From: Sirius <sirius259@aol.comeleon> Subject: [PW!][LEAGUE] Do the Wave, Wiggly Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2000 1:41 AM OOC: Dunno if card moves are allowed, but I thought I'd try this one... Sirius, only half-awake, stared at his alarm clock. The minutes crawled by, until... "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP! BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEEP!" it wailed. Sirius gingerly shut the alarm clock off and got up. He actually preferred being asleep, dreaming about a beeping alarm clock to having to get up and walk to Indigo Stadium alone. The usual crowd was up in the stands at the Indigo Stadium. Most, since the beginning of the tournament nearly six months ago, had set up homes in Indigo. Their old homes in the old cities were probably being looted by now, so they thought it would probably be a good idea to settle down. "Weeeeeeelcome... to yet ANOTHER match here in the Indigo Stadium!" boomed the announcer, straining for as much enthusiasm as he possibly could. The crowd applauded weakly. Even though it was only February, the hot sun was taking a toll on their patience. "Anyway... Today, the red trainer is Sirius, who has already proven himself as yada yada yada. The green trainer, Assunta Chao, who took third place in the last Pokemon League Tournament. The commentators will be ignored for the rest of this battle for the writer's convenience. Let the match begin!" Assunta, who was most likely in her late teens, confidently took out a Pokeball from her belt. Sirius, still sleepy, did the same. "Trainers, choose your Pokemon," said the referee, yawning. Sirius threw down his Pokeball first. It released Marowak, who took its position adjacent to where Assunta was throwing her Pokeball. It opened and flew back to Assunta's hand, a Pokemon materializing in its place in the arena. It was a Tangela. "Taaaangelaa!" said the Tangela happily. It greeted Marowak, who was growling, with the same happy voice. "Trainers, begin!" shouted the referee. Before either trainer gave an order, Tangela extended a friendly vine out towards Marowak, who knocked it aside. "Maro..." growled Marowak again. "Taangelaa?" replied Tangela innocently. "Urgh, just tell that dumb, ugly brute to be a good sport!" yelled Assunta, loud enough so that Sirius could hear. "Hey, shut up about my Marowak!" Sirius shouted back. "Simmer down, simmer down..." interrupted the referee sleepily. The crowd murmured with disapproval and impatience. Sirius turned to Marowak. "Just shake its vine, Marowak, and let's get it over with," he said, finally. Marowak groaned, moved its bone to its other hand, and shook the vine hastily. "TANGELAAA!" screeched Tangela. It suddenly twitched its body around, swinging its extended vine from Marowak's grasp and knocking Marowak off of its feet. "HEY, THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT!" Marowak was struggling back to its feet when Tangela grabbed it with one vine and repeatedly slapped it with two others. "Maaaro..." wailed Marowak. "Oh, go whine to your DADDY, you little pansy!" taunted Assunta, sneering. "Tangela, Stun Spore that little lizard thing!" "Taaangelaa!" Tangela drew back its vines and shook its body rapidly, releasing small blue spores into the air. Marowak stumbled backwards, but couldn't avoid the oncoming spores. As Tangela's attack took hold, it fell backwards, trying to move. "MARO... Maro..." it growled helplessly. Tangela flung out its vines again to bind Marowak in a tight grip. Tangela began to spin furiously in the same place, gathering strength. "Uh oh..." Sirius gulped. "Tangela, release it now!" Tangela's vines seceded their grip on Marowak, who was thrown at least fifty feet. It crashed into the barriers with a sickening thud. "Marowaaak..." Marowak moaned, closing its eyes. The referee ran towards Marowak to make his decision. The crowd was applauding politely, as it was an impressive win for Assunta. "Match goes to the..." "MARO!" Marowak jumped to its feet and fell down again, but got up a second time more slowly. "Well then. The match continues," announced the referee. "Argh! Come on and FINISH it this time, Tangela!" Assunta was fuming. "Tangela, use Slam!" "TangeLAAA!" Tangela sped towards Marowak at an impressive speed for a Grass Pokemon, utilizing its vines to catapult itself off the ground once it came close. The weakened and partially paralyzed Marowak managed to roll out of its way in time to see Tangela crash into the ground in a mess of vines. For a moment, the crowd could just barely see Tangela only partially covered in vines, but the vines flew back to cover it as if they had a life of their own. Tangela rolled to its feet, humiliated and angry. Marowak was still aching from the hits it had previously taken. "Maroo..." "Tangelaa..." The two Pokemon glared and growled at each other with narrowed eyes. Tangela's living vines were even more disorganized and shambled than ever, and bruises were clear on Marowak's menacing skull-like face. The crowd waited in suspense. "Marowak, Bonemerang!" "Tangela, Mega Drain!" Tangela extended some of its vines out towards Marowak. With its paralysis wearing off, Marowak knocked away the vines easily with its bone and jumped backwards. It threw its bone high into the air. It spun quickly and swerved back around to return to Marowak's hand, flooring Tangela while doing so. "Taaaaangla!" Tangela, with no arms to speak of, attempted to propel itself off of its feet using some of its vines, but only managed to tie them into a knot. Tangela whimpered helplessly. Sirius saw his opportunity. "Marowak, Skull Bash!" Marowak lowered its head, gathering energy. Tangela, sensing that it was about to get hit, tried to stay mobile by rolling away. Marowak rushed forward but only managed to gently knick a few of Tangela's vines. Unable to control its momentum, Marowak crashed head-first into the barrier while Tangela finally got back to its feet. "Urgh... Marowak, try a Bonemerang, fast!" "Tangela, get ready..." Assunta's warning had done the trick. Tangela distanced itself from Marowak, and easily caught its bone just after it had thrown it. Tangela hurled the bone back like a discus, and Marowak, caught off guard, was hit hard in the face. "Now, Mega Drain!" shouted Assunta. Tangela swung its outstretched vines towards the dizzy Marowak, wrapping it up. Marowak's body seized up, and red waves of energy from it passed through the vines and into Tangela. "Tangla!" Tangela contentedly sat down, recovering its strength while Marowak writhed in pain, losing consciousness. Within moments, the referee declared Marowak unable to battle, prompting Tangela to gingerly release its hold. A light blinked out on Sirius's side of the scoreboard. "Hmm... Gyarados should be able to handle this thing..." said Sirius, returning Marowak to its Pokeball. "Odd that I'm talking to myself.... Anyway, go Gyarados!" "GRAAAAAAAR!" Tangela's vines suddenly went white. "Trainers, begin!" The referee raised both of his flags. Tangela instantly fell facedown on the arena and lay still, conceding defeat. The referee poked the Tangela a few times while Gyarados growled, confused. "Uh... I guess Tangela's out of the match..." "Argh, Tangela, you COWARD!" screeched Assunta as she returned it to its Pokeball. A light flickered out on her side of the board. "Well, this one won't fail me... GO, Parasect!" "Parasssssssect, Parasssssssssect..." hissed Parasect as it materialized, barely noticing Sirius's Gyarados. The mushroom on Parasect's back was a brilliant red color, and it almost appeared to be pulsating. Parasect's eyes were bloodshot and glazed at the same time. It crawled eagerly towards the center of the arena. "Go, Exeggutor!" Assunta then released an Exeggutor onto her own platform. "Why are you...?" began the referee. "My Exeggutor's psychic power is the only way I can control my Parasect," explained Assunta. She suddenly started sniffling. "Ever since its mushroom forced it to overdose on Protein, it's never been the same..." "Uh... alright. Trainers, begin!" "Gyarados, Bite!" shouted Sirius. "Exeggutor, make it Slash!" "TOOOOR!" Exeggutor's eyes glowed, and tiny blue pupils appeared in Parasect's blank, bloodshot eyes. "PAAARASSSSSSSPARASPARASPRASSSSSSSSSSECT!" Parasect sprinted forward in an insane slashing frenzy, leaving foamy spit on its trail. Gyarados, not expecting that kind of reaction from a Parasect, crawled backwards and hesitated as Parasect rushed forward. "Er... don't be afraid, Gyarados!" "Graaara..." growled Gyarados uneasily. "Exeggutor, show no mercy! KILL KILL KILL!" "PARAAAAS!" Parasect lunged forward when it was just meters away from Gyarados, burying its right claw into the flesh between Gyarados's tough scales and wildly slashing at them with its right. "GRAAAAAARA!" Gyarados roared in pain. With one flick of its tail, Gyarados threw Parasect across the arena. Parasect landed on its legs and began to rush forward again. A slightly red gash appeared in Gyarados's midsection. It wasn't a bad wound, but Gyarados had never bled before. "Gyarados, since it's too dangerous to attack up close... Hit it with an Ice Beam!" "Graaaaaa..." Within Gyarados's jaws, a sphere of blue light materialized and grew steadily larger. Parasect was still a good distance away from Gyarados, but it was charging forward at a surprisingly fast pace. For a Parasect, at least. "GRAAAAAR!" Gyarados violently released the beam at Parasect, who stood still. Exeggutor's eyes glowed, and Parasect lurched backwards. The Ice Beam harmlessly hit the ground, covering all of the ground within twenty feet with a sheet of ice. Exeggutor's eyes glowed again, and Parasect skated its way towards Gyarados, faster than ever. "CRAP. Gyarados, hold your ground and Bite it when you get the chance!" "Exeggutor, make it stop and use Spore," whispered Assunta to Exeggutor. "TOR!" Exeggutor nodded, and its eyes began to glow again just when Parasect reached... "GRAAAAAAAAR!" Gyarados lunged at Parasect in an attempt to bite it, but was answered with a painful slash to the face as spores were released into the air. Infuriated and confused, Gyarados snaked away from Parasect as fast as it could and used Hydro Pump after Hydro Pump against the walls of the stadium, flooding it with five feet of water within seconds. "Paaarblblblblaaaseeblblblblbecblblblt..." Gyarados turned towards Parasect's muffled screams to see the mushroom floating slowly in the water, Parasect's claws dangling below it, only inches from the ground. Gyarados grabbed it in its jaws and tossed it high into the air, until it was only a speck in the sky. "Aaaaggggh! Parasect, return!" Assunta aimed its Pokeball into the air and successfully caught Parasect within it. Another light flickered out on Assunta's side of the board, leaving her with four Pokemon left and Sirius with five. "Exeggutooor..." mumbled Exeggutor in apology. "That's alright, Exeggutor... it's your turn now." "TOR!" Exeggutor leaped off the platform and landed on its feet perfectly on the damp soil. "Trainers, begin!" Before Sirius could get a chance to issue a command, Exeggutor's eyes were glowing. Assunta was leaning back against the railing of her platform, grinning. "Gyarados, Hyper Beam! Uh... Gyarados? Can you hear me?" A greenish smoke had been coming forth from the seeds of the Exeggutor. It drifted lazily towards Gyarados, who stood still, entranced by it. The trail of smoke, still connected to Exeggutor's heads, enveloped Gyarados. Gyarados was still for a moment, then shook violently, attempting to tear away from it. "Exeggutor, Leech Seed!" A small Exeggcute plopped down from the branches of Exeggutor. Exeggutor kicked it like a football, and it landed on Gyarados's head, who was still in pain. The seed exploded, unleashing a mass of vines that binded Gyarados. After a few seconds, Gyarados fell to the ground, unconscious. The referee didn't even get a chance to inspect Gyarados before its light blinked out on Sirius's side of the screen. "Gyarados, return! GO, uh... Aerodactyl!" "AEEEERO!" Aerodactyl took to the air as soon as the Pokeball opened two feet in front of Sirius's hand (the Pokeball was thrown backwards and hit Sirius's face). "Trainers... you know what to do... ::yawn::" "Exeggutor, Leech Seed!" Aerodactyl dodged the seed easily, circling the air above Exeggutor. "Exeggutor, Psychic!" The green energy waves dissipated as Aerodactyl flew threw them. "Agh... Exeggutor, Solarbeam!" Seeing its chance, Aerodactyl swooped down in front of Exeggutor. "Aerodactyl, Bite!" Aerodactyl grabbed one of Exeggutor's leaves and dragged it across the arena, finally smashing it against the barrier. "Toooor..." moaned Exeggutor, still trying to absorb enough light for its attack. "Aerodactyl, Wing Attack!" Aerodactyl dashed forward and slashed at Exeggutor repeatedly with its wings, then retreated and flew back to the other side of the arena and landed. Exeggutor's leaves were reduced to ribbons, but it appeared to have already gathered enough energy. "Aerodactyl, Hyper Beam to finish it off!" "Now, release the Solarbeam!" The Hyper Beam, a beam of iridescent light, was six feet away from finishing Exeggutor when the Solarbeam was released, pushing Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam backwards. Exeggutor braced itself against the barrier and pushed forward, giving the continuous beam extra strength. Aerodactyl strained, stumbling backwards. The Hyper Beam was quickly losing strength, and Exeggutor's Solarbeam was closing in. Aerodactyl gained a second wind and released another Hyper Beam, pushing the Solarbeam back into the middle of the arena. Exeggutor began to charge the Solarbeam with continous light from its leaves. Then... BOOM. The match ended with a huge explosion in the middle of the arena, almost injuring Assunta and Sirius. Both Exeggutor and Aerodactyl were out cold, and a light from both sides of the board went out. It was tied, three Pokemon against three. "Vileplume, GO!" "Viiiiile...pluuuuume..." Assunta's Vileplume curiously inspected the crater that was the center of the arena. "Time to do what I should have done before... Charizard, go!" "CHAAAAAAR!" As soon as the match began, Charizard wasted no time in assaulting Vileplume with Flamethrowers. Vileplume barely managed to escape each one. "Vileplume, time to fight back! Petal Dance!" "Viiilepluuume..." Hesitantly, the Vileplume began to boogie and spin and do all that other crap, sending a flurry of petals towards Charizard. Charizard reduced them to ash with a single Flamethrower, and Vileplume, too busy dancing to notice what was going on, was caught in the blaze. "Gah! Vileplume, return!" Vileplume hadn't been hit yet, but Assunta knew it didn't stand a chance anyway. She cringed as another light blinked out on her side of the board. "It's up to you, Victreebel, to get us back into this game..." "EEEEEEEEE!" screamed Victreebel. The referee signalled for the beginning of the match. "Victreebel, Wrap!" Victreebel threw its vines around Charizard, but painfully withdrew them as they were singed by the flame on its tail. Charizard caught one of Victreebel's vines and set fire to it using its tail, and the flame was sent up to Victreebel before it even realized what had happened. Sirius grinned with relief. Just one more Pokemon... "EEEEEEEEEEE!" Victreebel was returned before it could be badly burned. One of the last two lights on Assunta's side flickered out. It was a seemingly impossible uphill struggle from here on, as Sirius had three Pokemon remaining, but Assunta didn't seem worried. "Venusaur, she's gonna use her Venusaur!" buzzed the crowd, excitedly. "That Venusaur's won her every single match so far!" "But do you really think it stands a chance?" and so on. Assunta threw her last Pokeball into the arena, and the crowd gasped. "Weeeegly!" The pink, fairyish balloon bowed to the stunned crowd. Everyone stayed silent. "Wiiiiggly...PUFF!" it sneered, angrily. It hobbled its way into the center of arena to face Sirius's Charizard. Sirius cracked a smile. "This should be interesting, to say the least..." "Trainers, begin!" shouted the referee with renewed interest. "Weeeegly..." sang Wigglytuff sweetly, but it didn't continue. It hopped on the raised edge of the crater and beamed. It then narrowly dodged a Flamethrower from Charizard, and continued beaming. It began to raise its chubby arms in a sweeping motion. Assunta turned to the crowd. "C'mon, everybody! Don't you all just want to... do the Wave?" The crowd looked at her as though she were insane. Wigglytuff was still down in the arena, raising and lowering its chubby arms, and occasionally running away from Flamethrower and Slash attacks. A man in the front row stood up. "Now that you mention it, I actually do want to..." A little girl in the row behind him also stood up. "Mommy, I wanna do the Wave!" Slowly, the desire to do the Wave had spread throughout the stadium. Assunta smiled. Wigglytuff had managed to hold off Charizard, while Sirius desperately shouted out orders. "OK, on three... ready? 1... 2... 3... Let's do the Waaave!" The Wave swept around the stadium quickly, and continued around over and over again. "What the hell!?" Sirius was looking around. No one in the crowd seemed to be paying attention to the battle anymore, just the wave. "AAAHHH! I'M doing it too! Can't... control... must... not..." "WIIGGGGLY!" Wigglytuff bounced happily, raising its arms in sync with the crowd behind it. Charizard began charging a Fire Blast when... The Wave was moving around the stadium faster and faster. Eventually, it was going so fast that it appeared everything was going in fast motion. People were standing up and sitting down every half second. The crowd, as seen from above, was practically shimmering. Just as Charizard was to release its Fire Blast on the unsuspecting Wigglytuff, who was jiggling wildly as it moved to the Wave, it fell backwards as if struck by some invisible force. It coughed a pathetic fireball, and the referee, who was trying to keep his arms from going up and down, declared it to be unable to fight. Wigglytuff stopped doing the Wave and sat back, panting. The Wave ended abruptly. "What... What the hell was that?" Sirius was looking around the stadium. Assunta was smiling, and everyone else acted like nothing had happened. He sighed, and returned the unconscious Charizard back into its Pokeball. Seadra would be useless, so there was only one choice left. "Reis, show that poofball what you can do!" "Draaaa!" Reis materialized and prepared to fight. "Trainers, begin!" "Reis, don't let it do... that thing!" "Dra?" "Just KO it quickly!" Wiggly was already perched on top of the highest point of the crater in the arena. It slowly began to raise its arms up and down, gradually gaining speed. The crowd was mindlessly doing the same. Sirius began to panic as his arms flew up and down rythmically. "Reis, Thunder!" Reis raised her arms and dropped them down again, not to do the Wave but to send a bolt of lightning down from the sky onto Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff wandered a little to its left, dodging the bolt by centimeters. The ground crackled with electricity. The Wave was getting faster and faster, circling the entire stadium every eight seconds. "Weeeegly.. Wiiiiigggle..." "Reis, try a Slam!" The Dragonite rushed forward, but Wigglytuff inhaled air and floated above it as Reis passed underneath. "Wigglywigglywigglywigglywiggly...!" "There's not much time, Reis!" shouted Sirius, desperately. "HYPER BEAM!" Reis aimed at Wigglytuff for a moment, then shot out Hyper Beam as fast as it possibly could. Wigglytuff still managed to avoid it, propelling itself away moments before it would have been hit. Unfortunately, the Hyper Beam was now surging towards part of the crowd. A few people snapped out of their Wave-induced stupor. "WATCH OUT! WE'RE GONNA GET HIT!" "RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIVES!" "AAAAHHHHHHHH!" The Hyper Beam crashed into the heart of the group of people. Though all had gotten out of the way in time, benches and seats were propelled into the air by the blast, and the Wave had stopped in the confusion. Assunta turned to the crowd nearest to her again. "C'mon! Don't you all want to do the Wave!?" she pleaded. "I still sort of do, but... it's not a Wave anymore." "Yeah, it's just... a curvy line now." "Who wants to do the Wave in that sort of condition?" "Awww... dammit..." Assunta turned back to the arena to see Reis pinning down her badly beaten Wigglytuff. "Weeegly..." it wailed. "Wigglytuff is out of the match! Victory goes to the Red trainer, Sirius!" cried the referee. "WOOHOO! I WON!" Sirius's cheering was interrupted by a swarm of TV reporters and cameramen and even Lance. Assunta, sullen-faced, returned her deafeated Wigglytuff to its Pokeball and hopped off her platform. "Hey, that was your Wigglytuff, right?" "Huh?" Assunta turned towards the Pokemon League president. "Oh! Yeah, it's mine!" "That Wigglytuff is just the Pokemon we need! Y'see, the Games have been going on for SUCH a long time, and that Wigglytuff has the power to bring the excitement back! So how about it?" "Er... I dunno..." "There's lots of cash involved, if that's what you're wondering about." He winked. "Here's the Wigglytuff! You can keep it!" TBC... Sirius Lisa: Dad! The flash must have scrambled their circuits. Homer: What are you, the narrator?