Subject: [PW!] If at first you don't succeed.... Date: 9 Oct 2002 15:40:06 -0700 From: saint84_98@yahoo.com (Saint Paul) Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon John lounged back on one of the gym mats piled in a corner of the arena, listening to some of the others complain about the girl that their Master Chuck had chosen as his new student. They seemed pretty upset by it, John on the other hand couldn't really care. He was sick of this place, sick of hanging around. He wanted to get out and explore the world. Except... Except for the fact that he couldn't, not without defeating his master in a pokemon battle first. Well, no, he didn't neccessarily have to beat his master, but his own pride wouldn't let him leave until he had accomplished that feat. Which is why he was still there, at eighteen years old. Meanwhile kids almost half his age pranced in here day in and day out, and did, seemingly without effort what he had struggled for the past eight years to do. How? That's what he couldn't figure out. How did they do it? What was he missing? Was it him? Was it his pokemon? No, that wasn't it. His mankey, Savage, which was his only pokemon, was as strong as any other pokemon in the gym. So it had to be him. What was he doing wrong? "Hey John!" One of the other trainers called to him, interrupting his ruminations. "What?" He asked, sitting up and looking at the other, Justin. "What do you think of that girl Master let into the gym?" John rolled his eyes and layed back on the mat. "What's the big deal? She's a girl, so what?" "So what? What do you mean 'so what?" "I mean 'So what?' It's no skin off my nose if she trains here." "Ah, leave John alone." Another kid said to Justin. "He's just ticked off because he's been stuck here so long." "Yeah, that must be it. I'd be ticked off too, if I couldn't beat somebody after eight years of training." John pretended to ignore them, but their comments had struck a nerve. "I can beat Chuck if I want too. I'll beat him today in fact, and be gone by morning, you'll see." "Yeah sure." Justin sneered. "We've heard that one before." "Yeah. About a million times." One of the younger ones, a shrimpy kid with shaggy black hair said, laughing. "I'll show you. I'll challenge him now, in fact. Where is he?" "Outside, dealing with that stalker kid with the leaf on his head." "Oh." John said, his energy deflating a little and his quiet demeanor returning. "Well, I'll... just challenge him afterward then." He left the arena. Heading towards the outdoors. Once he was outside he let Savage out of his pokeball. "Mankey!" Savage said stretching. "Chuck's supposed to be challenging somebody soon. Maybe we should go watch." "Mankey!" "Well, I don't know. Maybe we can learn something." "Mankey." "I suppose you're right, we probably already know everything we're going to learn. Still, it's not like we have anything better to do. Savage shrugged and nodded, and the two of them headed over to the area where Chuck and the challenger were going to battle. TBC, maybe -Saint Paul-