From: Cat-Gonk (gjani@iinet.net.au) Subject: [PW!] Tactical Constraints. Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/03/18 "...Lay it down trainers, Suave House, Bad Boy, Fat Boy Ain't afraid of Rattatas boy, Matter of fact boy, this is not a act boy The Trainer Way, keep a player makin' stacks boy..." The walkman's cord came out from the back of his t-shirt's neck, the behind-the-head headphones resting on his ears. Felix sat down, his table at the "Dome Fossil" looking out onto the busy Hellion streets. A quick hand guesture in the general direction of the counter brought him a cup of just-the-right-side-of-hot coffee and a nervous, stifled giggle from the leggy young waitress serving him. Everyone in Hellion Town knew him. Felix Charlesson, son of the resort town's most influential man. However, Felix's wealth never preceded him, it was his skill as a Pokemon Trainer that gave him his reputation. Beating down five Gym Leaders without a single loss, taking out the highly-ranked Giselle in the Pokemon League Games and a string of crushing victories around the Hellion P^3 and Viridian circuits had won him fame, not to mention the massive Pokemon League Entrance Examination score he'd achieved during his time in Pokemon Tech. He'd stuck to the intermediate-level competition, but it was time to move up in the world. What he needed was a better lineup, which, strangely enough was the reason for his coffee break. [PW!] Tactical Constraints. By Cat-Gonk. His wallet was getting heavier by the hour, Felix wondered when the Pokemon League would switch to plastic. This week's takings weighed in an an obscene amount, enough to buy a small aircraft were Felix so inclined. That Celadonite never knew what hit him, rare, primadonna Pokemon and nothing resembling talent. Felix laughed inwardly as he remembered how Chansey had lifted up the man's Rhyhorn and torn it in half, the otherwise rock-solid Pokemon literally softened by the wrong kind of care, pampering, it may as well have worn a pink bow in its plates. Charizard had fallen to Munty's electricity, as did Blastoise. Cygnet ate Venusaur for breakfast, plucking the petals from its flower with each swoop. Oddish even got his share of the battle, polishing off the affluent trainer's Starmie, a popular Pokemon among the rich, as well as Solarbeaming his Persian into oblivion. Now, back to business. Lorelei Prima of the Elite Four was going down. Dewgong, Cloyster, Slowbro, Jynx and Lapras were on her belt, Felix knew this for certain. The sixth slot could be a wildcard, or just plain empty. Indeed, Felix only carried five Pokemon himself, and like Lorelei, they were chosen not for power, but because he liked them. There was no chance of either changing their existing Pokemon, but both had one slot open, and Felix intended to use his. It would have to be something powerful, something to make up for the shortcomings of his other Pokemon, but he'd get to that later. For the moment, his attention was focused on his existing members. Taking out a clipboard in the manner of his fathr, he produced a pen and began to write. "Cygnet: Slash, Double Team, Sky Attack, Swords Dance." Felix loathed Double Team. It seemed so unfair, to be able to completely sway the outcome of a match in one's favour through use of a single move. Few trainers used defensive tactics, making Double Team so strong. They never saw it coming. Double Team gave Cygnet a chance against Lorelei's Lapras. It's sole Ice attack was Blizzard, a notoriously uncontrollable attack, which would be made even more innacurate with Double Team. Though its sizeable area of effect could be a problem, Cygnet could easily dance around it and strike hard with Sky Attack. Cygnet's leek wasn't his only method of attack, he could fight with his bill as well as a Dodrio wielded all three of its beaks. Swords Dance would be Cygnet's main attack, as long as he could control his Slashes enough to allow the energy to flow into the leek. Slash was powerful, but normally incompatible with Swords Dance as the fury of the attack destroyed all of Swords Dance's internal focus. Farfetch'd weren't the strongest Pokemon, but, strangely enough, benefitted from inability to evolve. With no "final stage" to unlock, Farfetch'd were at their full potential from birth, and lethal to other Pokemon their size. Cygnet was still a match for larger foes, but was often held back in favour of Felix's heavy hitters, Chansey, Galahad, and Munty. However, Cygnet was beginning to show signs that any other Pokemon would exhibit as signs of an evolution, a faint glow after combat, a slightly altered form and a small increase in power before the massive boost. A strange glowing aura had played about him at the close of his most recent battle, first taking the outline of a humanoid, flaming figure, and then the shilhoutte of a large, smooth, angular avian form. It seemed there were two forms fighting for control of the fluffy Farfetch'd's body, one brutal and vicious, the other graceful and elegant. "Galahad: Twin Needle, Pin Missile, Swords Dance, Agility." Nathaniel of Hellion Hive. He'd been giving Felix a lot of attitude lately, but they both held each other in high regard. Galahad's track record was starting to improve. So far, he was responsible for even more bloody kills then Felix's other brawler, Chansey. Turning a Clefable into a pin cushion was his latest achievement. Agility opened the bidding, giving Galahad enoguh speed to thrust his tail stinger through the fairy-Pokemon's chest cavity. With his prey secured firmly in place, Galahad's frontal stingers struck out, boring deep holes through his captive's body. This technique was starting to become his hallmark, it was fast replacing his tail stinger as his favoured offensive weapon. Sadly, the Clefable had fallen forwards, trapping Galahad beneath its bulk. Galahad, as well, as being the most brutal of Felix's Pokemon, seemed to also be the most unfortunate, the blow had knocked him unconscious. He was still in the Pokecentre recovering from a shattered carapace, with Felix's Oddish standing watch. Speaking of... "Oddish: Absorb, Petal Dance, Solarbeam, Sleep Powder." He stays. No TMs, no evolution, no nothing. Oddish was Felix's favourite, though perhaps the weak link in his lineup. If Oddish wanted to evolve, or wanted a boost in power, Felix would give it to him, but until then, it was a pure and unaltered Oddish. "Chansey: Submission, Bide, Siesmic Toss, Reflect." Felix was starting to worry about Chansey. Since that battle with Giselle, she had been more even more agressive, even more brutal, to such a point where she would block an opponent's attempt to return their battered Pokemon to safety just so she could inflict even more damage. It had to have something to do with that black device, the one with the shark emblem on the side, one Felix remembered seeing at the Games but not where or when. Chansey was Felix's heavy-hitter. Unable to lay eggs whenever it felt the need, it absorbed its power straight from the source, nourishing itself throughout the course of a battle. Heavy wounds eventually faded away to nothing more than scratches, add that to her Reflect ability and nothing was going to wear her down. The only thing that'd stop her was a one-hit-KO, something that she'd been on the recieving end of during her fight with Lorelei. "Munty: Thunder, Thunder Wave, Light Screen." Lorelei would never expect this. A crippled Pikachu with power that rivalled Meowthor. As long as Felix could get a good entry, and Munty's aim was true, he'd stop anything short of a ground-type. Felix hadn't tested Munty out much in battle. This was his secret weapon, he didn't want word of it getting out around the training community. And now, for the wildcard... His pen went to the paper, but no ink took to the page. Felix, to put it bluntly, didn't have a clue. A Fire type? Nah, Growlithe were_everywhere_in Hellion Town, and the starter of choice in these parts were Squirtle. A Water type? But which one? He'd given Seel to his father, Squirtle were common as, Psyduck was too hard to raise, Horsea was too weak, Tentacool, wait, didn't Samuraichu have one? Last time he phoned Felix, he had one sitting on his shoulder. Perhaps he'd wait, rather than making any decisions at the moment. If he was going to get a new Pokemon, he'd know it. Which would mean he'd have to work with his existing team in the elite circuit, not an appealing thought but a challenge Felix needed. Catching Pokemon just to fight them seemed stupid and pointless, he'd use the Pokemon he was comfortable with, and only them. And for the moment, that was his existing six. The buzz of gossamer wings could be heard nearby. Felix turned, to see Galahad giving Oddish a ride high above the streets of Hellion Town. While on the subject of returns, Felix was also feeling somewhat less of a man without his travelling partner Kirsty around, as well as the rest of the Mount Moon Crew, even if they had snubbed the pair of them to some extent. Inner circles were like that, he'd ran into, or (however unwittingly) away from as the case may have been, some other close-knit groups while he was at school. For the moment, his main concern was Oddish. Oddish was undoubtedly the weak link. This hadn't been much of a concern in the Pokemon League Games' three-on-three competition, and Oddish beat down Giselle's Cubone anyway, but the fact still remained, the little thing was a liability. "What am I thinking," thought Felix, downing the last of his coffee. "Screw it, Oddish rocks." -- ÇÃt-gôÑk®: NÔvê·Va£¡Às·§TârR ---------------------------- ¿Dº ¥õü ßè!iÈvë Ïn G¤dDì$h? Email: catgonk@azureheights.com AIM: CatGonk Alternate AIM Screenames: Simyn Gonk, CatGonkNoMiko, Sailor Gonk, ATR CatGonk, Doc Oddish, Mista Meeh, The Kitty Litter Box. http://catgonk.cjb.net/ - *MEEH* Azure Heights Pokemon Laboratory. http://www.cs.miami.edu/~jam/azure - The Forum awaits! -=|[Unknown AGNPer]|=- ------ Quote of the day: "Sometimes I want me a bitch, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I've gotta bust a nut, and sometimes I won't." - C-Murder, "Gangsta Walk". ------ Oh well. All sigs end somewhere.