Trails of Tera Steel (Kiseki-inspired Pokemon Academy Quest)

Steeling yourself, you release Psyduck and Helioptile for a pre-fight pep-talk. "He~y guys." you say nervously, crouching down to try and get as close to eye-level as possible. "I'm gonna be your trainer for a bit, so uh, let's work together…"

Helioptile grabs your pinkie and begins to move it up and down, nodding as if to reassure you. Psyduck meanwhile squints and covers its eyes from the glare of the ceiling lights and quacks in response.

You take a look at their moves and abilities.





Pretty good movepool, actually. Though you're surprised that Psyduck has a weather move. You've heard that it's pretty tough for lower strength 'mons to use them. Meanwhile with Helioptile, having Camouflage gives you the idea of sneakily setting-up a Charge while getting closer, you doubt you could make it work with such little time and no training.

While you were deep in thought Psyduck's managed to convince Helioptile to rest on their head, using the latter's ears as shade. Psyduck looks much more relaxed now. The same couldn't be said for you.

"ARE YOU READY NOW, EXAMINEE?" Iosef bellowed from across the arena.

You hastily recalled both pokemon while nervously answering, "SIR YES SIR!?"

The proctor laughed and raised his fist. "Admirable spirit, let's see if you have the Will to attend our Academy!"

Meanwhile, that same judge from earlier had her head in her hands. "REFEREE!" she snarled.

"Release your first Pokemon!" The referee (was he there before?) by the Kadabra yelled.
You sent out Psyduck onto the field, who looked positively bored. At least he isn't suffering from his species-typical headache. Yet.

Iosef nodded and sent out their own pokemon; a small purple body connected to a head with a collection of tentacles covered in barbs and spikes. A Mareanie.

"Three…" Mareanie smiles a toothy grin filled with malice at Psyduck.
"Two…" Psyduck rolls his eyes at the display before narrowing their gaze.
"One." You lick your lips, your mouth dry feeling from anticipation and nerves. 'You can do this.'
"Begin!" The referee shouted as they lowered their arms.




"Confusion!" you let pure instinct guide you. You need to stop whatever they're planning. Psyduck's eyes glow blue as he launches the psychic attack.

"Pin Missile!" Mareanie barbs glow light green as she aims her tentacles at Psyduck. Only some of them shoot out towards Psyduck before the Confusion hit. Mareanie's expression slacks causing her to miss. Her eyes narrow, expression turning into a snarl, fangs bared with lips drawn back as she intensifies her assault.

Psyduck using the force of a Water Gun to propel himself backwards, using his head to manuever, was able to dodge most but not all of them. Many of the spines lay protruding on where he was, trailing after his trajectory.

You and Iosef command your Pokemon at the same time.

"Sludge! Aim for the eyes!"

"Confusion!"

Mareanie shot first, before shooting a single precise shot Psyduck square in the eyes. A painful hissing noise was made by the Sludge as Psyduck screamed, blinded.

"Spit water into your hands and rinse it out of your face." You tried to help. You noticed purple colored veins spreading from where the Sludge hit and you grimaced. Poison.

At least by the looks of the drool falling from Mareanie's face and the blank almost blissful look on their face the Confusion did its number.

"Snap out of it! Recover!" The proctor ordered and your eyes widen in response. You cannot let that happen.

With Psyduck still blinded, unable to use Confusion without visual sight and too far away for Zen Headbutt, you swap out into Helioptile.

"Shock Wave! NOW!" You yell as soon as Helioptile is out of the ball. A translucent field of electricity emanated for Helioptile's skin hitting Mareanie fast enough that it interrupted her from healing any more damage.

Before you could say anything, though, Iosef recalled Mareanie and sent out their other Pokemon—from its coloring and plumage, A Kantonian Farfetch'd.


"Close in with Quick Attack, then Cut"

You click your tongue and tell Helioptile to run to the pond in the center of the field. And Shock Wave if they get close.

Leek still tucked under its wing, the Farfetch'd started to sprint. It began to look like they were skating on the field as a white streak of light trailed after them. They quickly crossed the distance and were soon on Helioptile slamming into them. However, Helioptile was able to dodge out of the follow-up Cut.

Helioptile then used the opportunity to unleash another Shock Wave point blank. The attack struck Farfetch'd, who began to shake and convulse, feathers catching on fire and grip on their Leek tightening. By the time Farfetch'd had recovered, Helioptile was in the pond, soaking in water healing from some of the damage they took.

Unbeknownst to you, the female judge scoffed, looking at the proctor, "Told you you were getting too into it." Iosef only grumbled in response.

"Air Cutter, force them out."

Farfetch'd, Leek in-wing began slashing at the air rapidly, creating beams of pressurized wind at Helioptile who remained underwater. He nimbly dodged the attacks and waited for the moment to retaliate. Internally, he knew Farfetch'd was lost. The girl has decent potential at least.

Farfetch'd finally falls after two more Shock Waves, collapsing with a smoking thud like a puppet with its strings cut, Leek falling out the burned wing's grip onto the ground. You let out a breath you were holding back. Farfetch'd was recalled as Helioptile popped his head out of the water to chirp happily at me. Cu~te.

"Farfetch'd is unable to battle! Send out your last Pokemon!"
You blinked as Iosef released Mareanie directly onto the pond. You could do that?

"Flood the pond with poison!" He roared.

You held back a choke. "GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" I yelled as Mareanie opened her mouth. Inky, violet gunk gushed out of her maw into the rest of the water.

Within seconds the once clear water was a dark black and violet mix. Helioptile crawled out shortly after, clearly poisoned.

Mareanie slowly emerged from the poisoned muck, a serene smile that looked unnerving. She opened her and puked a glob of acid glowing bright purple. Venoshock.

The attack homed in on Helioptile despite their attempts to flee. They unleashed one last Shock Wave before the Venoshock landed. The glob exploded as it struck Helioptile, blasting the electric type with enough force to send them flying into the air across the field until they crashed into the Kadabra's arena barrier. Meanwhile, the Shock Wave struck Mareanie, who began to convulse due to the electric currents running through her, tentacles spasming out of control and their spikes charring.

Yet.. she's forcibly turning towards you…staring right at you.

"Helioptile is unable to battle! Send out your last Pokemon!"

Helioptile slid down the barrier, unconscious, and you recalled him back to his pokeball. "Good job," you whisper, "and thanks."

You glance back up to your opponent, Mareanie, who's still smiling. Unblinking. Just eyes focusedatyouand—
"Recover."

nononononono

Your hands shook as you quickly released Psyduck right on top of Mareanie. Your breaths are short and shallow, your throat feels tight as you shout at the water type to Zen Headbutt, the sheer panic in your voice slurring your speech into nonsense. But luckily Psyduck understood the command and with eyes still squinted, sore from the sludge blindness, smashed his head glowing with psychic energies onto the poison type. The attack sent Mareanie tumbling across the field, tearing at the ground and grass beneath until she crashed into a field of rocks sending up a cloud of debris obscuring where she'd landed.
And yet…slowly. She stood. The Recover having healed enough for her to hold on.
Which is enough.

"Venoshock."

Is this it? Is it over? Time slows to a crawl as you rapidly try and think of what to do. Psyduck's vision is still recovering from blindness and with the dust cloud covering Mareanie, blurry vision wouldn't be enough for Confusion. Too far away for any other of his moves, think think think. What else did that ARCUS say—you grab the ARCUS on the table next to you with enough force to nearly trip yourself.

Turning the lid, you activate the Tera Orb at the center and pray that you made it in time to make up for such a stupid fuck up as forgetting you could fucking Terastalize.

Poisoned energy gathered in Mareanie's mouth, slower than before. She wonders what sort of wonderful faces the Human will give once the duck falls. She trembles despite herself.

The Judges and the Proctor were amused that the examinee finally remembered to use her ARCUS. This has been a fun start to the day, at least.

Meanwhile Psyduck is awaiting orders on what to do. The dull pain of their ever present headaches being ignored and vision still blurry because that jerk blinded him again for the second time this week.

And you, heart beating a mile a minute, fingers still gripping the ARCUS as the light of the device glows.

Mareanie launces Venoshock. A glob of envenomed spit that will decide the match.

??? ACTIVATES

You blink. Staring across the Arena, opposite you; the proctor of your exam. You blink. Your vision is still blurry after Mareanie blinded you with Sludge. A crystalline metallic sheen engulfs the you in the field as the Venoshock hits, sending you back to skid across the ground. Your veins burn as the poison interacts with the Poison Type Energy of the attack yet you resist, your crystal outer shell shielding you from the worst of it.

The proctor orders a Recover, which you stop with a Disable from your finger, your eyes in the stands of the arena narrowing at the Mareanie below on the field. The Poison type pouts on the verge of a tantrum as you take her favorite toy away from her. She knows the fight is over now. She will miss your funny little faces and noises. You were the best human so far. She will simply have to bully you—your head hurts—as always.

You. You. No order given. No order necessary. Your eyes glow blue as your eyes up above narrow and aim. The Confusion hits and it is over.

??? DEACTIVATES

"Mareanie is unable to battle! Examinee Mariana wins!"

You grab onto the railing of the arena for support, knees too weak to keep you standing. What—was that?

The battle was beyond stressful. You're exhausted as you try and force yourself up. You look at the arena and only Psyduck remains there, seemingly as confused as you are. When you became them and you them and—your head hurts and maybe you are a Psyduck with these headaches. You call them back to their pokeball. In a Pokeball, a Pokemon is miniaturized and placed in a weird stasis of sorts from what you've been told. Looking at them past the semi transparent top of the ball, you can see Psyduck sitting down, eyes closed, posture relaxed.

They—they should be fine right? You heard the Center's healing machine can help Pokemon recover from way worse even dismemberment and near death! 'He-he'll be fine' you think, hand gripping the ball in worry.

"Congratulations on passing, Ms. Mariana" you turn your head and nearly drop Psyduck's ball in surprise. "Do forgive us for Mr. Iosef's rather enthusiastic nature. You may refer to me as Ms. Gregoria." The female Judge that had been heckling your Proctor throughout the match. At a closer look, she had jet black hair tied into a long braid on her back. She wore the same military uniform typical of the academy staff and her striking bright yellow eyes were behind red tinted glasses. She offers you a hand to help steady yourself, your balance still weak from your… experience.

"What—what was that?" you ask.

"The ARCUS Combat Link System." Ah yes, because those combinations of words explain everything. "They are a new feature of the ARCUS that we plan to implement this coming school year for exceptional students."

"Am—am I exceptional?" you stammer out.

"Well they managed to activate them, so you must be exceptional." Your ears heat up at being called something like that. You? Exceptional?

"Ah yes, that reminds me… your temporary trainer card please?" You hand it over to her while still feeling dizzy. Whether it was from the Link thing or the compliment, you don't know. She pulls out a device from a pocket and inserts your card, you hear a noise before she returns it to you.

You take a look at your Trainer Card. It much more resembles all those official ones you saw online. Still has the same picture of yours, though. "Well then, miss, everything seems to be in order. As long as your measurements remain consistent, your uniforms should arrive at your address in a few days. Have a good day." You nod as you leave the provided ARCUS behind on the table with the Pokeballs. You spare one last glance at Psyduck's pokeball before leaving.

You enter the waiting area wherein you're immediately accosted by that girl from earlier who slings her arm around you.

"Sohowwasit? Didyoulose? Didyouwin? Name's Astrid by the way." she rapidly says and finishes with her reaching out her right hand for you to shake. Which you do. Because of a glare from the guard, you both settle down for a proper conversation. You introduce yourself and use this opportunity to unwind. Your head no longer hurts, but you're still exhausted.

Eventually, she's called out for her own examination and she bids you goodbye. " Gotta go, chief! Maybe we'll see each other in Mesagoza—we could be rivals and junk! And go get some shuteye! You look like you were gonna collapse on me." She says before leaving. With nothing else to do, you decide to head out.

As you make your way out of the Battle Arena you look out and see:

It was still early in the day, with it not even being noon yet. More people will likely show up for their examinations later in the day, so at least this way you didn't have to deal with a crowd. The regulars of the Battle Arenas probably still won't be happy, they've been reserved for use by the Academy for the entire week for examinations. Hmm… you wonder what you're gonna do for the rest of the d—your phone is ringing.

Picking it up, it's:


LEFTOVER CHARGEN POINTS: 2
+1 CHARGEN POINT FOR BEATING BOTH PROCTOR POKEMON
+1 CHARGEN POINT FOR ACTIVATING ARCUS LINK
+2 PROW AND SKLL FOR BEATING BOTH PROCTOR POKEMON
+ 500 SKLL XP FOR WINNING YOUR FIRST BATTLE. YOU WILL REMEMBER THIS FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIVE

NEW STAT TOTAL:

Massive thanks to Nemastraea for proofreading this update