Subject: [PW!][WC]Preparing for the Semi-finals, prepare for...Double? Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 13:50:58 GMT From: Worry <Not@acceping.today> Organization: RoadRunner - Triad Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon "Marill did great for his first match, but you will most likely need a little more firepower for the next round." Travis reasoned. "However, Mamoru's Staryu concerns me. Tendril wouldn't fair well against it. I would loan you Rapid, but she is depressed still about her loss to Robert's Horsea." The pair was in their room at the pokemon center to cover strategy without being overheard "I would be proud to have Tendril on my team." Becky replied. "But that does put me at a severe disadvantage. That would give me two pokemon weak to Psychic types. Poliwrath's Mind Reader-Fissure combo might counteract that, if he can stand up to at least one Psychic attack." "Mamoru is going to be fresh, since he got the buy today." Travis commented. "After Trent was eliminated from the competition, Mamoru got a good chance for rest and planning. he is sure to know about your Poliwrath's combo move. But he can't know what your third pokemon will be." "Just like we don't know what his third will be." Becky pointed out. "We'll go across the street in a bit and scout out what Oldman's has got in stock." Travis stated. "Maybe Mamoru will see us going over there and assume you are getting another rental. We may even run into him there and see what he is getting." "Then we need to go down to the beach and let me get in some training with Tendril." Becky replied. "I will need to get some experience battling him, so we can get used to one another." "Good idea." Travis said. "But I don't see a problem. Tendril has known you as long as I have. He likes you as much as I do. I doubt you will have any trouble with him." The pair proceeded down to trade out Marill for Tendril. While there, Becky stopped by Nurse Joy's station to register her line-up. "Ahh, Becky. I have a message for you." Joy stated. "I received an urgent call from Professor Ivy. She would like you to contact her as soon as possible." "Ivy?" Becky asked surprised. "Did she mention what it was about?" "No." Joy responded. "Just that was important she speak to you. She just called ten minutes ago. I was just on my way to try and find you." "Ok, I will call her right now." Becky stated leaving the desk to find a public phone. She waited impatiently while a shorts kid using it finished his conversation. She was anxious to find out what her sponsor wanted. Becky hadn't spoken to Ivy at any length for a long while, Just idle chitchat now and then as she traded pokemon back and forth. Why an urgent call now? Soon enough, though it felt like a long time to the anxious Becky, the shorts kid was done and the phone was free. Becky sat and quickly dialed up the number. After two rings, Professor Ivy's face filled the screen. "Professor Ivy speaking." She said in her usual calm voice. Professor Ivy reminded Becky a lot of Travis. Calm and laid back in both speech and manner, Becky thought she would be asleep in seconds if she were ever in the same room with the two of them. Travis looked on over Becky's shoulder, and Becky had to repress a yawn thinking about the two of them having a conversation. "This is Becky Thornbird." Becky stated politely. "You wanted to speak to me?" "Ah yes! Hello Becky. Hello Travis. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. And congratulations on your successes so far in the Whirl Cup. Everyone here is cheering you on. You have both done the Orange Islands proud. And we all wish you the best of luck in the upcoming matches, Becky." "Thanks." Becky said, wishing the woman would get to the point. "Was that why you called?" "No, I needed to speak to you on another matter entirely." Ivy answered. "I Want to send your Unown back to you." Something about the way Ivy hit on the word 'Want' struck Becky as odd. "Is it causing some kind of trouble?" Becky asked confused. Ivy had seemed excited...at least as excited as Becky had ever seen her, when Becky had sent the Unown to her to study. "Has he done that trick where he freezes time?" "Actually, no." Ivy answered. "I have as yet been unable to get him to recreate that peculiar power. He has been no trouble at all, and is fascinating. I would love to be able to keep hm here longer to further my studies." "Why can't you?" Becky asked. "I still have another match tomorrow and another after that if I manage to win. At any rate, I will be here for several days yet until the closing ceremonies take place. Can't you wait till after the tournament?" "I can't explain it." Ivy answered. "But I feel the oddest and most peculiar feeling that Double You needs to be with you. I Want desperately to return him to your care." Again Becky was struck by the emphasis put on the word 'Want' She could almost hear the capital letter. "Ok, then, I will return Nighttime, and you can send me back Double You." Becky said. Ivy immediately radiated relief, though her expression didn't change. Becky took a pokeball off her belt and put it in a slot designed for it by the phone. Quickly the trade was made. Unlike when trading pokemon via a trade station, the entire pokeball was teleported using this device. The ball Becky got back was strange. It was dark gray with pitch black designs and insignia covering it. "What is with this ball?" Becky asked. "I've never seen anything like this." "That is another odd thing." Ivy returned. "A day after I received the Unown, I Wanted to have this special pokeball made. It took a lot of effort, and the skills of several former Silph company scientists to create it. They dubbed it a Dark ball. It blocks any outside scanning for Psychic energy signatures while affording the pokemon inside it the normal awareness of the outside world. It is sort of a reverse Isolation chamber." "I'm confused." Becky stated plainly. "Why did you want to make this? I can't afford something like this!" "Oh, don't worry dear." Ivy returned. "I don't Want any payment for it. As to why I had it made, well, I can't answer that. The idea jut popped into my head! I suddenly Wanted to see if a pokeball with properties of Dark type Pokemon could be made. I'm afraid I became a little obsessed with it. The trick was to prevent any scanning of the ball from outside while allowing the pokemon inside to be able to be aware of the world outside. If pokemon are deprived of sensory input while in energy form, they could suffer mentally. That ball is the only one of it's kind, so please take good care of it." "You said you became obsessed with having the pokeball made." Travis said making Becky jump. She had forgotten he was there. "Did you become obsessed with anything else concerning the Unown while he was there?" "Quite the opposite, in fact, Travis." Ivy answered him. "I didn't realize it till you asked just now. When Double You first arrived, I was eager to study it. Especially when I discovered that his hidden power is Poison. They are rare, but Shiny Unown have been found before, and to a one, their hidden power was grass. I wanted to figure out why this Unown was different. But then my obsession with making the pokeball struck and just now I realized I never got around to studying Double You at all! Strange." "Indeed." Travis said taking the ball from Becky and studying it. "Still, there will be other opportunities for study. For now I am glad he is back with you where he belongs. I have some other work to attend to. I am afraid that in my obsession to create the Dark ball, I let other work slip behind. Good luck in the tournament, Becky, and good bye." * * * After leaving the pokecenter and spending about forty five minutes in Oldman's scouting the stock, the pair of trainers headed out to the beach so Becky could get some training time in with Tendril. It was a warm night out, So Becky decided to ride Waverider out and train in deeper waters, Making sure that Tendril could hear her under water and over the waves. Becky was pleased to find that Tendril not only obeyed her, he fought as fiercely for her as he did for Travis himself. Travis stayed on shore to train with his pokemon and to let Kicker and Fireslap, who he was taking care of while Becky continued in the tournament, get some exercise. Becky was out a little over an hour before coming back in. As Waverider brought her back to shore, Dbu the Unown let itself out of its dark ball to float alongside, dipping down to splash in the waves now and then. As Becky reached the beach, she knew immediately that something was up. Travis, Kicker and Fireslap were still out, but they had been joined by seven men. All seven were large men, muscular bruisers, and all were dressed head to toe in dark clothing. The seven men surrounded Travis and the two pokemon. Travis looked his usual calm self, but Becky felt a bad vibe coming from the group of men. As Becky arrived on the beach, the men turned their attention to her. As Becky recalled Waverider, one of the seven approached. "You are Becky?" He asked "I am." She informed him not liking his tone. "You have the Poliwrath that we saw in the tournament?" The man went on beligerantly. "I do." Becky answered. "We will have him." The man stated holding out his hand. "Wait a minute here." Becky cried outraged. "I have ten days left on my rental agreement..." "We don't give a Rattata's ass how long you have left." One of the other men interrupted. "We want that Poliwrath!" "You wont have him." Becky shot back stoutly. "Listen up, brat." The first man spoke menacingly taking a step forward to crowd the teen. "We aren't playing around here. We mean to have that Poliwrath, and if need be we will use force to take it!" "Oh, there will be a need. I am not giving him up!" Becky shot back getting herself ready for action. "But you should be warned, This belt I wear isn't just decoration to hold my pokeballs. It was earned through years of study and dedication. In short, you don't want to mess with me!" "Come off it, kid." Another of the seven spoke up. "There are seven of us and only two of you. Why don't you make it easy on yourself and just give us the pokemon before you get hurt?" Becky hated to admit it, but the man was right. even at her best, she could only take at most four of them. "And your boyfriend here doesn't look like much a fighter." One of the men standing beside Travis pointed out giving the purple headed youth a small shove. "You wouldn't want him getting hurt, would you?" It was turning ugly fast. "Don't worry about me." Travis said mildly. "They don't get to steal your pokemon. And if they do, we still have to pay for him. Besides, they miscounted. Fireslap and Kicker are here too." "You shut up!" The man that had pushed Travis snarled reaching out to shove him harder. But the hand never made contact. As Becky stared in amazement, Travis leaned back avoiding the man's hand and delivered a hard right hook into the larger man's jaw! The man's head snapped with the force of the blow, but he didn't fall At the first sound of a scuffle the ruffian in front of Becky threw a straight punch right at her face! Becky ducked the blow and was in perfect position to send an uppercut right into the big man's crotch. The guy screamed in agony and fell back, but two others was coming to take his place Becky had just enough time to see the man Travis punched and another of the ruffians making a grab for the trainer before she had to attend to the men coming at her. Becky dodged left so that the two men would get in each other's way and prepared for the fight. The first man reached Becky and threw a left jab at her. She blocked the blow up and returned a shot, with stiffened fingers aiming for his throat. The man ducked his chin and rose up a little, so her return hit him in the collarbone instead, but it gave him pause and he fell back. His partner, however, was there to take his place and started throwing hard punches at the teen black belt in rapid order. Becky had her hands full blocking him. She fended him off waiting for an opening, Ducking a right jab, Becky's foot suddenly darted out striking the other man beside the knee cap. The bruiser went to that knee with a cry of pain that was cut off when her spinning heel kick connected solidly with the back of his head, driving him face first onto the beach. Travis was holding his own. Fending off the two men by dodging their blows and returning what he could. He got in another solid right on the jaw of the first man he hit, but the second used that chance to grab his left arm and twist it up behind him. Travis knew that he was in trouble and cried out in pain as the man wrenched his arm up sharply. But suddenly his arm was free. Kicker and Fireslap had entered the fray. Travis turned to look and found that the man who had grabbed him now sported a smoking face. Fireslap had caught him with a solid Fire Punch. Another punch put the man down. The other bruiser, who had first shoved Travis was being pummeled by Kicker. The Hitmontop's feet were a flurry on barely seen motion as he kicked repeatedly at the man's chest and stomach. Soon he too was on the ground. Travis turned to try and help Becky, but paused in astonishment at what met his eyes. Becky was in real trouble now. The remaining four men, unaware at what had happened to the two on Travis, were attacking the girl all at once. Becky was using every bit of skill and knowledge to hold out against the attack until help could arrive. The sandy beach was hampering her efforts, though. She threw a kick into the face of the ruffian in front of her, but the sand shifted under her plant foot and she nearly lost balance. One of the men got behind her and hit her with a punch in her lower back. "There would have to be two of me to take these guys on!" She thought to herself desperately as she tried to recover. And just like that, there was another Becky! Becky thought for a crazy moment that she had left her body and was looking at the fight from outside, But a hand gripping her arm painfully proved that wasn't the case. Becky clawed at the hand grabbing her even as she watched in astonishment as Other Becky went down with an extended leg to sweep one of the men who dared throw a kick at her. Becky grabbed the wrist of the man that had gripped her arm and used it to pull him into the thrust kick she threw into his stomach. As she did this, she watched Other Becky perform a nip up to land on the man's chest that she had swept, only to go into a forward roll to avoid a roundhouse that another man threw. Becky lost track of Other Becky as she performed a scissors kick to finish the man doubled over from the kick to the stomach she had performed just before. Having finished her opponent, Becky turned to find another. As she did, a loud explosion sounded out over the sand. The first man to approach Becky had pulled a gun! Becky spun swiftly towards the sound and her eyes were met with a vision that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Other Becky's hands were at her chest and her eyes were wide with shock. As her hands fell away, Becky saw a large red stain spreading quickly over the white gi, both in front and in back. Other Becky's eyes rolled back in her head, and she began to fall. But before her body hit the ground, she winked out of existence! As other Becky disappeared, Becky cried out, her own hands going to her chest where a sudden sharp pain had appeared. For a moment, Becky thought she too had been shot, but the pain disappeared as quickly as it came, and when she pulled her hands down, they were clean. "I don't know what the HELL just happened here..." The man with the gun began. he was interrupted, however, by Kicker, who launched himself at the man who had shot what he thought was his trainer. Kicker landed a perfect High Jump kick into the back of the man's neck. The man was shoved into the sand, the gun went flying. He didn't get up. Becky surveyed the scene as what had happened sunk in. All of the seven ruffians were down, a few groaning in pain, the others silent and still except for their breathing. Becky was stunned, hardly able to move. It was Travis, who even in this situation was not at a loss for action, that got her moving. Travis began pulling Pokeballs off his belt and recalling Kicker and Fireslap. Then he released Hoofer. Becky quickly followed suit, recalling the Unown and releasing Traveler. Then she received what she hoped was the last shock of the night when mild mannered Travis said, "Let's get the fuck out of here. We need to get to officer Jenny and report this." hearing the 'F' word from her traveling companion was nearly as traumatic as seeing her double get shot. As the pair rode as fast as they could back up the beach towards Scarlet town, Dbu in the ball he had had created was mentally kicking himself. His decisions to Double the girl had been the wrong one. He realized he should have just frozen time and let the girl and her friend walk away. But things had happened so fast! Given enough time, he could have used his power to make the men Want to leave the pair of trainers alone. But before he could exert his influence, the men had attacked. As the girl was being set upon, Dbu had heard her mind mention that there would have to be two of her to take them on, and without thinking he had made her Double. It was the first time Dbu had used that power, and he was surprised at how easy it had been. He would have to explore this new ability when he had the leisure, hopefully under less dramatic circumstances. Still, the ability could prove very useful in the days Dbu could see coming ahead.... Dbu was distracted from his thoughts by the thoughts of the girl he was traveling with. What he found in her mind was fascinating! Becky was reviewing the fight on the beach. She remembered a hand gripping her and clawing at it to get it free. At the exact same moment she remembered going into a sweep of the man that had tried to kick her. She delivered the scissors kick, but at the exact same moment she nipped up onto the chest of the man she had swept down, then tucked into a forward roll to avoid the roundhouse right that was thrown at her head. Becky had turned away to deliver the Scissors kick, but she also remembered coming out of the roll springing backwards to deliver a kick into the face of the man that had tried the roundhouse. She vividly remembered the feel of that man's nose breaking under her heel. Then she felt the shot. The bullet had entered her chest as she landed catlike on her feet after crushing the man's nose. Becky could still remember the feeling of the bullet as it tore through her chest and out of her back. Her heart had been destroyed, and her left lung pierced before the bullet left her body. She felt the shot before she heard it. Then the darkness descended and she felt herself falling. Then came another pain in her chest twin to the one that had killed her. But the pain had gone as quickly as it came, and her hands had come down clean. She was alive, and undamaged, except for a sore spot on her back where she had been punched. Dbu was amazed! Apparently when he had canceled the Double, the thoughts and experiences that the Double had felt had been returned to the original! Dbu settled himself to consider the implications of that as the pair of trainers entered the town and headed for the police station... (OOC: I hope I haven't broken any major rules with this post, The story got into my head and I couldn't help but type it out. Maybe Dbu was working his influence on me ^-^) -- Worry's first SIG sig file ------------------------------------------------------------------ *"It takes a Worried man to sing a Worried song..." Kingston Trio* *And the award for the funniest line in a cartoon goes to Superman who remarked "Don't look at me, I just catch 'em!" after stopping a crane thrown by Bizzaro from crushing a wedding party.* Proud owner of 300 fake code points