From: BBD127 (bbd127@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] Dance of the Staryu Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/05/05 "Well, are we about ready?" asked Procyon of his two companions. "We?" asked Suikuaktu. "What's this ?we' stuff? I'm not battling." "Fine," replied Procyon. "We as in me and Taron. Happy?" He turned to face Taron. "Ready to go face Misty?" Taron nodded. "I think so, but I'm still working out some last-minute details. Why don't you challenge her first?" "All right." The trio approached the Cerulean Gym confidently, if a bit nervously. Gym battles were never cakewalks, and Procyon couldn't forget his heart-pounding encounters with Brock. He'd trained his team well for this moment, but there was no getting around a bit of apprehension. Taron, on the other hand, was quite unreadable, while Suikuaktu appeared perfectly calm, even a bit bored; but then, he wasn't about to put all his skills to the ultimate test. Procyon opened the door cautiously. The three trainers walked inside to find a large empty pool. Procyon walked out ahead and looked around for a moment before calling out, "Misty?" "Just a minute," she replied. Her voice seemed to be a long way off, and Taron could vaguely hear some background noises accompanying her reply. A moment later she appeared before them. Misty had changed since her "Ash" days, becoming somewhat taller, with darker hair that she now wore down rather than up. Her proportions had evened out somewhat, making her look less scrawny and more like the young woman she was rather than the girl she had been. The sky blue outfit she had on, while not as revealing as the jean shorts she had once worn, nonetheless did nothing to tone down her natural beauty which reflected over into her sea blue eyes. She wore a white necklace with a single diamond on it, shimmering blue in the lights overhead. The slight sparkle in her eyes as well as her voice was present as ever. She smiled at them, flashing her bright white teeth at the group. "Did you come here to challenge me?" Procyon nodded. "Yes. I'm Procyon, this is Taron, and that's Suikuaktu. He won't be fighting you, but Taron and I will." She smiled again. "I look forward to it. Three on three?" "That would be fine." They took their respective positions on opposite sides of the pool. Procyon noticed that the water arena gave rock and ground types an even greater disadvantage than they would normally have had; his thoughts strayed once more to Taron. Misty plucked a Pokeball from her side and tossed it gracefully onto a small platform in the middle of the shimmering pool. "Horsea, I choose you!" she declared, and obediently a small blue sea horse materialized before them. She doesn't consider us to be a challenge, thought Procyon. She thinks of this more as an opportunity to train her own Pokemon than engage in a serious battle. But then, who could blame her? The number of serious trainers was dwindling these days, and she no doubt thought of the general population as generally incompetent when it came to serious battling. He intended to show her otherwise. "Blueberry, go!" he said, casting his own Pokeball into the arena. A big blue Chansey appeared on the platform, grinning absurdly. Misty smiled upon seeing a blue Chansey, and Procyon didn't miss the sparkle in her eye as she surveyed her opponent carefully before choosing a plan of action. However, any thoughts he might have had that she could be a pushover quickly evaporated upon seeing her plan her strategy. In the heat of battle, all signs of friendliness dissolved and her eyes hardened, calculating all angles of attack before making a decision. After a moment's thought, she gave her command. "Horsea, Smoke Screen!" she commanded. It emitted a dark stream of smoke from its mouth, covering the room in a grayish haze. Blueberry looked around questioningly, searching for its opponent through the fog. Procyon nodded appreciatively. So she knew something about strategy. Well, she wasn't the only one. "Blueberry, use the smoke to your advantage! Dive underwater!" A loud splash was heard and Misty laughed. "Water Pokemon have the advantage in water. Horsea, dive under and get it!" It abandoned the hazy arena and dove into the pool, searching for the Chansey. However, with its blue body it blended in perfectly with the pool bottom and finding it was easier said than done. By the time it had located Blueberry, the larger Pokemon was practically on top of it, landing a massive Pound to its head. The much smaller Pokemon sputtered around a bit under the impact of the blow before floating back up to the surface, unconscious. Procyon laughed. "Great job, Blueberry! Come on back up yourself!" Blueberry squealed with happiness as it floated back up to the surface and took its place on the platform once more. Misty recalled her Pokemon wordlessly, and Procyon noticed an odd change in her as she sent out her next one. All hint of the girl she had been disappeared, all sign of playfulness gone from her posture. She realized that she had a serious contender in Procyon and that he was not to be dismissed so lightly. She threw the sphere in her hand out to the platform. "Starmie, it's your turn!" The Starmie stood in fighting stance on the platform, poised and ready for battle, jewel glimmering brightly. "Starmie, Hydro Pump!" she commanded. A massive blast of water shot out from the starfish's center, nailing Blueberry squarely in the stomach. It fainted immediately. Procyon recalled the Chansey with a slight smile. It had done well, and he was proud of it; now it was time to prove that *he* was not playing around either. "Go, Bulletwing!" It appeared in a flash of red light, and Procyon commanded it, "Drill Peck, now!" The three-headed bird gave a shrill cry and flew straight into the Starmie's center, drilling its three beaks into the jewel with all the force it could manage. The Starmie reeled slightly under the impact, but appeared otherwise unharmed. Misty smiled, seeing all her hard work paying off. "Starmie, Hydro Pump it like you did the last one!" It nodded (as best a starfish can) and shot out another blue stream of water towards the Dodrio before it. However, Procyon was not to be defeated so easily. "Bulletwing, dodge it! Fly up high!" Obediently it beat its nonexistent wings and flew gracefully up into the air, circling the stadium and blowing away some of the fog. Misty decided to take advantage of the momentary lapse in attack and heal her Pokemon. "Starmie, recover!" It shimmered bright blue, then green, then red, then yellow, then blue again as it focused its efforts into healing its wounded body. Once it was done, all signs of fatigue disappeared, and it appeared ready for battle once more. "Don't let that stop you, Bulletwing! Use your Fly attack on it!" The bird flew up to the ceiling, paused for a moment, then launched itself with the force of a rocket into the Starmie below it. This attack left it so weak that it took only a Peck to finish it off. Something like surprise flickered across her face for a split second. Then she recalled the Starmie grimly and sent out her last Pokemon. Mustering up all the confidence she could manage to pour into her voice, she said, "Staryu, go!" The Starmie was technically superior in every way to the Staryu, being of a higher evolutionary level, but Procyon was not deceived. He knew that Misty wouldn't have saved it for last if it wasn't her best Pokemon. He swallowed his nervousness and prepared for battle. "Staryu, Surf!" Dodrio didn't have the chance for even a single attack before it was hit with a massive wall of water. It got back up and prepared for a Drill Peck when it was hit by another tsunami, and then another, and another. Procyon watched helplessly as wave after wave crashed over Bulletwing, weakening it to the breaking point. Moments later it fainted, not having got in a single shot. "All right," said Procyon, recalling Bulletwing, "this is it. You're my last hope. Pleiades, I choose YOU!" The orange starfish glided through the air before landing softly on the platform before it, its jewel gleaming as it waited for a command. Misty grinned, seeing her opponent's choice. "So, a Staryu, eh? It looks like you've trained it well. But we'll see whose Staryu is superior. Go, Staryu!!" she yelled. It launched itself at the opposing Staryu with devastating force. Procyon, however, was not to be intimidated so easily. "Pleiades, attack!" he shouted. His own Staryu threw itself into the air with blinding speed, and the two collided with a loud crack as their jewels met, shining in the lights overhead. Both Pokemon paused momentarily in midair, then began their duel. Misty's Staryu fired a stream of water at Pleiades, who ducked insantly and brought itself up underneath the other's soft body. Their was no collision, however, as the other Staryu dodged just as skillfully, flying around to face it once more. With this began a fascinating duel. Both Staryus danced around each other almost playfully but with deadly grace, shooting out streams of water, flying up, swooping down, going underwater with a splash and circling each other before rising back up to the air and continuing their swirling combat. There was no time for any commands in this fast-paced battle, as anything either trainer could say to its Pokemon would only distract it, and any distraction would prove fatal in this dazzling aerial duel. Both trainers knew it was up to their Pokemon now, a simple test of superior training between two dedicated trainers. After what seemed like a small eternity but was actually a few lightning-quick seconds, the clash of the water Pokemon was over as swiftly as it had begun. When the two Staryus landed back in their respective positions, one was slumped over, unconscious, while the other stood, gleaming and victorious. To anyone else the Staryus would have seemed identical; but to both Misty and Procyon it was instantly obvious that the one standing was none other than Pleiades. Misty sighed, smiled, and recalled her Staryu as Procyon did likewise. "Congratulations," she said. "Not too many people are serious contenders anymore, and I suppose I'm getting soft. Anyway, here you are." She reached in her pocket and fished out a small tear-shaped blue jewel, which she handed him. "A Cascade Badge! Great! Thanks a lot." He laughed, then paused for a moment. "Say, I'm writing a new Pokedex and I was wondering if you would mind telling me a few things about..." "Hey, Procyon!" interrupted Taron. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Procyon turned to face Taron and sweatdropped. "Uh, right," he said. "I forgot. Your turn." He grinned back at Misty. "I'll save that ?til later, I guess." "I guess." She looked at Taron, studying him carefully. "So you're my next challenger?" He nodded. "Well then," she said, "let's get started!" TBC