it will be even more disadvantaged, when Lucario could have landed a good hit now, and still gone out ahead?”

Camilla was visibly confused, and whilst Jon had a hunch on what Justin was attempting, he wasn’t going to say Justin had a reason. Camilla being confused whilst Jon was calm spoke volumes enough to those watching, and it would make Justin pulling the pin on his tactic that much more entertaining…

“Go, Regieleki!”

“Flame Wheel!”

Infernape leapt forward, diving into a continuous somersault, encased in flames, before slamming into the Titan of Electricity. Regieleki cried out in pain, before darting to the side, showing off its uncanny speed. However, Jon wasn’t the only one to notice something was different.

“Regieleki seems a little slower than normal?” Chris said to Charlotte. She hadn’t noticed it, however Chris, having pitted his Pokemon against Justin many times in the last week, had grown to know just how fast Regieleki was, and could see that whilst it still was quick, it seemed slower than during training.

“You don’t think he may have intentionally reduced its speed?” Charlotte asked. “Like he did with Alakazam?”

In order to capture Regieleki, Justin had used mood enhancing berries, and Galarian mints, in order to change his Alakazam’s attributes, making it much more resilient to attacks, and much slower, using it as a trap for Speed Swap. Justin doing something similar would explain it, however Chris could think of no good reason for it.

“I think you might be overthinking it a little,” Dylan said, hearing the conversation. “I get the feeling it is something much simpler…”

“Regieleki, Thunderbolt!” Justin called out. Regieleki stopped its strafing, before crying out and unleashing a medium sized, strong and accurate bolt of lightning, launching it at Infernape.

Knowing that Thunderbolt was far from Regieleki’s most powerful attack, Sophie didn’t order Infernape to dodge, instead giving a command.

“Earthquake!” she instructed, knowing that the devastating Ground Type attack would hit Regieleki hard. However, Infernape, having braced to take the attack before responding in kind, didn’t get the opportunity, after being hit by the Thunderbolt. The attack struck with much more impact than either trainer or Pokemon expected, throwing Infernape backwards, into the wall of the arena, where it fell to the ground unconscious…

“Regieleki is famous for its second to none natural speed, however it appears its attack power is nothing to sneeze at either,” Camilla said, trying to remain calm, even though Jon could see she was desperately trying to figure out what wasn’t adding up. She knew that Legendary Pokemon or not, the power of that Thunderbolt was not normal, and something was going on. She racked her brain trying to figure out what tactic Justin could be using.

“I suppose this means that we will be seeing Sophie’s Legendary Pokemon, Melmetal now, unless Sophie really wants to keep us guessing,” Jon added. “I’m curious to see this Pokemon in person. I know little of it…”

Even though he had seen photos of the Pokemon, as well as the video, the size of Melmetal took him by surprise. It stood at roughly two and a half metres tall when Sophie sent it out, over double the height of Regieleki, and whilst Jon didn’t know the species natural attributes like he did most Pokemon he saw, it didn’t take a PhD holder to see that while definitely slow, Melmetal was incredibly resilient, and could hit extremely hard when it wanted to.

“This matchup could go either way,” Jon commented. “Whilst Regieleki is definitely more suited to being a distance attacker, and will be avoiding getting in close quarters, electrical attacks tend to suffer in accuracy over large distances, compared to a Rock or Grass Type attack. Regieleki will need to get in close to land some guaranteed heavy hits, and Melmetal isn’t the sort of Pokemon I’d be lining up to go hug…”

Having heard Sophie’s instruction for an Earthquake prior, Justin decided to use his opening move to buy himself a little peace of mind.

“Magnet Rise!”

Regieleki cried out, before shifting the polarity of its body, causing it to float in the air, repelled from the ground like two magnets of identical polarity. Taking this opportunity, while Melmetal was close to Regieleki due to where it exited the Pokeball, Sophie called out.

“Double Iron Bash!”

Justin hadn’t heard of this move, figuring it to be a signature move of the giant Steel Type Pokemon, though didn’t need a great portion of creativity to guess where this was going. Whilst Regieleki was using Magnet Rise, Melmetal used its ungodly strength to leap into melee range of Regieleki, using its two large arms as clubs, hitting Regieleki with each.

Regieleki took the attack hard, being thrown back, as Melmetal advanced towards it. And as unsteady as Regieleki was, and not in the position to sustain another hit from the huge Legendary Pokemon, this was the opportunity Justin was waiting for.

“I think Justin may have made a mistake sending in Regieleki when he did,” Camilla said. “That and using Magnet Rise, instead of putting distance between itself and Melmetal, seems like it may leave him without Regieleki to finish off Melmetal…”

Jon had been watching carefully and figuring out Justin’s plan, piece by piece. He didn’t know for sure, but had a rough idea, and knew that Justin’s big move was coming. It was now or never.

“No Camilla, Sophie made the mistake. So did you…” Jon said, his tone not holding back. Camilla turned to him, shocked that he had criticised her so openly in such a highly watched broadcast.

“And what mistake was that?” Camilla asked, irritation becoming obvious in her voice.

“Underestimating the Eon Academy…”

“Stop pretending Regieleki!” Justin shouted, making sure that Regieleki would definitely hear. “Show them what you can really do!”

Regieleki cried out gleefully, before darting well and truly clear of Melmetal and blinding speed. When Regieleki finally stopped, behind Melmetal, when a second earlier it was on the other side of the battlefield, it cried out gleefully, before letting out a Discharge attack.

Those watching watched in awe and horror as Regieleki glowed brighter, the cameras displaying it on screen dimming in order to compensate, as large, powerful arcs of lightning shot from Regieleki. Melmetal, acting purely on instinct, managed to raise a Protect barrier in time to block the attack, whilst Latios darted in front of Jon and Camilla at breakneck speeds, erecting his own Protect to block a stray bolt of lightning that was heading for them. Jon nodded his thanks to his Legendary partner.

The ground underneath Regieleki shattered from the force of the attack, and once it dissipated, Melmetal ended the Protect, only to see Regieleki was gone…

”Lucario, you have the most important role,” Justin had said to Lucario before the match. Next to Lucario was Regieleki and Ninjask. “I am going to give you orders, and I want you not to follow them…”

Lucario looked at Justin, confused, having never had Justin give these types of instructions.

“I’m going to order you to use Laser Focus, but instead, use Nasty Plot,” Justin continued. “Then, when the time is right, I’ll call out for you to come back. But instead of waiting for me to put you back in the Pokeball, use Baton Pass…”

Justin looked over at Ninjask next.

“I’m going to order Lucario to use Agility, and a few other buffs, since Regieleki’s best weapon is its speed,” Justin explained. “But if Lucario is beaten before it can use Baton Pass, I will send you out instead. I will stall for time, while your Speed Boost kicks in, and we’ll Baton Pass to Regieleki, and settle for it only being quicker. But if all goes to plan, it should pack a hell of a punch…”

Finally, Justin turned to Regieleki.

“When you come out, you should feel like you can break the sound barrier. I know you’ll be excited, but I need you to control yourself,” Justin explained. “Melmetal is going to be hard to pick off at a distance, and you approaching it will just give opportunities for it to attack…”

Justin, quickly thinking over how he wanted Regieleki to handle Melmetal, paused for a moment, before continuing.

“We need Melmetal to come to you, and if you’re even more insanely quick, and much stronger from the Baton Pass, I don’t think Sophie will risk sending Melmetal in to attack you. We need her to do that,” Justin continued. “So until I give the order, keep yourself at your normal speed. Don’t let them catch on that you’re actually quicker and stronger, until I give the signal, when Melmetal is in range for us to take it down…”

“Do you know what’s going on Jon?” Camilla asked, all hint of irritation gone, overridden by the confusion. “Is this something you taught him?”

“Not something I taught him specifically. This is something he came up with himself…”

“What is it?” Camilla asked, hating the fact she had no idea what was happening.

“That Laser Focus Lucario used wasn’t a Laser Focus. Ironically, it was a Nasty Plot,” Jon explained, the pride not hidden in his voice. “So Lucario’s attack power in special moves was doubled from the beginning. Then it used Agility to double its speed, after it was halved by Thunder Wave, and copied Infernape’s Flame Charge, adding to its speed again.”

“Lucario was withdrawn, so all of those effects would have worn off…” Camilla began, as she realised it. Not wanting to give her the opportunity to make that realisation public, Jon asked a question.

“Did Justin just withdraw Lucario?”

Camilla looked in horror, as Regieleki, whose speed was now fifteen fold of Melmetals, darted around the large Pokemon, remaining close enough to attack, but near impossible to place a hit on.

“Electric Terrain!” Justin commanded. As Regieleki circled Melmetal, electricity seemed to drip from it, crackling around the ground surrounding Melmetal, who seemed lost, desperate for instruction from Sophie.

“Double Iron Bash!” Sophie instructed, knowing that it was her best bet. Whilst neither attack was likely to hit, if one of the attacks missed, the other still stood a chance of striking. However Regieleki dodged them with ease.

“Thunderbolt!” Justin commanded. “Then Rising Voltage!”

The arc of lightning struck, causing Melmetal to step back, while Sophie desperately tried to buy time.

“Protect!”

Justin saw the opening, as Melmetal fumbled to raise another barrier. Whilst Protect barriers were raised quickly enough that practically all normal opposing attacks were blocked, Regieleki was far from the speed of a normal Pokemon.

“Get in close!” Justin shouted at the top of his lungs, knowing this was the breaking point.

Seeming to see everything in slow motion, Regieleki saw the translucent barrier coming into existence from the ground in front of Melmetal, and rise. With all the speed the Legendary Pokemon could muster, it launched itself forward, leaping over the fast forming barrier, trapping itself between the Protect barrier and Melmetal. With a target that it could not miss, Regieleki followed Justin’s instruction from before. Rising Voltage.

With a cry of glee, Regieleki began absorbing the dispersed electricity from the electric terrain, before unleashing it as a powerful pulse of lightning in all directions. The Protect barrier which existed to be a near unbreakable wall between Regieleki and Melmetal, instead prevented the arcs of electricity from discharging behind Regieleki, rebounding them past their source, and doubling the power of the attack that was hitting Melmetal. When the light disappeared, Melmetal collapsed, as Regieleki strafed from side to side quick enough that it almost created a solid image, given the fact that nothing but the slow motion cameras could keep up with it.

“Melmetal is unable to battle, and Sophie Williams has three Pokemon unable to battle,” the referee called out. “The match goes to Justin Collins of the Eon Academy!”

Justin called back Regieleki, before making his way towards Sophie who seemed stunned at what had played out. When he reached her, she composed herself, returning Melmetal, and turning to face him.

“Good match,” Justin said. “I thought for sure Infernape would have had my plan dead in the water. Hell, Rotom nearly ended it before it really began…”

“Good match is an understatement…” Sophie said in disbelief. “I’ve never even considered a Pokemon being fast enough to get between Melmetal and the barrier…”

“That was a spur of the moment thing,” Justin laughed. “I’m shocked it even worked. Excuse the pun…”

She shook Justin’s hand, before Justin spoke.

“And thanks for being cool with us,” Justin added, nodding towards the section of the outer battlefield where Sophie’s classmates waited. “It was good to battle against someone who just wanted to have a good match…”

Sophie grinned.

“Brad’s gonna be eating his words,” Sophie remarked. “Makes losing to you first up worth it…”

“Well Camilla, if nothing else, I can say for sure that Justin has just set the standard for the rest of the Eon Academy, myself included, and I think it will be hard to meet,” Jon said, knowing full well that this would drive her up the wall. “But I have full faith in my other students, that they will rise to the occasion, and set it even higher by the time we meet on the battlefield…”

“Yes, that was a very skillful display,” Camilla replied, hiding the fact that it pained her to have to say it. “But the College of the North Wind has four more representatives to take to the field, before you and I meet out there, and as we have just seen, anything can happen…”

Justin made his way back to the Eon Academy section, where Dylan, Chris and Abbee sat, albeit awkwardly, as Charlotte had just left to speak with her team before their battle.

“Told you,” Chris remarked with a grin, slapping Justin on the shoulder. “I think they’re already regretting their s**t talking…”

Justin couldn’t help but match Chris’ smile.

“Charlotte told me to tell you that you were incredible,” Abbee mentioned. “And honestly, you deserve every bit of that. You should have seen the look on Camilla’s face when Regieleki let loose…”

“I’ll have to make sure to check out the recording of it later…” Justin laughed as he sat down.

“You’re definitely Jon’s student,” Dylan commented. “Those fake moves are very much his style of thinking…”

“What can I say? I learnt from the best…”

Charlotte emerged a few minutes later, as the commercials that had played since Jon and Camilla finished commentating Justin and Sophie’s battle came to a close.

“Making their way to the battlefield now, are Beth Thomas of the College of the North Wind, and Charlotte Jones, representing the Eon Academy,” Camilla introduced. “Beth is one of the best battlers the College of the North Wind has to offer, so will definitely be providing a challenge for Charlotte. What can you offer about her, Jon?”

“The feeling is mutual,” Jon answered. “Since day one of the Eon Academy, Charlotte has gunned for the top spot, and grown to be a force to be reckoned with. When Pokemon are on a battlefield, she is honestly terrifying…”

Charlotte sighed contentedly hearing this. It was the start of their second summer when Jon began using terrifying as a description of her battling prowess, and she never ceased to enjoy it. She stared down at Beth, still bitter about the snide remarks made by her, and the holier than thou attitude she had.

“Both trainers select a Pokemon, though do not send it out until I start the battle!”

Charlotte readied a Pokeball, as Beth did the same, waiting for that one word.

“Begin!”

Charlotte sent out Roserade, ready for anything that Beth had lined up. Even the fact that Beth opened with Zeraora, her Legendary Pokemon.

Whilst Charlotte didn’t have a tactic as specific and calculated as Justin, she had rough ideas of how she would approach this. Whilst Justin’s tactic worked well, hinging on something like that could be dangerous if it doesn't go to plan. Charlotte preferred keeping her tactics fluid, and coming up with a plan based on the facts as they presented themselves. Whilst she had originally planned to put Roserade on the offensive, Zeraora being sent out first changed that. Instead, she decided to play defensively, and try and get an idea of what Zeraora was capable of.

“Agility!” Beth commanded, and Charlotte was thankful for that, and the opportunity to use a non-damaging move herself.

“Grassy Terrain!” Charlotte commanded, though those watching from the Eon Academy side of the field grinned. They had all fallen victim to the hybrid move that had replaced Grassy Terrain in Roserade’s repertoire, that Charlotte had worked tirelessly with Roserade over the last year to perfect. Roserade cried out, raising its arms and launching hundreds of seeds in the space surrounding it. Charlotte could tell from its build that Zeraora was a physical attacker, and would be making its way to Roserade before too long.

“The battle has begun with what looks like both trainers building to something big,” Jon commented. “Zeraora seems to be similar to Regieleki, in that it will be relying on its exceptional speed, however seems to be a bit more attack oriented than Regieleki.”

“Meanwhile, it appears that Charlotte is preparing for a potentially longer battle, whilst also giving Roserade an edge with any Grass moves that it may use…” Camilla added.

“Plasma Fists!” Beth instructed, Charlotte presuming this was a signature move of the Legendary Pokemon. Zeraora leapt into the air, crossing the distance between where it originally stood, and where Roserade stood amidst the glowing, lush grass, both of its paws encased in crackling lightning, and striking Roserade before it even touched the ground.

Roserade took the opening hit, stepping back, as Zeraora landed into a crouch. However, in a flash, the ground beneath it exploded, as thorny vines erupted with a life of their own, tangling their way around Zeraora’s nimble and muscled limbs.

“Bullet Seed!” Charlotte called out. Zeraora darted back, breaking the vines that held it in place, however not removing the vines that were tangled around it. Roserade launched the seeds, which grazed its opponent, doing minimal damage, however, Charlotte was now set for the long run. Between Grassy Terrain and Leech Seed, Roserade would be getting a continuous stream of energy, as long as both remained in effect. Whilst Grassy Terrain would likely be the first to end, she would cross that bridge when she got there. Zeraora had some of its energy drained, which was transferred to Roserade, in addition to a little extra that came from Grassy Terrain.

“Was that Leech Seed?” Camilla asked, whilst Jon grinned.

“Charlotte spent all of last summer and the month or two afterwards, training Roserade to smuggle a few Leech Seeds in with its Grassy Terrain attacks, without giving away it was doing anything more,” Jon said with a note of pride. “It always ends up being a nasty surprise…”

“Drain Punch!” Beth ordered, seeing Charlotte was wanting this to be a drawn out battle, and knowing that she needed Zeraora to recover energy as well if she wanted to win this battle of attrition. Roserade took the hit, having its energy drained somewhat by Zeraora, however, had one trick up her sleeve that unless she was mistaken, Zeraora couldn’t match.

“Synthesis!”

Roserade cried out, as its health was restored, whilst Zeraora had more of its energy drained. However, Charlotte couldn’t help but notice a detail during the Drain Punch. Something so minor, she may have imagined it.

“Plasma Fists again!”

Quickly veering to the left, in order to come at Roserade from the side, Zeraora rushed towards Roserade, striking it with its lightning enhanced paws, darting back before Roserade could launch a counter attack.

”There!”

Charlotte noticed the same thing. Zeraora was pulling its punches. They were barely making contact before Zeraora would retreat, and whilst they were still hitting hard, given the Legendary Pokemon’s natural strength, they were far from hitting their hardest.

“Synthesis again!” Charlotte shouted, before readying a Pokeball. “Now return!”

Roserade, having been healed again by Synthesis, returned to the Pokeball, being replaced with Charlotte’s Magmortar, who took the brunt of the prepared Plasma Fists attack.

“Charlotte has switched Roserade out for Magmortar, and unlike the previous match, has no buffs that would transfer to Magmortar by doing a sneaky Baton Pass,” Camilla explained. “Additionally all moves that Roserade has used have had visible effects…”

“Charlotte wouldn’t be mimicking Justin’s strategy so soon after,” Jon confirmed. “She isn’t normally one to pull a Pokemon anyway, however she must have seen good reason for it…”

Charlotte was thinking completely in the moment, with a vague overall idea, but nothing in mind for more than an attack or two ahead to get there. She could see Zeraora had been pulling its punches, and had figured out why. Beth, like Justin, was relying on Zeraora’s speed. Get in close, attack, get out before they could respond. However, Zeraora was that focused on getting out of range to dodge a potentially match ending counter attack that it was not hitting as hard as it could. It was keeping its weight on its back legs, instead of transferring it forward to its paws. Additionally, it was pulling its paws back before they stopped from the full resistance of their target. The complete opposite of Chris, who had his Lugia telekinetically hold Jon’s Scizor in place to prevent any of the impact of Lugia’s Dragon Tail being wasted on throwing Scizor back.

Magmortar had taken the first of the Plasma Fists, and didn’t have time to retaliate before Zeraora lined up another Drain Punch. The attack struck, putting Zeraora near the state it was at when it left the Pokeball, before more of its energy was drained, now being passed on to Magmortar. Beneath them, the lush green grass was losing its glow, and Charlotte knew that it didn’t have long left before wearing off.

“Sunny Day!” Charlotte instructed, as Magmortar launched an orb of fire into the air, which floated above the battlefield, projecting light and head down into the arena below like a miniature sun.

“I don’t know why she’s using Sunny Day,” Justin said to Chris. “Magmortar only has one or two hits left before it will go down, and Sunny Day doesn’t make that big of a difference for Fire moves…”

“It isn’t for Magmortar,” Chris answered. He hadn’t come to the same conclusion about Zeraora pulling its punches, however knew why Charlotte had sent out Magmortar. “Charlotte is using Magmortar for the same reason she used it against you at the start of summer. Roserade will beat Zeraora. Mark my words…”

The glowing green grass disappeared from the battlefield, as Zeraora hit Magmortar with a subsequent Drain Punch, knocking the Pokemon out, and restoring its energy levels to full. However, that final punch was enough for Magmortar to fulfil its purpose in the battle.

Zeraora winced at a burn that it had sustained on both fists, having struck Magmortar’s flaming body as much as it had, struggling with the pain of it, whilst it continued to have its energy sapped by Leech Seed. However, the real benefit for Charlotte was the fact that Zeraora would be forced to pull its punches even further, making them little more than bumps for Roserade, who emerged from the Pokeball.

“Plasma Fists!” Beth shouted, as Zeraora launched itself forward.

“Take the hit!” Charlotte said. “But grapple it!”

Zeraora hit Roserade directly, however the hit was weaker than before, Roserade barely feeling the impact. As Zeraora made contact, thick vines launched from the flowers on the end of Roserades arms, twisting around Zeraora’s wrists, and holding it secure. Beth looked in shock, as she saw what had happened.

“Plasma Fists!”

Despite being bound, Zeraora managed to strike Roserade again, however it made no difference. The vines weren’t to prevent Zeraora from attacking. Just to prevent it from getting away…

“Grassy Terrain!” Charlotte commanded. Whilst it may be excessive, Charlotte figured Roserade had the time to pull off the attack, and she had to consider her opponent once Zeraora fell. This was the same logic behind her having Magmortar use Sunny Day. It would increase the effect of Synthesis, meaning that Roserade could restore its own health when it battled the next Pokemon.

“Blaze Kick!”

Zeraora’s lower paw became engulfed in flames, as it stood onto its other, and thrusted it out, slamming the flaming paw into Roserade, who was struck harder, being joined by the vines to Zeraora, and not thrown back, escaping some of the impact. Roserade cried out in pain, and Charlotte knew one more of those right now would be the end of this matchup. However, it went both ways.

“Giga Drain!”

Just like Roserade being unable to avoid the Blaze Kick, and taking more damage due to being attached to Zeraora, Roserade’s Giga Drain attack hit Zeraora much harder, especially when used in conjunction with the freshly renewed Grassy Terrain.

Zeraora cried out in pain as all of its energy was ripped from it, and transferred to Roserade. Zeraora fell with a thud to the ground, whilst Roserade remained standing, refreshed and looking as if it were yet to take a hit.

“Go Charlotte!” Abbee shouted from the stands. Justin had set the bar high with his battle, however, Charlotte had done something just as incredible. Beaten Beth’s Legendary Pokemon without using her own. Whilst Magmortar was down and out, Roserade was as good as unused, and had the advantage of Sunny Day and Grassy Terrain on its side for whatever Beth sent out next.

“I refer to my previous statement,” Jon noted from his commentators table. “Terrifying…”

Camilla watched bitterly as one of her star pupils returned her Legendary Pokemon, having been beaten by a standard Pokemon. Meanwhile Charlotte caught Beth’s eye, and saw a hateful rage burning in it. She sent out her next Pokemon, and the confidence Charlotte held for the following matchup was dashed in an instant.

“Go Talonflame!”

The Fire-Flying type, native to Kalos, emerged, and screeched loudly, as it took in the sight of its opponent. Charlotte was backed into a corner with this development. Roserade had been set up for Grass Type moves to hit very hard, however they would be beyond ineffective against the Fire-Flying Type. And whilst Roserade had its Poison type moves it could use, Talonflame would no doubt be quicker, and only need one good hit to wipe Roserade out.

She considered withdrawing Roserade, however the Pokemon she sent in to replace it would be locked in, and she didn’t want to do that if she could avoid it just yet. And while Roserade did have a significant disadvantage, the matchup wasn’t over yet. She had one trick up her sleeve which may give her an opportunity to create more.

“Grassy Glide!” Charlotte commanded, knowing the move became quicker than nearly all others when used in Grassy Terrain. A platform of grass erupted from the terrain beneath Roserade, lifting it towards Talonflame at an eye-watering speed.

“Acrobatics!” Beth instructed. To Charlotte’s shock, Talonflame dove on Roserade even faster, striking it and knocking it off the growing platform, onto the battlefield below. Roserade hit the ground with a thud, unconscious, and putting Charlotte down to her last Pokemon.

“And with that, Beth has retaken the lead,” Camilla said, Jon nodding in agreement.

“But the match is far from over…” Jon assured.

Charlotte realised what had happened as soon as she saw Talonflame move. Gale Wings. The signature ability of the Fletchling evolution line, which allowed any Flying Type move it used to be quicker than normal. And whilst Grassy Glide did the same thing, the increased speed of both cancelled eachother out, causing Talonflame’s superior natural speed to give it the edge.

She considered which Pokemon to send out. Luxray, whilst able to handle a flying type like Talonflame with relative ease, had a single weakness, that most trainers would be able to capitalise on. Even if Beth didn’t have a single Ground Type Pokemon, plenty of Pokemon that weren’t Ground Type knew Earthquake which would devastate it, and Charlotte didn’t want to have to rely on getting the opportunity to be able to get Luxray to use Magnet Rise, which may never arise. Milotic was a little better, being a Water Type and able to handle Talonflame, though only having two weaknesses, Electric and Grass types, and whilst Beth had already used her Electric Type, she may still have a Grass Type. And whilst she had full faith her Pokemon could still win in a one-on-one battle, her Pokemon would likely be weakened by the time Beth sent out her third. Gengar was not in the position to be battling them, being with her only a matter of months at this point, and not at the same level as her other Pokemon. This only left one Pokemon.

Charlotte returned Roserade, clipping the Pokeball from her belt, before unclipping the purple Master Ball that hung from it. Jon’s eyes widened as he saw this.

“I hope you know what you’re doing…” Jon said quietly, Camilla looking at him for a moment, struggling to understand.

From the stands, Charlotte’s classmates recognized the Master Ball and realised what was happening.

“Have Lugia, Victini and Regieleki ready in case this goes to s**t…” Dylan said quietly, Chris not arguing with him, remembering the horror of battling Deoxys the summer before.

”Can you guys help me with something this afternoon?”

Abbee and Justin turned, making sure Charlotte was talking to them. Camilla had just introduced them briefly to her students and was now escorting the visiting group to their accommodation.

“What’s up?” Abbee asked quietly, seeing as Charlotte had used the same tone to ask the question.

“I want to be able to use Deoxys in the battle tomorrow,” Charlotte said quietly. Abbee’s eyes widened.

“Is that safe?”

“I think so,” Charlotte explained. “We are at the point where there is nothing more we can do if we keep treating it like a time bomb. I need to take a chance on it, and put it in some real battles, and so far it hasn’t given me a reason to believe it isn’t safe to use…”

“Other than last summer,” Justin said, still himself scared of the Legendary Pokemon.

“So what do you need from us?” Abbee asked, diverting Charlotte’s attention from Justin’s slightly underhanded remark.

“I want to battle with it, but I’m not stupid enough to battle without it being insured for damages…” Charlotte explained. “If it damages this place, I’ll be in debt for the rest of my life…”

Abbee nodded, following so far.

“I spent every day on the phone this last week to my insurance company, trying to convince them to cover it. It took a lot of arguing, and is costing more than all my other Pokemon combined, but they’re willing to cover it,” Charlotte continued. “On one condition. It passes a temperament and obedience assessment.”

“Have you done that yet?” Justin asked. Charlotte shook her head.

“My insurer is based in Jubilife, and if I complete the assessment using their facility, the paperwork can be processed instantly,” Charlotte explained. “I could demonstrate with it battling against my other Pokemon, but I figure if Deoxys is battling against other Legendary Pokemon and there are no issues, then it is more likely to pass…”

Abbee felt a tinge of discomfort at the request. Victini battled for his life and those around him against Deoxys, and hadn’t seen the Pokemon since. Now Charlotte wanted Victini to battle Deoxys, for the sake of proving it was safe to an insurance company…

“Are you sure that Deoxys won’t be triggered seeing Victini and Regieleki?” Abbee asked. “I mean, it got ganged up on and beaten up pretty hard by them…”

“It also got ripped from its body by Latios hitting it at mach two…” Charlotte answered. “Since then it has battled Latios, all of Jon’s Pokemon and all of mine. And not once has it given any indication it will turn violent…”

Abbee remained silent.

“I’m in,” Justin answered. “You know this stuff better than I do. If you think it’s the right thing to do, I’ll help.”

Charlotte grinned at Justin before looking at Abbee.

“Please, Abbee…” Charlotte explained. “Deoxys needs a chance taken on it. If we can’t bring ourselves to do that, it will live a half life, and I don’t want that for it, especially given what it went through…”

Abbee was quiet, before sighing.

“I’ll help, but I don’t want to see Victini hurt…” Abbee said, her tone not sounding overly convinced. “The moment Deoxys goes too far, I will be having Victini put it down, or pulling him out if that isn’t looking possible…”

“Go Deoxys!”

A silence permeated the room as the Pokemon infamous for nearly wiping out Mossdeep emerged from the Master Ball, floating menacingly a few inches above the ground. It looked around at the new environment that it hadn’t seen before, surrounded by new people.

“No, I won’t allow this,” Camilla called out, seeming to forget the cameras were broadcasting. “That Pokemon nearly wiped out Mossdeep!”

“Deoxys is trained and safe to battle with,” Charlotte called out, forcing all the conviction in her tone that she could muster. “It passed a temperament and obedience assessment yesterday afternoon, and is covered under my policy with Pillar Pokemon Insurance!”

“But-”

“I could challenge the Elite Four today with Deoxys and not be looked at twice, Camilla,” Charlotte interjected. “Do you mean to tell me that your school is more important to Sinnoh than the very League you championed?”

Camilla seethed at the rebellion, and Jon spoke to her in a quieter tone, albeit not quite enough that attentive enough viewers couldn’t understand him.

“Camilla, I have put Deoxys through more stress than Beth will be able to without her Zeraora, and it has been nothing but calm and obedient,” Jon said in a quiet tone. “Remember how many people are watching as we speak. Charlotte won’t back down, and arguing the point she just made will only look bad…”

Jon was making a point of hiding any pride he felt at Charlotte’s backbone, as well as the worry that this could be a mistake. However he stood by his original advice to Charlotte. She was Deoxys' trainer, and knew where Deoxys was at better than he did. It was her decision.

“So be it!” Camilla called back to Charlotte, knowing that she had cornered her. “But I accept no responsibility for any damages or injuries Deoxys causes.”

“Nobody asked you to, Camilla,” Charlotte responded evenly, causing Camilla to flush with anger. Jon was surprised it was Charlotte of all his students being the one to irritate Camilla as much as she was.

“If that is sorted, can we continue?” the referee asked. Both trainers nodded their consent. “Begin!”

“Defence form!” Charlotte commanded, while Beth ordered another Acrobatics attack. Deoxys shifted into its bulkier, defence oriented form, taking the strike from Talonflame. “Now Cosmic Power!”

Deoxys eyes flashed, as it created a weak telepathic barrier around it. Talonflame wouldn’t struggle to break through, however it would lessen the blow, and buy Charlotte time. She had noticed something during the battle, though would admit she’d have to be blind, deaf and stupid to not notice it.

“Acrobatics!” Beth commanded, as Talonflame dove in for another attack, this one doing less damage to Deoxys than the first.

“Psychic!” Charlotte ordered in response. As Talonflame made contact, Deoxys blasted it back with a telekinetic boom, dealing a minor amount of damage, given most of its psychic abilities were focused into protecting it in this form.

“Swords Dance!” Beth shouted, growing frustrated that the attack that managed to wipe out Charlotte’s Roserade in a single hit was doing so little.

“Psychic again!”

Talonflame, from where it glided in the air, was hit with another telekinetic blast, this one knocking it off course, as Beth gave her next instruction.

“Acrobatics!”

Talonflame dove down on a jagged course, strafing from side to side, before homing in on Deoxys at the last moment. Even with Deoxys defensive prowess in this form, the Swords Dance boosted attack still hit hard.

“Is that the fourth Acrobatics attack that Beth has ordered?” Jon asked. Camilla nodded.

“It is twice as strong when Talonflame isn’t holding an item, which makes it as strong as Talonflame’s harder hitting moves, without the recoil damage,” Camilla answered shortly. “It’s the best option right now, and if it works…”

“Then Beth is going to be in for a rude surprise…”

Camilla turned to face Jon, growing weary of him and his students' attitudes.

“How so?” Camilla asked, her tone challenging him.

“Because it makes her predictable,” Jon answered firmly. “And the last thing you want to be when you’re up against Charlotte Jones, is predictable…”

Camilla scowled before looking at the battlefield again.

“Recover, Deoxys!” Charlotte commanded. Whilst Deoxys could quite easily handle multiple of these high powered Acrobatics attacks, Charlotte was using one of the lessons Jon taught early on in their training. To use advantageous circumstances to set yourself up for those you don’t know about just yet.

Deoxys' energy was restored, leaving it as strong as it was when it emerged from the Pokeball. Deoxys in its Attack Form, was well and truly capable of handling Talonflame if it could land a single hit. However, Talonflame was near guaranteed to hit first, forcing Charlotte to keep Deoxys on the defensive, where she couldn’t do much damage. She needed an opportunity to get Deoxys into its Attack Form, and strike before Talonflame could. She had felt the alien presence of Deoxys in her mind since it entered the battlefield, following her verbal cues for general orders, and her own mental image for finesse in executing these orders. However, these orders were going to be different.

”Next time it hits you with Acrobatics, use Counter,” Charlotte instructed, focusing her thoughts on the words, until she felt a sense of confirmation permeate from Deoxys. ”That should buy you a second to change forms, and light this f**ker up…”

Charlotte was so determined to put Beth in her place, that in that moment, she didn’t care how much like Chris she was sounding. Beth had looked down on them since they arrived, and continued to. She was going to put her in her place…

“Acrobatics!”

Again, Talonflame dove, keeping its path unpredictable, before homing in at the last second, and striking Deoxys. Deoxys however, who was anticipating the attack, pivoted aside, causing Talonflame to miss by centimetres, before blasting it with a focused telekinetic blast, launching it into the ground behind it with the momentum of its own missed attack.

“Zap Cannon!” Charlotte called out. Deoxys shifted into its Attack Form, levitating quickly into the air, and charging up a terrifying bolt of lightning. Stunned by the vicious counterattack, Talonflame only just regained its composure and attempted to take off when the bolt struck, knocking it down again, where it remained…

Beth was furious as she recalled Talonflame, grabbing her last Pokeball with little thought and sending the Pokemon out.

“Go Hydreigon!” Beth said, the venom dripping from her voice.

“You objected to Deoxys being used, but let Beth battle with a Hydreigon?” Jon asked in an undertone, far from impressed with Camilla’s double standard. All who followed the story enough to know of the danger Deoxys posed knew that it had been tortured, and lashed out because of that. Hydreigon on the other hand were naturally violent, brutal and volatile Pokemon. Camilla remained silent, focused on the battle, praying that Beth could salvage it.

“Taunt,” Charlotte instructed. Whilst she had other ideas of more efficient ways to put down Hydreigon, that wasn’t what she wanted. For her, Matt and Brad’s disgusting attitudes towards them and their school, Charlotte wanted to humiliate Beth, and was hoping that Abbee and Dylan would do the same.

Deoxys remained silent, opting for a telepathic taunt instead. It was unseen by all watching, until Hydreigon roared in a rage. Whilst Taunt triggered a Pokemon into only using damaging moves, Hydreigon were naturally volatile, and in a Pokemon with that nature, Taunt was usually enough to send them into a disobedient frenzy.

“Dark Pulse!” Beth shouted, however was shocked when Hydreigon leapt forward, taking to the air and flying towards Deoxys, intent on ripping the Pokemon apart with its teeth.

“Speed Form!” Charlotte shouted. “Keep it on your tail!”

Deoxys shifted into its more streamlined and aerodynamic build, before telekinetically launching itself from where it hovered, taking to the air, where Hydreigon pursued it doggedly.

“Hydreigon!” Beth screeched. “Use Dark Pulse!”

”Don’t get too far ahead of it,” Charlotte instructed, an idea forming, which Deoxys was able to see. ”We don’t want it to give up chasing you…”

Deoxys slowed a little, as Hydreigon gained on it, diving forward with a Crunch attack ready, snapping at Deoxys who increased its speed just enough to avoid the attack, and infuriate its opponent further.

“Go higher!” Charlotte shouted, as Deoxys adjusted its trajectory, moving upwards towards the high ceiling. Charlotte called out again when they were near the ceiling. “Now dive!”

When Hydreigon reached the highest point in the room, Deoxys dodged another Crunch, before diving straight down, before Hydreigon continued to tail it, diving towards the ground beneath them. Knowing she had to time it perfectly, Charlotte was thankful for Deoxys’ telepathic connection, knowing exactly what she wanted.

As Deoxys got closer to the floor, Hydreigon on its six, Charlotte timed her command, before giving the order.

“Teleport!”

She didn’t have to say where. Deoxys knew. It flashed out of existence, as Hydreigon crashed into the ground. Instantly Deoxys reappeared in the air above Hydreigon, still with all the momentum and velocity it held before the teleport, crashing on top of Hydreigon and pinning it down.

“Focus Blast!”

Whilst the Fighting Type move was hardly certain to hit, given the point blank distance, and Hydreigon being held in place by Deoxys on top of it, there was no escape. Deoxys charged up the attack, which started as a flickering purple light, before exploding into a powerful purple beam. When the light disappeared, Deoxys floated a few feet above Hydreigon, who lay unconscious. After a few seconds of shocked silence at how brutally the match ended, the referee called out, albeit nervously.

“Hydreigon is unable to battle, and Beth Thomas has three Pokemon unable to battle,” the referee called out. “The match goes to Charlotte Jones of the Eon Academy!”

Charlotte walked towards the centre of the field, to meet Beth, who took a few seconds to bring herself to start moving. As the pair met, Deoxys floating above Hydreigon on the side, Charlotte extended her hand. Whilst she immensely disliked her opponent, she didn’t want the Eon Academy to have a reputation of bad sportsmanship. Beth however, was past the point of that consideration.

“Good match,” Charlotte said, trying to keep her tone civil. Beth however refused to shake it.

“That was a filthy trick,” Beth sneered. “Using Taunt to set off Hydreigon. But it looks like you Eon Academy types rely on cheap tricks like that…”

“If your Pokemon loses sensibility after being affected by a basic move like Taunt, that is your problem, and a big one at that…” Charlotte said quietly. “Now shake my hand, unless you want to embarrass your school further than you already have…”

The shot was a low blow, however Charlotte didn’t care. Camilla’s commentary had been less than impartial, with the odd snide comment hidden by a friendly tone, and being put in her place when Justin and Charlotte had subverted the expectations of themselves, with a little help from Jon with his well timed remarks. Between the high and mighty attitude Camilla had done little to hide during the broadcast, and the humiliating losses her students had suffered, Charlotte knew that any slander from Camilla, Beth, or anyone else from this institution, would simply be taken as bad sportsmanship and graceless losing.

Beth shook Charlotte’s hand, however glared at her, before looking towards Deoxys. The Legendary Pokemon had been silently looking around the room, taking in the environment and people, before seeming to notice it was being watched. It flicked its head to stare at Beth directly, who shrunk back at the sight of the cold eyes that bore into her. She quickly called back Hydreigon as Charlotte, followed by Deoxys, made their way towards where Dylan, Abbee and Justin sat, Chris having just left at the end of Charlotte’s match to prepare for his battle.

“I can’t believe in four months, you were able to get Deoxys to that level…” Dylan remarked, looking at the Pokemon in awe and wonder. “Honestly, you two were as in sync as Jon and Latios…”

“We have to be,” Charlotte noted, looking over at Deoxys, who seemed to look between all of the humans, fascinated by the exchange. “I couldn’t expect it to trust me if I wasn’t letting it poke around in my head…”

“That match was brutal…” Justin said in disbelief. “I thought I may have been too hard in how I had Regieleki finish my match with Sophie, but that’s on a whole other level…”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ll be walking out of this place with too many new friends…” Charlotte agreed, having regained some more of her common sense since the battle ended, and thinking and acting less like Chris.

“Well Dylan and I both have opponents we’d like to see humbled just a bit,” Abbee remarked. “So I’m okay with not making too many new friends by winning this…”

At the commentators table, the light on the camera broadcasting the pair of commentators was off, meaning that the livestream was on a break, with commercials being played.

“Here I thought we’d have a fair competition…” Camilla said to Jon with a scowl. “Not you manipulating us into giving you the advantage…”

Jon couldn’t help but snort.

“Keep telling yourself that, and you’re only going to lose when the time comes for you to face me,” Jon answered, any pretence of civility in private now gone. Camilla glared at him, as he continued. “This whole challenge was for you to stroke your own ego. You were the one who focused more on theatrics than thinking through this challenge, and handed over your right to choose how we do battle. And so far, your students have done nothing but underestimate us, some even belittle us, since we got here, and honestly, from one teacher to another, attitudes like that are taught, whether intentionally or not…”

“You’re that confident you can beat me? That your other three students, one with no Legendary Pokemon, will win?” Camilla asked, snorting with derision. “How arrogant can you be?”

Jon couldn’t help but grin.

“Maybe a little arrogant,” Jon answered. “But if you and your students keep blaming us for your mistakes, and making excuses, you’ll just keep underestimating us, and losing. Mark my words…”

Jon noticed in his peripheral vision the cameraman counting down with his fingers.

“Smile for the camera Camilla,” Jon said, grinning to the camera in front of them. “I’m sure you don’t want the world seeing this…”

Chris made his way towards his place on the battlefield, while Natasha waited on the opposite end. His mouth was set in a firm line, as he thought over how he would handle this battle. Whilst he had no grudge with Natasha, actually thinking somewhat highly of her, given the way she embarrassed Brad the night before, he was going to look past that. She was a part of the College of the North Wind, and with the exception of her and Sophie, all of their representatives have created a grudge between the two schools, and just as Justin and Charlotte had done so far, Chris wanted to make it abundantly clear that they were not to be underestimated.

“Entering the field for the third match, is Christopher Kingswood, representing the Eon Academy, and Natasha King, representing the College of the North Wind!” Jon introduced, finding it much easier to be friendly on camera than Camilla was at this point.

“Both trainers select a Pokemon, though do not send it out until I start the battle!”

Chris was used to the instruction, and selected a Pokemon. Garchomp was his most versatile, and whilst Glastrier would have little problem wiping it out, he was willing to gamble on the fact that Natasha wouldn’t open with Glastrier, given the fact that Charlotte had wiped out Zeraora early, leaving Deoxys to finish off Beth’s other Pokemon the round before.

He forced himself to remain calm. Whilst he stood by his decision, that he was leaving the Academy, he knew Jon was right in the training they had been undertaking. Chris needed to think his attacks through, and be less impulsive. He wasn’t going to do anything like Justin or Charlotte did. He still planned on being more direct in his attacks. However, there was a way to do that without necessarily being impulsive about it, and given that a win in this match would guarantee the Eon Academy a draw at minimum, he wasn’t going to let this slip through his fingers.

“Begin!”

Chris sent out Garchomp, and watched as Natasha sent out her first Pokemon. He swore to himself when the seven foot tall, frozen equine Pokemon emerged, and he knew he was off to a terrible start. He however had a single nagging question in his mind.

”Why open with Glastrier, given what just happened?”

“Garchomp, use Body Slam!”

Garchomp ran towards Glastrier, closing the distance between them, as Glastrier moved forward as well. Chris was thankful the bulky Pokemon seemed to be far slower than Garchomp.

Garchomp roared as it leapt into the air, before crashing into Glastrier with all its body weight behind it. Glastrier tumbled aside, while Garchomp rose to his feet, and Chris was thankful when Glastrier seemed slower and more uneasy as it stood than before.

“It appears that Chris, seeing the significant disadvantage Garchomp faced, has chosen a weaker attack, for the sole purpose of the chance to cramp Glastrier’s muscles,” Jon explained. “This is a solid strategy to buy time in a majorly disadvantaged situation, which seems to have paid off.”

Glastrier was slow to stand, as Chris gave the next order.

“Dragon Rush! Now!” Chris shouted. Jon had been correct. Chris was simply trying to buy time. The muscle paralysis that Glastrier suffered bought him another chance to make an attack on the Pokemon, and Chris had chosen Dragon Rush specifically, due to its chance to cause the opponent to flinch. If luck were in Chris’ favour, Glastrier would still be unmoving, allowing Garchomp to land a follow-up attack.

Garchomp struck, and whilst the attack knocked Glastrier back, it found its way to its feet, as Natasha gave her first instruction.

“Avalanche!” Natasha ordered, as Chris swore to himself. Avalanche itself wasn’t an overly powerful move, however when timed right, it could be deadly, gaining in power if used right after the user has taken damage.

Glastrier rushed forward towards Garchomp, as thick snow shedded from it, getting caught up in the momentum and turning the Ice Type Pokemon into a living avalanche. Glastrier struck Garchomp, surrounded by snow, trampling it and knocking it out.

“F**k…” Chris muttered to himself, before calling Garchomp back. He watched as Glastrier let out an unnerving neigh, the Pokemon yet to make a noise at the point, whilst he decided which Pokemon to send next, though figured he had little choice. Dragonite would be just as disadvantaged against Glastrier, and whilst Charizard would have a little more possibility, Glastrier was a Legendary Pokemon, and Garchomp hadn’t done enough to allow Charizard to finish off Glastrier. Besides, that was Charlotte’s style. Not his.

“Lugia, you’re up!” Chris commanded, as he threw the Pokeball revealing Lugia. The Pokemon, while still young, had grown another two feet during the summer, making it a little over ten feet from nose to tail. It flapped its large wings, and its heavy form began to float in place. Whilst Chris knew that Lugia may not have as clear offensive capabilities against Glastrier, he knew in particular that going all out offensively wasn’t going to help. Lugia was built to take a hit, not necessarily dish out a big attack. Additionally, Lugia had one other advantage that had been prevalent in the two battles prior. It knew Recover, whilst generally speaking, Ice Types had very little in the way of energy recovery. If Chris could whittle down Glastrier’s energy, he could get himself back onto even footing.

“Reflect!” Chris called out. Lugia cried out as it telekinetically created a barrier around itself. Similar to Deoxys it was not one that would block an attack completely, but physical attacks in particular, it would reduce the damage from.

“Icicle Crash, Glastrier!” Natasha ordered. Glastrier neighed, as a white light appeared in front of it, forming into the shape of a large icicle, before Glastrier darted behind this icicle, pushing it towards Lugia.

Chris didn’t bother trying to get Lugia to dodge the attack, figuring it would be near ineffective. Between Lugia’s bulk, Reflect, and the Multiscale ability that halved the damage of attacks when it was at full strength, Icicle Crash stood to do little. Or so he thought.

The attack struck Lugia, and whilst it was far from match ending, it was harder than Chris expected. Lugia roared in pain, whilst Chris put the pieces together of what he had seen. Natasha had opened with Glastrier, despite her classmate losing spectacularly after doing the same thing, and which Chris thought meant she had a good reason for it. Then the fact that it happened now, and not against Garchomp, where the amount of force behind the attack seemed to be relatively less.

He knew that Jon made a point of opening with Blaziken, as it had an ability that would increase its speed as the match went on, as well as lots of moves that increased its attack, meaning Blaziken was better suited to opening a match than closing. Chris considered what ability Glastrier might have, figuring it was something that potentially may cause it to deal more damage against opponents at full strength, but dismissed the idea. It didn’t seem to have an effect against Garchomp, who was also at full strength when it took the hit.

Suddenly, Chris remembered it. The unnerving neigh after Garchomp was beaten.

”It’s power increases when it defeats a Pokemon…” he thought to himself, realising even more how much he needed to beat Glastrier now. If Glastrier won this matchup, it would only grow stronger and harder to beat.

“Skill Swap!” Chris shouted, taking a leaf from Justin’s book. Glastrier had taken two hits from Garchomp, making Lugia’s Multiscale ability worthless to it, whilst this ability Glastrier had would be beneficial in the long run.

“Icicle Crash again!” Natasha called out, obviously angry at Chris’ most recent move, however Glastrier’s front legs buckled for a moment, still affected by the cramping muscles caused by Garchomps Body Slam.

“Calm Mind!” Chris shouted to Lugia, who began to glow in a pale blue light, its own offensive and defensive capabilities in special moves increasing.

Natasha seemed to realise that she couldn’t rely on Glastrier being able to move, instead, changing tactics.

“Swords Dance!” she commanded, figuring if Glastrier couldn’t move, at least it could be stronger so when it could, it could end this fight.

“Iron Head, Lugia!” Chris shouted, reverting to his earlier tactics. Iron Head had a chance of causing the target to flinch, being stunned by the hard hit, and whilst that hadn’t worked out for him before with Garchomp, he needed to take the risk. Paralysis wouldn’t keep Glastrier down forever, and if he didn’t try, Glastrier would likely beat Lugia with its heavily improved strength.

“The first damaging move Lugia makes, and it’s a steel type…” Camilla noted.

“He’s trying to do what Garchomp couldn’t,” Jon explained. “Buy time by making Glastrier flinch…”

Lugia darted forward, placing a telekinetic barrier in front of its head, and headbutting Glastrier violently, knocking the Pokemon back, and causing it to stagger, stunned by the violent strike to the head.

“Now Charge Beam!” Chris shouted, knowing the attack itself was weak, especially from Lugia who was not an Electric Type, but had a likely chance to increase Lugia’s attack power for special moves, stacking with Calm Mind.

Jon watched Chris, somewhat surprised that this was the trainer he had banned from training for refusing to stop battling impulsively. Chris was still going largely on the offensive, and Jon had a hunch the rest of this battle would be a steamroll, however he was thinking things through, something he hadn’t been doing during training.

Charge Beam struck Glastrier, and whilst it was far from Lugia’s heaviest hitting attack, it was enough to cause the already weakened Glastrier to stumble, before collapsing to the ground, unable to battle. Lugia roared in triumph, as its attack, both physically and in terms of special moves, increased from Charge Beam and Lugia’s borrowed ability. Lugia, who had taken a hit from Glastrier early on, still stood with most of its energy, and Chris knew from here, all the odds were in his favour…

Natasha called back Glastrier before sending in her second Pokemon, Gallade. Whilst Gallade was slightly disadvantaged, Chris knew it had a versatile movepool, allowing it to strike hard against most Pokemon. However, Gallade was against a Legendary Pokemon with increases to most of its attributes. Chris didn’t foresee this lasting long…

“Hydro Pump!” Chris commanded, having a hunch he knew where this was going. From what he could see Gallade was just as fast as Lugia, and Natasha gave a command that would play into that.

“Protect!” Natasha commanded. “Then Night Slash!”

Gallade blocked Lugia’s torrent of violent water, dispersing it to either side with the barrier that appeared to protect it, before darting towards Lugia, the blades on its arms extending and turning black, as it slashed at the Legendary Pokemon. Lugia cried out in pain, however was far from falling. Now however, Gallade had put itself in range, and would not be able to block Lugia’s next move. Chris had intended Hydro Pump to be a decoy, taking Gallade’s attention, and causing it to use Protect. And he had also known that Gallade couldn’t use Protect forever, and for any chance of winning this battle, needed to land a hit on Lugia. That was when Chris planned on making his actual move.

“Aeroblast!”

Lugia flew up a few metres higher into the air, charging a beam of golden light in its jaws, before unleashing the devastating attack. It roared to the ground, striking Gallade directly, and empowered by Calm Mind and Charge Beam, threw the Pokemon backwards like a ragdoll, knocking it out cold.

Lugia roared again, as its attack power increased from another knockout, as Natasha called back Gallade, and seemed to struggle to choose a Pokemon. Eventually, she chose a Pokeball, and sent it out, however seemed to lack the conviction in her decision.

“Go, Chandelure!”

The two Pokemon faced each other, with Lugia being the quicker of the two, as Chris gave his instruction.

“Lugia, Recover!”

Natasha’s shoulders slumped, as Lugia returned to full strength, leaving her last Pokemon to face it. She looked between Lugia, hugely empowered by her own Legendary Pokemon’s ability, and now at full strength, and Chandelure. Remembering the brutal end to the previous battle, when Deoxys had lured Hydreigon into crashing into the ground at high speed, before slamming into it and finishing it off with a Focus Blast, her mind was made up.

“I concede…” Natasha called out, shocking all who watched. Those from the Eon Academy, as well as Sophie, understood her decision. She was facing a Legendary Pokemon with one left of her own, that had wiped out her previous Pokemon in a single hit, and equally likely to do the same to Chandelure.

“Natasha King has conceded the match, making Christopher Kingswood the winner!”

Even though the referee had confirmed it, it seemed unreal. The match felt like it had only just begun, given how quickly Glastrier had dispatched Garchomp, and how equally quickly Lugia had taken down Gallade. The bulk of the match until that point had simply been Lugia versus Glastrier.

Camilla watched silently, as the third of her five students had lost, this one losing the will to even finish the battle, leaving Jon to commentate on his own, to keep the flow of the broadcast going.

“Whilst it was an impressive victory by Chris, Natasha should be commended for her willingness to put her Pokemon’s wellbeing before the prospect of winning, and any excess pride,” Jon explained. “She was faced with an opponent that posed a significant danger to her own Pokemon, and was willing to pull the plug, and not risk her Pokemon being injured. As such, she has earnt my respect, and I believe that my Eon Academy students would agree…”

Chris made his way towards Natasha, who quietly approached him.

“Good match,” Chris said, somewhat awkwardly. Natasha conceding was the last thing he expected, especially given his affinity for Dragon Types and their major weakness to ice. “Believe it or not, this helped me improve as a trainer. I’d been arguing with Jon about some things, thinking I needed to just go all out and attack to stand a chance against you. But I think this battle helped me find my style, just a little…”

Natasha nodded, her expression somewhat blank, however given what Chris had seen of her, she seemed rather stoic most of the time anyway.

“It was a good match,” Natasha replied, before something came to mind. “How did you know about Glastrier’s ability?”

“It was a fluke really. A few little things I noticed,” Chris explained. “I thought it was odd for you to open with Glastrier, given what happened last round, and figured Glastrier may have an ability where it suits being an opening Pokemon better, like Jon’s Blaziken. Then when it hit Lugia the first time, Lugia seemed to be hit far harder than it should have been…”

“How can you know?”

“I’ve trained with Lugia so much since I caught it back in April,” Chris explained. “I guess in that time, I started to see just how much it should be dishing out and taking in. And when it took that hit, something didn’t add up. Then I remembered that weird neigh that Glastrier did, and it all came together…”

Natasha nodded, thinking it over.

“That sort of analysis isn’t really talked about much here…” Natasha noted. “We tend to focus more on making our Pokemon stronger, but I guess there’s more to it than that…”

Natasha thanked Chris again for the match, before making his way towards his classmates, as he saw Abbee leave the arena to prepare her team for battle.

“So if Charlotte has the most brutal finish, and you have the quickest win,” Justin asked. “Does that mean the two of you are tied for best on ground?”

“Oh for f**k’s sake…” Charlotte muttered, surprising Chris a little with her outburst, though he had to agree. He did get bored of being on the exact same level as Charlotte.

“Now that Deoxys is trained, and Lugia is more used to battling with me, maybe we need to have a tie breaker…” Chris offered, as Charlotte rolled her eyes.

Abbee made her way to her place on the battlefield, to the sound of loud cheers from Charlotte and Justin. On her shoulder sat Victini who stared intently at Matt, who stood smugly at the other end of the battlefield waiting for Abbee.

”Remember, Shaymin is mine…” Victini said, his tone lacking the usual carefree humour he was known for. Abbee was well aware. They had discussed it during the briefing, though hoped Victini wasn’t going to let his feelings get in the way of his battling.

“Entering the battlefield is Matt Campbell, representing the College of the North Wind, and Abbee Strauss, representing the Eon Academy,” Jon introduced, as the two trainers prepared to begin their battle.

“You’re going to have to go in the Pokeball now,” Abbee said to Victini. “Otherwise they might try and accuse you of interfering…”

“I’m very familiar…”

Abbee placed the Pokeball gently against Victini, before clipping it to her belt.

“Both trainers select a Pokemon, though do not send it out until I start the battle!”

It was the exact same line used for the previous three battles. Whilst Abbee knew that it was impossible for the Eon Academy to lose at this point, having three wins to the College’s none, and only three matches left, she still felt a similar pressure Chris did the match earlier. If she won this match, they were guaranteed a win. And from there, she figured Dylan and Jon would feel the similar yet different pressure to win, to give them a perfect score.

Abbee selected her first Pokemon. Whilst she had promised Victini that Shaymin could be his opponent, she had no way of knowing when Matt would send out Shaymin, and as such, had chosen the three Pokemon she used on the prospect that they may be against it for a moment until Abbee could get Victini onto the field. In addition to Victini, she had chosen Pokemon of different types that had an advantage over Grass Pokemon. The variance between them gave them coverage of two thirds of all Pokemon types, however they all shared the same resistance to Shaymin’s powerful Grass Type moves.

“Begin!”

“Go Ariados!” Abbee called out, throwing the Pokeball, as the giant arachnid Pokemon materialized, looking from her towards their opponent.

“Go Mismagius!” Matt called out, as the referee started the match.

“Begin!”

As soon as the word pierced the air, Matt was giving his first command.

“Shadow Sneak!”

Before Abbee could even respond, Mismagius sunk into the ground, manifesting as an ominous shadow, before darting towards Ariados at breakneck speeds. When the shadow was near Ariados, Mismagius leapt out of the ground, slamming into Ariados.

“Agility!” Abbee shouted, before giving another command, knowing that the boost in speed should be enough for Ariados to land a follow-up move. “Then Leech Life!”

Ariados’ speed increased, before it lunged forward, sinking its fangs into Mismagius, draining some of its energy before it managed to squirm itself loose.

“Do all you Academy types rely on dragging these things out?” Matt called out derisively. “Mismagius, Spite!”

Mismagius cried out, as Ariados felt a severe chill run through it, Abbee knowing that Ariados now wouldn’t be able to use Leech Life again until it returned to its Pokeball. Whilst Matt had been less than pleasant with his comment, he had made the right call. Abbee knew Mismagius was, generally speaking, able to do more damage than Ariados, and now Ariados couldn’t restore its energy. However, Ariados had other talents that she could make use of.

“Cross Poison, Ariados!” Abbee commanded. Cross Poison was more likely to land a critical hit, and whilst there was still every chance it wouldn’t hit, she had time to potentially try again.

Ariados lunged forward, as a toxic liquid encased its pointed front legs. It leapt into the air where Mismagius floated, slashing with both of them. Mismagius cried out in pain, and Abbee knew Ariados had been lucky, slashing at a weak spot on the Pokemon. Tied with its Sniper ability, which made its critical hits even more dangerous, Ariados had done a number on Mismagius, it barely remaining afloat.

“Mystical Fire!” Matt shouted. He had been avoiding using the move, as whilst it had a type advantage over Ariados, it was not the same type as Mismagius, and therefore less familiar, and powerful than a Ghost Type equivalent.

A spectral orb of flame rushed Ariados, striking it and exploding, causing Ariados to let out a shrill cry of pain. Abbee was blinded by the light, and whilst she didn’t know how Ariados was after that attack, she had to take a chance in faith in her Pokemon enduring the hit.

“Fell Stinger!” Abbee shouted, unsure if Ariados was even conscious to hear it. She watched, anxious, waiting for a sign. A moment later, Ariados leapt out of the flames, still burning, before striking Mismagius with its sharp front legs. Mismagius fell, hitting the ground unconscious, as Ariados let out a shrill cry, its attack power increasing drastically as a side effect of the Fell Stinger attack knocking out Mismagius.

Matt swore a curse under his breath, before calling back Mismagius, and sending out his next Pokemon.

“Toxicroak, finish this!”

Abbee only had moments to consider her options. Neither Pokemon had a significant type advantage, and whilst Ariados did have increased attack power and speed, Abbee had made those decisions both to benefit Ariados, and also her other Pokemon, should she have Ariados Baton Pass. Meanwhile, Ariados was struggling to battle, having taken a lot of damage from the Mystical Fire attack.

“Low Sweep!” Matt called out, making Abbee’s mind up for her. Even if Ariados managed to survive the attack, it would reduce its speed, and make it slower than Toxicroak, removing any further opportunity to switch out.

“Baton Pass!” Abbee shouted. Ariados cried out, as Abbee returned it, sending out near instantaneously, Victini, now faster and stronger than normal. Toxicroak’s Low Sweep struck Victini, causing him to tumble back, and lose some of the extra agility that Ariados had passed onto it, however Victini was ready to take action, and he was far from happy…

”You’re not Shaymin!” Victini shouted telepathically, Jon noticing Camilla jumping in shock at the unexpected voice, as did her students. Victini telekinetically launched himself towards Toxicroak, using a telekinetic barrier to use a Zen Headbutt attack, which struck Toxicroak directly, stunning it for a moment, and buying him the time to use a follow up attack.

“Flame Charge!” Abbee called out, knowing Victini would follow up with or without her instructions, and if she gave him a specific move to use, he would use it.

Victini became encased in a relatively small flame, rocketing himself into Toxicroak, who after the much harder hitting, Baton Pass empowered Zen Headbutt, was already light on his feet. Knowing how Victini tended to go overboard, using V-Create instinctively, Abbee had ordered this attack instead, knowing it was sufficient to finish off Toxicroak, whilst improving on Victini’s speed.

Jon grinned at Abbee’s growth, remembering how the summer before Victini’s own instincts had cost her a battle.

Toxicroak was thrown back, and knocked unconscious as Victini looked towards Matt, crying out angrily.

”Bring me Shaymin!” Victini shouted telepathically for all present to hear…

Jon noticed Camilla looking at him with a question in her eyes, hearing Victini’s demands to battle Shaymin.

“The Victini that battles against Abbee’s side, is the Victini who battled me, alongside Cassandra Silvers, back on the S.S. Wishmaker,” Jon explained, both to Camilla and the audience watching the broadcast. “Before battling me, Victini very nearly lost to Avery Miller’s Shaymin, and obviously still remembers that…”

“Careful what you wish for, pint size…” Matt sneered at Victini, earning an angry glare from Abbee. He selected a Pokeball, and threw it in front of him, letting Shaymin onto the battlefield. Shaymin looked at Victini, before crying out, only Jon, Latios and Victini understanding what was said.

“I know you…” Shaymin said audibly. “You fluked a win against one of my kind! I saw the video!”

“Yeah, I did…” Victini replied in their common tongue. “But there will be no flukes this time…”

“Begin!” the referee called, realizing if he didn’t the two mythical Pokemon would simply trash talk, he presumed, and stare each other down.

“Victini, Sunny Day!” Abbee commanded, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake…

”You want to use Sunny Day?” Abbee had asked in shock before the battle. “Against a Shaymin?”

Victini nodded. The pair stood alone in the briefing room, preparing for the battle that was coming.

“Victini, if you do that, Shaymin will be faster, stronger and harder to hit…” Abbee explained. Shaymin were one of the most common Legendary Pokemon, so their characteristics were somewhat well known.

“It will also not be able to take as many hits…” Victini objected, however Abbee wasn’t sold.

“Still, I can’t guarantee that you won’t have to beat another Pokemon before Shaymin,” Abbee said. “Why do you want to give it an edge? You’ve already beaten a Shaymin! You have nothing to prove!”

“I have everything to prove!” Victini retorted angrily. “I beat Shaymin by a fluke! If the sun didn’t set when it did, I would have lost! Against a Grass Type! And the next night, I got beaten in one hit by Scizor!”

“It was your first time battling without Violet and Jarena interfering,” Abbee offered, however Victini had none of it.

“I want to beat Shaymin, to show the world just how far I’ve come,” Victini said. “And I want to give them absolutely no reason to argue my win. And if that means giving Shaymin an edge so I can put it down myself, so be it…”

Abbee sighed, looking at her determined little partner.

“I don’t want anyone to see me win and chalk it up to just another fluke!” Victini continued. “I want to win, and I want to earn every bit of it…”

“I hope you know what you’re doing…”

Victini cried out, creating an orb of light like a miniature sun, which floated into the air above the battlefield. Shaymin looked at Victini in shock.

“Are you dense?” Shaymin asked Victini, who grinned menacingly.


“I told you…” Victini answered. “No flukes. I’m beating you…”

Shaymin grinned, before being encased in light and transforming into its far more nimble Sky Form.

“Double Team!” Matt commanded. Shaymin cried out before splitting into multiple copies of itself, all of whom took off, filling the air space above with flying Shaymin.

“Did Abbee not know what Sunny Day would do?” Camilla asked, all sense of superiority gone, and replaced with sheer disbelief.

“She knew,” Jon answered. “I’m willing to bet it was Victini’s idea…”

“Why would Victini make it harder for itself to beat Shaymin?”

“Because Victini wants there to be no question about it if he wins,” Jon answered. “He is proud, and determined, and wants to show just how strong he has gotten since the S.S. Wishmaker…”

“V-Create!” Abbee commanded. Whilst she didn’t want to rely on the overly powerful move too often, she had heard about Chris using heavy attacks from Lugia for the purpose of clearing away the fake copies caused by Double Team.

Victini leapt into the air, before being encased in an intense crown of flames, propelling it forward and into a large clump of copies, before exploding, causing them to disappear. The attack hadn’t hit the original, however it had significantly reduced the number of copies. However, Victini felt his speed start to slip, although still being faster than Shaymin, as well as his defense…

“Seed Flare!” Matt commanded, as the real Shaymin’s red flower began to glow.

“Found you!” Victini cried out, although Abbee not understanding due to Victini forgoing telepathy to focus on the battle.

There was an explosion of green light from the real Shaymin, hitting Victini, and knocking it back, however not enough to knock it out. Without Abbee giving the command, Victini readied another V-Create launching itself into the real Shaymin.

“Protect!” Matt shouted, causing Shaymin to raise a Protect barrier, taking the force of Victini’s empowered attack. However, Victini’s defense and speed had dropped again from the failed attack, giving Shaymin the opportunity to counterattack. “Now Seed Flare!”

“Protect!” Abbee shouted, as Victini managed to raise his own Protect barrier just in time to block the match ending attack.

“Shaymin is following every one of Matt’s orders, while Victini is making his own decisions half the time…” Camilla commented.

“And?” Jon asked, looking to Camilla.

“You saw what happened before with Hydreigon when it stopped following orders…”

“This could not be any more different. Victini isn’t acting on his own because he is disregarding orders. He is acting on his own because Abbee trusts him to make the snap decisions at a moment's notice. And Victini trusts Abbee to plan ahead and give him a winning path. Which is better teamwork than Victini just following Abbee’s instructions,” Jon said sternly. “And I get the feeling this is what Victini wants. If he could land a hit on Shaymin, he is strong enough to knock it out with just the one. But if he gets hit by Shaymin, he is weakened enough to be knocked out as well. This is a match where there is no room for mistakes, and skill will be the only thing that can determine the winner…”

Victini, having blocked the Seed Flare, dropped to the ground, while Shaymin remained airborne.

“Seed Flare!” Matt called out, knowing Victini couldn’t rely on Protect to block the hit again. He grinned, as Shaymin’s flower glowed, charging up the attack.

“Guard Swap!” Abbee ordered. Victini grinned at Shaymin, as his eyes flickered, and he felt the weakness in his body, from the consecutive V-Creates, flow out, knowing that would be transferred to Shaymin, before there was a flash of light and he was hit by Seed Flare.

“Victini!” Abbee called out to where Victini lay on the ground a few meters away. All watched in suspended silence for those key seconds, where they tried to determine whether Victini was awake. Jon felt a flashback to the S.S. Wishmaker, when Victini had been in this same position.

And like on the S.S. Wishmaker, Victini stood, looking up at Shaymin with a disconcerting smile.

“Sun doesn’t stay out forever, big guy…” Victini said telepathically, as all watching, who had forgotten about the fact that Sunny Day was only temporary, looked up, and saw the orb that Victini had created earlier shrink out of existence. ”I might have done you a favour by bringing the sun out, but it’s not my job to keep it here…”

There was a flash of light, as Shaymin, just like Avery’s on the S.S. Wishmaker, Shaymin reverted to its Land form, incapable of flight, and falling from where it had flown only a matter of seconds before.

“V-Compress Victini!” Abbee shouted. “Finish this!

Victini propelled himself into the air with a telekinetic blast, before encasing himself in a telekinetic bubble, and outputting as much flame as he could muster, containing it in the bubble, which compressed the fire with just a little more pressure than it put out.

“I am Victini! The Victory Star Pokemon!” Victini shouted telepathically. ”And my victory is right now!”

The flames grew hotter, turning into a bright blue, unlike anything that those watching had seen from Victini before, as Victini collided with the falling Shaymin, releasing the telekinetic bubble that contained and compressed his flames, causing them to explode violently outwards, launching Shaymin into the ceiling above. It collided with a crash, before falling unconscious to the ground, as Matt readied his Pokeball to return it before it hit the ground.

Abbee felt sorry for Shaymin, being on the receiving end of Victini’s desire to prove his strength, however knew Victini wouldn’t do anything that would require more than a Pokemon Center healing machine, and was thankful when the referee made the call.

“Shaymin is unable to battle, and Matt Campbell has three Pokemon unable to battle,” the referee called out. “The match goes to Abbee Strauss of the Eon Academy!”

Abbee made her way to Victini, who stood uneasily, shifting his weight weakly between his legs. When she was nearby, she picked him up, noting how warm he still was.

“That was something else…” Abbee said to Victini. “I didn’t know you could create blue flames…”

”That makes two of us…” Victini answered weakly, now the adrenaline had worn off.

Abbee made her way towards the center of the battle, however Matt turned from where he stood and stormed off. She waited for a moment, before turning herself, and making her way, Victini in her arms, back towards her classmates.

“You don’t think you overdid it a little?” Charlotte asked, nodding towards Victini.

“He didn’t want anyone to chalk this up to a fluke…” Abbee remarked, grinning. “But yeah, he overdid it…”

Victini smiled weakly at Charlotte, Justin and even Chris. Chris, surprised at Victini’s performance, gave a quick, impersonal nod.

”Don’t you think I deserve more than that?” Victini asked Chris telepathically. ”Even if you’re not talking to Abbee at the moment?”

Chris had to force himself to hide the chuckle.

”Good job,” Chris said simply, as Victini nodded back.

Five minutes later, Dylan emerged from his briefing room, making his way towards the arena, where Brad stood, waiting on the other side. However instead of stopping at his place on the battlefield, he walked past it, making his way towards the referee, however stopping a little shy, making sure to remain in front of the cameras, and in listening range of the microphones attached to them. He nodded towards Brad, who began walking towards him, his smug grin ever present, despite the fact he was his classmate's last chance outside of Camilla to get them a win. Though Dylan figured he was probably thankful for it.

Dylan had an idea on how he would be able to beat Brad, Legendary Pokemon or none. An idea stemmed from one of the first things Jon taught them in their first summer at the Eon Academy.

Brad reached Dylan at the same time as the referee, and Dylan looked towards the ref.

“The ruling was tournament standard format, unless both trainers agreed to a different format, correct?” Dylan asked, directing the question towards the referee.

“That is correct,” the referee answered. “Unless the pair of you agree on something different, the match by default will be three Pokemon, blind first selection.”

Dylan nodded before looking to Brad.

“Want to make this a little more interesting?” Dylan asked, his expression remaining neutral. “I figure it could be fun to change things up a little…”

“What are you thinking?” Brad asked, his tone seeming to imply he thought he was doing Dylan a favour by even listening to him.

“Double battle. Two Pokemon on each side of the field, with no replacements. The Pokemon I open with are the Pokemon you need to beat to win, and vice versa,” Dylan explained. “Blind selection still…”

Brad was silent, considering the thought for a moment. He didn’t have a great deal of experience with double battles, he had to admit to himself. However, he already knew how he could coordinate one of his other Pokemon with his Cresselia to work well together. He also knew double battles were a rare treat for viewers, and if he agreed to this, his match would probably be the highlight of the challenge, with the possible exception of Camilla’s.

“You don’t think you can beat me using just one Pokemon at a time?” Brad asked, whilst Dylan grinned.

“I just think our viewers might be sick of seeing us wipe the floor with you guys in the same way every time, and a double battle would be a nice change of pace…”

Dylan had noticed Brad considering it, and had a good feeling. Whilst he thought he stood a chance against Brad without the double battle, the double battle would make it easier to humiliate him. And by bruising his ego just a little, Dylan figured he could push Brad in the right direction.

Brad looked to the referee.

“Double battle, two Pokemon on each side, blind selection. That sound right?”

The referee nodded, as did Dylan.

“You’re going to regret this…” Brad remarked, though Dylan waved it off.

Jon hid a grin, hearing this conversation play out, and knowing exactly what gave Dylan the idea.

”Why double battles?” Chris had asked. “All tournament battles are three Pokemon, single battles by default?”

“By default, yes, that doesn’t mean they have to be,” Jon explained. It was early in their first summer at the Academy, before the bet between Chris and Justin, and Charlotte and Abbee. Dylan had been listening quietly from the table where he sat by himself. “If both trainers agree to a different format that is legal, the tournament will allow them to use it, if it doesn’t interfere with scoring…”

“Still, hardly anyone does…” Chris commented. Jon nodded.

“Exactly, which is why I’m teaching you, among other reasons…” Jon explained with a sly grin. Dylan, curious to hear what Jon was getting at, sat up straighter, wanting to know what got Jon this excited about double battles.

“Think about it, they are that rare in high level competition that they are a treat for the audience, and double battles tend to get much more publicity than single battles, because they are so rare,” Jon explained. “So let’s say, in front of as many people as you can, you suggest a double battle to your opponent…”

“They’ll feel pressured into accepting,” Charlotte answered. “Or they might see it as a good publicity stunt for their career.”

“Exactly,” Jon explained. “I wouldn’t do this often, but if you are just as good at handling two Pokemon at a time, as you are one, and you put the pressure on your opponent to do a double battle when they aren’t as accustomed to them, you will have an edge…”

“Isn’t that a little dishonest?” Abbee asked, Jon grinned.

“How? Jon asked.

“Because it can affect the outcome of the battle,” Chris explained. “If you want to win, you should use your Pokemon…”

Jon grinned.

“Answer me this,” Jon said. “Who is the High Seas Champion? Myself? Or Latios?”

“You…” was the general agreement from the students there.

“Exactly. It’s a Pokemon battle sure, but really, it is a battle between two trainers,” Jon explained. “We may battle with Pokemon primarily, but we battle with our instincts, knowledge and judgement as well. Otherwise we’d be sending in our Pokemon and letting them make the decisions. And if your opponent is disregarding one of those three things, and it leads to you winning, that is hardly dishonest…”

“Both trainers, select two Pokemon, and keep them in their Pokeballs,” the referee called out, changing his normal script. “You may only use the two Pokemon you select now in the coming battle. Pokemon withdrawn are considered forfeit and cannot be replaced.”

Dylan selected two Pokeballs, knowing for sure one of the Pokemon Brad would choose. The other, he had no clue, so chose one Pokemon that would be advantaged against Cresselia, and one he trusted to handle whatever Brad could throw at him.

“Did you know Dylan was going to ask for a double battle?” Camilla asked Jon in an undertone, while the camera wasn’t on them. “You seemed to react when he asked Brad…”

Jon was thankful that now Camilla and the College of the North Wind stood no chance of securing a win, even if they were to perform flawlessly from this point on, she had shown a little more humility. Even though she questioned Abbee and Victini during the last match, her tone was different. Instead of questioning it to imply they weren’t battling well enough, she had asked wanting to understand Jon’s students, who had exceeded her expectations, much to her disappointment.

“I didn’t know he’d do this exactly. But I’m not surprised,” Jon explained. “Dylan’s unique among my students…”

“Because he doesn’t have a Legendary Pokemon?”

“Not that. Dylan isn’t as good offensively as the other four. Everyone is aware of that, but he is probably the one I struggle most to beat,” Jon explained. “Defensively he is rock solid and hard to rattle. He can’t hit as hard as the others, but he doesn’t have a clear weakness that can be exploited for an easy win, which means you have to work to beat him. And the amount of time you waste trying to get an edge over him, is all the time he can use to wear you down.”

“What does that have to do with the double battle?” Camilla asked. Jon couldn’t help but grin.

“Dylan when put under pressure will either sink or swim. And I think he is swimming,” Jon answered. “The first thing I taught my students was how to do double battles well. Three reasons. The first was that battling with two Pokemon that bounce off each other whilst on the battlefield at the same time was a stepping stone to having their Pokemon work together even when on the field individually, like how Charlotte beat Zeraora, having Roserade set up Magmortar to take as many hits as it could so Zeraora got burnt, and wasn’t hitting as hard, for Roserade to wipe it out…”

Camilla nodded, understanding, and shocked at the fact she was finding herself impressed by Jon’s teaching.

“The second, is that they may find themselves one day battling for their lives, potentially outnumbered, and should know how to handle multiple Pokemon at once,” Jon explained. “And that has happened since…”

“And the third?”

“Most other trainers will neglect practise in double battles because they are so uncommon, but they are allowed to request one,” Jon explained. “Given the rarity, crowds love them, and it usually isn’t hard to convince your opponent to agree to it. So if you’re well practised in double battles and they aren’t, you’re giving yourself an edge…”

Camilla’s eyes widened, as she looked at Brad, and swore under her breath, realising that her final student had been played. Jon couldn’t help but chuckle, having never heard Camilla swear in her television appearances before.

Dylan waited for the referee to call for the match to start. Finally the commercials were over, and Jon introduced the match.

“In our final student battle, we have Dylan Squier representing the Eon Academy, and Brad Jenkins, representing the College of the North Wind,” Jon explained. “And as a special treat to our viewers, the pair have decided to raise the stakes by competing in a double battle, with only two Pokemon each. Whatever Pokemon are on the field when the match begins are the only Pokemon they get to use…”

Jon finished, before nodding to the referee.

“Begin!”

Dylan sent out Dusknoir and Metagross, and couldn’t help but grin when Brad sent out Cresselia and Garchomp. This was typical of somebody who was not well practised in double battles. Garchomp would use Earthquake, hitting both Metagross and Dusknoir, whilst Cresselia, which levitated above the ground, Dylan presumed from one of the most common Pokemon Abilities in existence. Additionally Garchomp was definitely faster than Dusknoir and Metagross, and he was confident Cresselia was also, which suited his brewing plan just fine.

“This is going to be too easy…” Dylan muttered to himself, as Brad gave the first order.

“Cresselia, Double Team!” Brad called out. “Garchomp, Earthquake!”

“Metagross, Protect!” Dylan commanded, As Garchomp roared, striking the earth and causing it to shake, knowing a single Earthquake would devastate Metagross. “Dusknoir, Skill Swap!”

Metagross raised a Protect barrier, blocking the impact of Earthquake, whilst Dusknoir took the brunt of the hit, however managing to launch a spectral orb, which struck the real Cresselia, not being fooled by the Double Team copies, causing it to drop to the ground, and returned to Dusknoir, causing it to float.

“Go Dylan!” Abbee shouted, seeing how effortlessly Dylan had disarmed Brad’s tactics.

Brad looked angrily at Cresselia, realising what Dylan had done. Metagross was closer to Garchomp than Cresselia, and couldn’t use Protect again reliably.

“Bulldoze!” Brad shouted to Garchomp, as it darted towards Metagross, rupturing the earth in front of it as it moved. “Moonblast Cresselia!”

“Darkest Lariat Dusknoir!” Dylan commanded, and Dusknoir, after taking the Moon Blast, instantly followed the order, spinning towards Cresselia, knowing the real one from the attack before, fists extended and smacking it multiple times. Waiting for the right moment between Dusknoir landing the attack, and Garchomp hitting Metagross, he gave Metagross its command. “Ally Switch!”

Metagross cried out, and in the moment before Garchomp’s Bulldoze would have struck, it disappeared, being replaced by Dusknoir who was immune to the attack thanks to the stolen Levitate, as Metagross appeared where Dusknoir originally floated in front of Cresselia…

Brad looked between the four Pokemon in shock. Dusknoir was getting between Garchomp and Metagross, and was now immune to Ground Type attacks. Meanwhile Cresselia stood little chance of causing damage to Metagross who stood in front of her.

“Garchomp, Outrage!” Brad ordered. “Cresselia, Moonblast on Dusknoir!”

Cresselia was more suited to ranged attacks, and whilst Cresselia could do little against Metagross, Dusknoir couldn’t take much more damage.

“Dusknoir, Protect!” Dylan shouted, as his classmates, with the exception of Chris, cheered. “Metagross, Meteor Mash!”

Dusknoir raised the barrier, which protected it from both attacks, which Dylan had no doubt would have ended Dusknoir’s time in battle. Meanwhile, distracted by attacking Dusknoir, Metagross slammed one of its large legs into Cresselia, throwing it back, and raising Metagross’ own attack power.

“See what I mean about Dylan being rock solid defensively?” Jon asked Camilla. “Brad has been going all out trying to hit him, but he has managed to interfere with nearly every major punch Brad has thrown, and is whittling his team away…”

“You said yourself that predictability is bad,” Camilla noted. “So far it seems like he is relying on using Protect and Ally Switch to keep his Pokemon safe…”

“Predictability needs time to be predictable,” Jon answered with a grin. “And honestly, I don’t think Dylan will need much more…”

“Cresselia, Double Team!” Brad commanded, knowing Garchomp would continue to rampage, figuring this would allow him to focus on Cresselia, who seemed to be struggling more.

“Dusknoir, Ally Switch!” Dylan commanded, as Dusknoir and Metagross teleported to switch places. “Metagross, Protect!”

Metagross raised the barrier just in time to block Garchomp’s Outrage attack, as Cresselia split into more copies, now making it difficult to distinguish among them.

“Cresselia, Moonblast against Dusknoir!” Brad called out, however his attention was pulled by the pained cry of Garchomp, who had attacked doggedly into exhausted confusion, struggling to make sense of what it saw. Dylan saw the opportunity, as Cresselia launched its Moonblast attack into Dusknoir, who was showing signs of exhaustion. Dylan knew he had to end this now.

“Metagross, Ice Punch!” Dylan ordered. “Dusknoir, Shadow Punch!”

In sync, the two Pokemon attacked their opponents, Metagross’ claw being encased in ice, and Dusknoir releasing a spectral hand, curled into a fist, which homed in on the real Cresselia. Both Pokemon cried out in pain, before falling unconscious, leaving Dusknoir and Metagross, and by extension Dylan, as the victor…

“Garchomp and Cresselia are unable to battle…” the referee said, in shock at what he had seen. He knew Dylan didn’t have a Legendary Pokemon himself, and had pegged this as the one match the College of the North Wind could win, outside of Camilla’s. “Dylan Squier is the winner!”

Dylan approached Brad, half expecting a fight, given the fighting words exchanged between him and Chris the evening before, however was shocked when Brad approached him keenly, a wide grin across his face.

“Goddamn that was good!” Brad said, struggling not to laugh. “All of the battles, sure, but damn, you made it look too easy…”

“It was a good match,” Dylan said awkwardly, not sure whether Brad was being genuine. His grin widened.

“Look, sorry I’ve been a bit of an a** to you guys,” Brad said casually. “We’ve been here all month, training night and day, all leading up to this, and Miss Blakely told us it should be a cakewalk-”

Brad’s eyes widened, realising he shouldn’t have said anything.

“I won’t tell her,” Dylan said, as Brad smiled again.

“You’re alright,” Brad said. “Anyway, she told us this would be easy, and I got a little carried away. You guys really put us in our place…”

“You made us work for it,” Dylan answered, figuring Brad was being surprisingly gracious, and he owed it to his opponent to do the same. “We’ve also been training heaps, and even then, I know these are some of the hardest battles we have fought…”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Brad said, shaking Dylan’s hand, before turning away. “I’m keen to see what sort of show the old folks put on for us…”

Dylan couldn’t help but grin, as he turned around to make his way back to his team. When he arrived, he was surprised that Chris was the first to speak.

“What did he have to say?” Chris asked, albeit his tone not as enthusiastic as the others.

“He was actually pretty cool,” Dylan said, to everyone’s shock. “Apologised for last night. He was pretty impressed with you guys as well…”

“Goddamn,” Charlotte muttered. “I thought for sure he’d be taking it badly…”

“I mean, I’m not surprised Beth and Matt did,” Abbee noted, as Charlotted groaned in agreement.

At the commentators table, Jon addressed the camera.

“This will be the last time the audience will see us on camera,” Jon explained. “There will be a brief intermission, before Camilla and I take to the battlefield, to finish this challenge off, hopefully with a bang…”

Camilla spoke briefly, thanking those watching for tuning in, before the light above the camera turned off, and the pair left the table. Jon approached his interns for the first time since the battles started, a wide grin across his face.

“I’m speechless,” Jon said with a laugh. “Not even exaggerating. You guys blew away all of my expectations.”

He looked towards Chris making sure Chris was paying attention.

“All of you. You should be proud of what you accomplished here today…”

“You told us to save it for the battlefield…” Charlotte noted. “I don’t think I’d have humiliated Beth as much as I did if it weren’t for last night…”

“I’m more glad that Deoxys behaved, than anything else,” Jon retorted, earning a weak smile from Charlotte. “You had some nerve standing up to Camilla…”

“Half of these high-and-mighty boomers don’t expect someone like me to call them out,” Charlotte answered. “Hill was the same. Makes it pretty easy…”

Justin laughed at Charlotte, as Jon muttered something under his breath, which Charlotte understood to be terrifying, before looking towards Justin.

“I caught on to what you were doing with Regieleki,” Jon said with a grin. “That was ballsy of you, letting Lucario get that close to fainting, and waiting that long for Regieleki to delimit.”

Justin couldn’t help but grin.

“It was my best bet, and you told me I could beat them,” Justin said simply. “So despite myself, I trusted my instincts…”

“It paid off,” Jon remarked. “That Copycat was poetry. I don’t think I’d have thought of doing that. Speaking of poetry…”

Jon looked towards Dylan who couldn’t hide the grin on his face.

“That battle of yours was flawless,” Jon said. “From asking for a double battle, to how perfectly Dusknoir and Metagross battled together…”

“That double battle thing was what you taught us in our first week,” Dylan replied. “Remember?”

“I remembered the moment you asked him,” Jon answered, before grinning again. “And the moment he accepted, I knew you’d win…”

Jon looked over to Abbee who stood next to Dylan, unable to hide the excitement from her face. All of them had beaten the odds, and won, some in spectacular fashions.

“Honestly, I was beginning to worry you were relying on Victini a little too much in battles,” Jon said to Abbee, albeit quietly. “But you proved me wrong. You and Victini make a better team than even Latios and I, and part of that is you trusting him to make the decisions he does, and back him for when they might not work out.”

Abbee beamed.


“Do you really think he’d let me take the lead in a battle against a Shaymin?” Abbee asked. “And you know that Scizor is on his list…”

“I do, and that terrifies me…” Jon said, as Abbee laughed. He looked over to Chris, who stood a little further away from the group. He made his way over to Chris, who struggled to make eye-contact, something Jon was familiar with after the prom.

“I know it probably isn’t worth much from me given the last few weeks, but you did really well,” Jon said. “You took what I was trying to teach you, and made it work for how you battle, and got to the point where your opponent conceded. Not many people can do that…”

Chris remained silent, as Jon continued.

“I’m not going to try and convince you to stay. If you think you’re better off out in the world, then you should go…” Jon said quietly. “But there’s always a place for you at the Academy if you change your mind…”

Jon looked around, noting that Camilla was waiting on the battlefield for him. He stood back from Chris, taking in the whole group.

“Now, I gotta go face a former Champion, who may just undo all your hard work by emasculating me in front of the entire world…” Jon said with a grin. “Wish me luck…”

“Bring it home Jon,” Dylan said, earning a chorus of approval from Justin, Abbee and Charlotte. Jon nodded at him, and Chris watched as he turned to make his way towards Camilla.

“It’s our time to shine Camilla! I can't remember the last time I battled competitively with nothing to lose,” Jon called out, a note of determination in his voice. “One last hurrah! Bring it on!”