From: bbd127@aol.com (bbd127@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] Gym Battling 101. Chapter 1: Cheating. Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/07/18 ?Well, if you?re going to challenge me, get with it,? Sabrina said coolly, her icy voice echoing in the empty chamber. ?I don?t have all day.? Procyon bowed slightly, smiling at the powerful girl before him. ?Certainly, Sabrina,? he replied. ?But I think you?ll agree that the stakes are much higher than normal.? He gestured at the comatose Taron, standing next to him, eyes bright. ?May I have my friend back until this battle ends, and a moment to speak to him?? She gave him a glare, not angry ? she did not seem capable of emotion ? but definitely threatening. After a moment she spoke. ?Very well. But you do so only at my sufferance, so make it quick.? A deadly smile formed on her lips like pale flame. ?My dollhouse has been empty for quite some time.? Forcing down a shudder, Procyon nodded. ?Of course.? Taron?s body jerked quickly and the glow left his eyes. He turned to Procyon, who gave him a grim smile. ?Ok, Taron,? he whispered, ?this is going to be very difficult. She has great psychic powers and is almost unbeatable. We have one chance only, which is distraction. If we can take her mind off the battle and disrupt her psychic link with her Pokemon, I might be able to win this. Now then, this is what I want you to do?.? ?Are you ready yet?? she demanded. ?I am ready,? responded Procyon easily. ?How many?? ?How about three on three?? she said in a tone that stated firmly that there was no room for argument. Procyon merely nodded. ?Blueberry, go!? he declared, flinging the sphere in his hand to the center of the arena with exquisite precision. It opened and shot out a bright flash of light that assembled itself into a blue egg-shaped Pokemon. ?Chansey!? it shouted gleefully. The barest hint of amusement flickered over Sabrina?s stony features. ?A Chansey. How delightful,? she said dryly. ?Alakazam, destroy it.? She never touched her Pokeball, but it obligingly floated up and into the ring on its own. With a burst of almost tangible energy it opened and expelled a red mass that transformed into a large and menacing ? though strangely comical ? Alakazam. There was no doubt that the Alakazam was much faster than Blueberry, but Sabrina seemed content to wait for Procyon to make the first move. He took the opportunity. ?Blueberry, Sing.? It swung back and forth merrily on its feet, singing absurdly and enjoying every bit of it. The Alakazam?s eyelids drooped slightly, but only slightly, and when Blueberry had finished it seemed not to have changed in any perceivable way. Sabrina?s eyes flashed and something like a smile danced across her face, but she merely pointed at her opponent and said coldly, ?Confusion.? The Alakazam?s eyes took on a pale sheen of their own, lighting up the arena like ghostly fireflies, and it raised its spoons slowly. It stood like this for a moment before raising its voice in a cry of ?Alakazam!? as it unleashed a blast of bright energy. The Chansey was lifted off its feet and smashed cruelly against the ceiling at enormous speed. It crashed back down against the floor and was shot up immediately to the ceiling once more. This repeated five or six more times, and then, one last time, Blueberry was hurled against the hard stone floor. For a Hitmonlee, this attack would probably have been lethal. For a Pikachu, severely harmful. Even an Onix would be in pain after such an onslaught. But Blueberry was a Chansey, with a rubbery body to match its absurd smile, and it just grinned. ?Chansey!? it squealed. And for the first time in her life, Sabrina looked surprised. Procyon laughed. ?High special plus unearthly HP equals incredible resistance to psychic attacks,? he said. ?Try harder next time.? But the surprise on her face died down quickly, replaced by cool determination. ?No more games,? she said. ?Alakazam. Psychic.? It nodded and raised one hand towards the blue Chansey. It stood there in that position for a moment, as if considering, then made a fist. There was a brief but blinding flash of blue light, and then Blueberry just crumpled to the ground. Just like that. Procyon simply stared for a moment, amazed, then shook himself out of it. He?d expected this kind of power from her, and he wasn?t disappointed. As he sent out his next Pokemon, he gave a small, nearly imperceptible nod to Taron, watching from the sidelines. ?Pleiades!? Procyon called out. ?Your turn!? ?Alakazam,? commanded Sabrina, ?Psybeam.? It pointed its left spoon at the Staryu and fired a rainbow stream of energy across the void to connect powerfully, leaving it weak. From the sidelines, Taron called out loudly, ?Boo!!! Boooooooo! That was cheap!! BOOOOOO!!!? Sabrina threw an annoyed expression at him, then turned back to the battle. Procyon was ordering his Pokemon to perform a Water Gun. It complied and shot out a jet of liquid that collided noisily with the Alakazam?s body. It shook it off, annoyed but not greatly damaged. ?Alakazam,? she began. ?Use your-? ?Booo!!? interrupted Taron. ?You?re pathetic! Get off your butt and do some real battling! C?mon! Boooo!!!? Procyon had to grin at the spectacle, but Sabrina was clearly not amused. ?Quiet, child, or I?ll steal your soul for fun.? Taron made a face at her but remained otherwise silent. She glared at him a bit more but did nothing else, and a moment later returned to the battle. Her Alakazam had fainted, the result of repeated Tackling. ?WHAT!? she shouted. ?What did you do to it?!? Procyon shrugged. ?I attacked it, what else?? he replied. ?It?s not my fault you weren?t paying attention.? He grinned. ?What?s the matter, Sabrina? Worried?? She gave him an acid gaze, but said nothing, recalling the Alakazam. A moment later a Hypno appeared in its place. ?Hypno,? it proclaimed. ?Water Gun!? Procyon commanded again, and obligingly Pleiades fired another blast of water at its opponent. Sabrina was not impressed. ?Hypno, Headbutt!? she called, a look of annoyance on her face. It lowered its head and charged the Staryu, moving with great speed for a creature its size. Right before their bodies made contact, Taron shouted, ?Don?t MISS!? very loudly. It didn?t, but it slowed a bit and hit with less force than normal, being somewhat confused. Sabrina whirled on him once more. ?Shut UP!? she shouted angrily. ?Close your stupid mouth and STOP TALKING!? Clearly she was furious, and Taron must have been frightened, but he gave no hint of it. He merely grinned at her, which set her off again. ?Don?t THINK those kinds of things either! Just keep QUIET!!? Satisfied, she turned back to the battle. ?Now then ? ARGH!!? she shrieked. For once more, while she?d been arguing, her own Pokemon, largely dependent on its psychic connection to its master for help, had been defeated. Carefully she trained her eyes on Procyon. ?I see I?ve underestimated you and your annoying friend here,? she breathed. ?I won?t do that again. You will not distract me this time, and I will obliterate your pathetic force. For my final Pokemon, I choose Exeggutor!? It materialized obediently. ?Exeggutor, Mega Drain!? she said. Its eyes glowed green and it shot out three snaky vines at lightning speed to connect with Pleiades. A moment later it collapsed, unconscious. Sabrina smiled in satisfaction. Procyon recalled his Pokemon and thought for a moment. Meanwhile, Taron yelled out, ?Sabrina! Hey Sabrina! You?re pathetic! Yeah, I mean you! You?re the worst trainer I?ve ever seen! A Weedle could destroy your Pokemon!? She did not give him the satisfaction of a response, and did her best to ignore him. As she watched, Procyon sent in his final Pokemon. ?Bulletwing, destroy it!? he commanded. It leapt into the air with blinding speed and Drill Pecked the Exeggutor before it could so much as blink. It shook off the attack uneasily. ?Loser!!? Taron shouted to Sabrina. ?Exeggutor, Psychic,? commanded Sabrina. ?You?re pathetic! Go back to Pallet Town and catch a Pidgey!? yelled Taron. The plant Pokemon leaned forward and unleashed a wave of sparkling bright blue light. It washed over the Dodrio like a tidal wave, sending it flying. ?You couldn?t beat a Metapod with a Mewtwo!!? shouted Taron. ?You?re only a gym leader because you couldn?t get any badges yourself!? ?Bulletwing, Drill Peck it again!? ?You couldn?t defeat a Hitmonlee with a Kadabra!? called Taron. The bird complied, launching itself into the enemy once more and knocking it over. ?Your mother was a Ditto and your father was a Magikarp!? yelled Taron. With a great effort, Sabrina forced herself to remain calm. ?Exeggutor,? she began. Taron interrupted her once more. ?You?re the worst trainer I?ve ever seen!? he said. ?You couldn?t catch a Spearow with a Master Ball! You couldn?t beat a Bug Catcher! You know why your badge is called the Marsh Badge? Because you STINK!? As he went through this speech, Sabrina?s patience grew gradually thinner and thinner. She was not used to being talked to like this, and it annoyed her beyond belief. Finally she could take it no longer. She jumped out of her seat and ran over to him, pointing at him and shaking with fury. ?SHUT UP!? she shouted, and her eyes flashed dark blue before lighting up the air with crackling deadly energy. She seemed to be on fire, framed in shadows like a ghostly wraith. She stabbed a finger in Taron?s direction and said, seething with anger, ?SILENCE!? With that an invisible force leapt from her hand, pinning Taron to the wall. His body shook as if it were under attack, and then he fell to the floor in a heap, unconscious. With a visible effort she regained self control and turned back to Procyon, who was smiling at her. Exeggutor was lying on the floor, Bulletwing standing triumphantly nearby. ?I win,? he said. For a moment she just stared at him, and he wondered if she might not kill them both in uncontrolled rage. But no, she just looked for a moment, then reached into her pocket to pull out a Marsh Badge. ?Here it is,? she said coldly, and flung it across the floor. It clattered to Procyon?s feet and he picked it up. ?Thanks,? he said. He helped Taron to his feet and together they made their way back to their room, where they knew Suik would be waiting. ?It?s too bad she?s an evil psychopath with deadly mental abilities,? commented Procyon along the way. ?She was actually kind of cute.? ?Right,? responded Taron dryly. ?You didn?t get torn apart by her from the inside. The next time we get one of these schemes, why don?t you be the one to taunt the egomaniac?? Procyon shrugged. ?Hey, it worked,? he said. They went the rest of the way in silence, Taron planning his next encounter quietly while Procyon inspected his Marsh Badge with pride. TBC