Gakuen Pokémon: Chapter 3 - Full Swing

First major battle of the story at last!  Shall we get started?
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Morning had long since broken over Central Island - with breakfast and the morning announcements over, students who had spent most of their fifteen-minute countdown until their first class socializing were scrambling to find their assigned locations.

"Hurry up, guys!"  Duce and DJ barely had time to turn around before they were scrambling to duck under a low-flying Togekiss, which upon further inspection had Aria perched on its back.  Just as it reached the entryway of the General Classes building across the quad, she slid off gracefully and returned her partner to its Ball, then waved to her friends.  "You don't want to be late on the first day!"

The two, realizing it wouldn't be a bad idea to take her advice, glanced at each other and then began a frantic power-walk to the building Aria had just vanished into, before Duce stopped short.  "Wait a second!"  Checking the room number of his Pokémon Sociology 301 class, he released his Alakazam and cleared his mind from everything aside the room.  "See you after class, bro - Alakazam, Teleport!"


The Pokémon obeyed, and within a matter of moments, albeit after a slightly sickening feeling of being twisted and hurled about, Duce found himself in his appropriate classroom - in the middle of a tightly-packed slew of other third-years attempting to find their way to their seats in a rather disorganized fashion.


Now he only felt even more sick.  "Ugh!  Teleport to a corner of the room away from everyone!"  Another execution of the move and he was seated in a thankfully empty section of the lecture hall, the back of the third tier of the amphitheater-like room.  With a sigh of relief, he thanked his Pokémon and returned it to its Ball before slumping against the back of his chair as he watched the rest of the seats fill.  Not exactly the amazing way he'd envisioned his first class of the year starting.

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Meanwhile, in Pokémon Sociology 401...


"And that's why Lavender Town has THE highest suicide rate in Kanto!  Either it's just a scary theory or a coincidence, and I don't believe in coincidence."

"Um, excuse me, sir?" a boy named Josh raised his hand as he addressed Professor Jesse.  "I'm from Lavender Town, and I don't think I've ever had the urge to hurl myself from a window because I heard some sort of 'binary beat' broadcast over my Pokégear radio..."

Aria merely sighed and went back to writing her Mahou Gijinka Sho fanfic in her carefully coded notebook.  It would be a while before he got to something that would actually be on the test.

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Meanwhile, in Pokémon Ranger Fundamentals...


"To start things off, class, we'll be learning about one of the most invaluable facets of being a Pokémon Ranger..."


Les leaned forward, excited and ready to absorb whatever grand secret was about to be revealed to him and his (small) group of classmates.

"...drawing circles."

BAM, his excitement deflated just as quickly as it had built up.

"What do circles have to do with anything?!" he cried.

"CIRCLES HAVE TO DO WITH EVERYTHING."

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Meanwhile, in...what else was this period?

DJ's kickstarter class of the semester was Advanced Pokémon Battling 201.  Unfortunately, his professor had decided to jump right into the physiology of type matchups, beginning with Water, live demonstration and all.  The academy medical staff is requesting that details of his brief panic attack case be kept confidential.

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Aria had scarcely left Sociology to head for her next class in the Arts and Humanities building before she was jumped by two familiar faces crossing her path.

"Better watch out," Angie Hino, Aria's roommate, warned.  "The Dark One is on a rampage again."

"The Dark One?" Aria blinked, more than a little confused.  "Who do you mean?"

"Deputy Headmaster Hamilton!" John Sakasumi, also a Suicune and Angie's boyfriend, replied as he rolled his eyes and squeezed the blonde girl's hand.  "He got onto Angie and me for holding hands in the hallway of the GC building.  I think he's got some kind of beef with me or something - "

"Because he's alway been okay with me!" Angie shrugged.  "He never acted that way around me until he figured out John and I were going out."

"That is weird."  Aria shook her head.  "It's not like I did anything to draw negative attention to myself before, so I doubt he'll get onto me for anything.  Still...he's always been like that, I guess."

Angie nodded, then looked skyward with a sigh.  "Arceus help those poor freshmen when they finally start incurring his wrath."

"You and your twenty-dollar Creative Writing words," the silver-haired boy beside her teased.

"Oh, shut up, John."

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"And that's it!  Gabite is unable to battle.  The winner is Starmie and the victory goes to Thea!"

After a day of both mishaps and higher points, fourth period had arrived and the students were only thirty minutes away from freedom.  This class, however, Advanced Pokémon Battling 301, was having such an exhilarating competition (to "warm up" from last year and for the Junior Battlers and Senior Coordinators to get a feel for each others' styles, the professor said) that almost none of the students could think about counting down to the end of classes as they usually did.  So far, the Seniors' slight advantage in age and experience was paying off, with about two thirds of the battles in the series of one-on-ones being won by the Coordinators, much to the Battle Trainers' chagrin.  The last battle had, not surprisingly, ended in the Coordinators' favor again, and the victor Thea received many a congratulatory hug and high-five as she exited the section of the floor marked off as the battle rink.

"Alright," Professor Jesse (a different, non-conspiracy theorist Professor Jesse) announced, "about three more rounds and we'll call it quits."  Eyes scanning both sides of the room and both groups, he searched out the next competitors.  "...Kazuhira, Higure, front and center."

The Juniors' side instantly erupted in excited whispers and even outright cheering - the top of their class was up, and there was no way he could lose.  The Coordinators were likewise excited - she wasn't exactly the best among them when it came to battles, but she was well-respected in the class and could hold her own.

Duce and Aria took their places on opposite sides of the field, and the professor was just about to signal for them to begin when he stopped mid-sentence.  "Oh, you're just in time, Professor Hamilton.  We were just having a few practice matches to see if we retained skills from last year's course - "

Professor Hamilton?  The thought crossed both students' minds, and Duce found it strange since the Deputy Headmaster almost never sat in on classes, at least so soon, but Aria was more worried.  Great, on all days, he shows up now...  She worried that his actions towards Angie and John earlier would affect her demeanor in front of him, and she certainly didn't want that.

"Alright, you two, let the battle begin!"

"Ladies first!" Duce called, waiting for Aria to release her first Pokémon.

"If you insist!"  The Suicune removed from a hidden pocket in her blazer a tiny black-and-gold sphere - after tapping the button in its center to enlarge it, she let the Luxury Ball fly.  "Nocturne, take the stage!"  With a crackling whir of red energy, an Umbreon materialized on the field.

"Umbreon!" it cried with a proud toss of its head.

Duce smirked, almost as if he had expected this - Umbreon was Aria's strongest Pokémon and he knew it.  "Let's balance things out, shall we?"  He removed a Premier Ball from the inside of his jacket and let it snap open.  "Espeon, I choose you!"

"Huh?"  Aria couldn't help but blink in confusion as the Psychic-type materialized opposite her team star.  She had expected him to use one of his Normal-types, or even his Dragonite (though he usually saved the rare Dragon-type for especially tough battles), since they both knew at least one Fighting-type move that could overcome any of her Pokémon.  Why go with a weak type matchup?  Was it just for show?  (Unusual for someone like him - he usually set his sights on simply winning and left the theatrics up to Coordinators like her.)

Putting the matter aside in favor of getting her head back into the game, she issued her first command.  "Sing them a dirge, Nocturne!  Dark Pulse!"

"Light Screen, quick!"

The spiraling beam of deep violet energy that Nocturne had aimed towards the Sun Pokémon was well on its way when the carmine gem on Espeon's head began to glow, erecting a glimmering cube of light that easily directed the brunt of the attack around it.  Minor damage seemed to have gotten through, but Duce's Pokémon stood firm.

"Now let's retaliate!  Swift!" Duce ordered.

"Ah!"  Aria didn't know how to counter that - it was impossible to dodge that move.  She watched as the star-shaped rays knocked Nocturne off its feet, breathing a sigh of relief as her partner recovered quickly.  "Counter with Faint Attack!"

Impossibly fast, Nocturne dashed up to Espeon, enveloped in a shadowy aura, and delivered a swift headbutt to its side, sending the Psychic-type skidding backward, a super-effective hit but not enough to bring it down.

The battle continued in this manner - each time Nocturne would use a super-effective Dark-type move, Espeon would counter with a Protect or Light Screen to avoid or cut the damage, then continue countering with Swift and Quick Attack continuously - all no-miss basic damage moves.

What are you trying to pull?  Aria wondered continuously as she ordered Nocturne to keep trying to break through the Sun Pokémon's defenses.  Sure, Psychic attacks don't work on Nocturne, that's obvious...it's almost like he's trying to wear him down - this is going to be a stalemate if we keep going at this pace!  He must have something - oh, NO, there has to be SOME kind of trump card involved -

"Nocturne!  Moonlight, and fast!"

Impressive, Duce thought.  He hadn't expected her to catch onto his plan of action - although his opponent was intelligent, she usually had a bad case of tunnel vision.  It didn't take him long to decide that it was time to end this for better or worse.

"That's enough, Espeon!  Wrap it up with Signal Beam!"

The worn-down and only starting to heal Umbreon couldn't dodge and didn't stand a chance against the super-effective attack - one glimmering beam shot from Espeon's magical cabochon and Nocturne was down, fatigued and obviously unable to continue.

Duce smirked.  "Looks like this song's over - sorry I had to cut your so-called dirge short."

"Umbreon is unable to battle!  The winner is Espeon and the victory goes to Duce!"

"Good job, girl!" Duce praised his Pokémon as she let out a cry of triumph.

Aria sighed, a sound inaudible over the cheers of Duce's half of the class, disappointed at the loss but determined not to show it as she raised the Umbreon's Ball.  "Come on back, Nocturne."
After returning her Pokémon, she and Duce both made their way to the center of the field to shake hands, customary even for unofficial battles like theirs.

"Nice job!" she smiled, extending a hand.  "Very clever strategy, too."

"Did you expect anything less?" he laughed.  "And you were pretty clever for figuring it out."

He returned the offered handshake firmly - but then tugged the smaller girl's hand up towards himself before she had a chance to pull it away.

"Nice battle, Ari-chan," he teased, placing a light kiss on the back of her hand.  With a squeak, Aria jerked back, cheeks faintly flushed - muttering out another congratulations, she speed-walked back to the crowd of Seniors on her edge of the field, the females of which were giggling uncontrollably.

Duce only chuckled to himself (he really had only been teasing but had expected such a reaction somewhat) and exited the field himself - to find Professor Hamilton waiting.  He congratulated him on his win, seeming a bit overly flattering on his strategy and his Pokémon's power.  Duce thanked the Deputy Headmaster with due respect, but wasn't exactly getting good vibes from him for some reason...and it wasn't compliments on his skill that he was already fully aware of.

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Project Beta Phase 1 In-Progress Report - Day 1
D. Kazuhira - vital - Mental link - bond yet to develop.  Background troubling - RED - research to continue.
A. Higure - holds potential - Corruption link - suspected bond forming (NP488, NP491?).  Background not notable - minimal research to continue.
D. Sensou - observation compromised.  Possible link - bond yet to develop.  Background unknown - research to continue.
L. Honda - limited potential as of now - Willpower link - bond yet to develop.  Background notable but unlikely to effect subject directly - research to continue.
General student research in progress.  Special attention to G. Kazuhira, A. Hino, J. Sakasumi, J. Hanawa.
Activity spotted in Leohta Ruins, Yami Island - under observation.  Student access to be blocked.
Possible illusions spotted.  Action not to be taken.