From: Rob (robfrompw@yahoo.com) Subject: [PW!] The Pryce Is Right Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-09-08 15:50:28 PST *** Two months ago... *** "I choose you, Charmeleon! Use Flamethrower," said Robert as he threw a Pokeball into the frozen Arena before him. "Go, Piloswine! Use Blizzard," said Pryce as he threw a Pokeball into the frozen Arena before him. After two flashes of white light, a Charmeleon and a Piloswine face off in Pryce's Mahogany Gym. A Blizzard rages inside the Gym for about a minute and once the Piloswine's attack is finished, Charmeleon is encased in a block of ice. From the sidelines, an old woman named Sheila declares, "Charmeleon is unable to battle - the winner of the match is Pryce!" Pryce grins at his quick victory and tells his opponent, "I like teaching Pokemon Trainers who lose to me patience, so you have to wait one month before you can challenge me again. I think that you should train your Pokemon during this time." *** Seven weeks ago... *** "No, Murkrow, attack the Girafarig! The one with TWO heads! Leave that poor Trainer alone! I'm sorry, miss..." *** Six weeks ago... *** "Charmeleon, scorch that Delibird with Flamethrower! Charmeleon? Hey, are you even listening to me?!" *** Five weeks ago... *** "Seadra, use Water Gun on that Lickitung! Wow, right in his mouth! Excellent work!" *** One month ago... *** "I choose you, Seadra! Use Twister," said Robert as he threw a Pokeball into the frozen Arena before him. "Go, Piloswine! Use Blizzard," said Pryce as he threw a Pokeball into the frozen Arena before him. After two flashes of white light, a Seadra and a Piloswine face off in Pryce's Mahogany Gym. A Blizzard rages inside the Gym for about a minute and once the Piloswine's attack is finished, Seadra is encased in a block of ice. From the sidelines, an old woman named Sheila declares, "Seadra is unable to battle - the winner of the match is Pryce!" Pryce grins at his quick victory and tells his opponent, "Now you have to wait another month before you can challenge me again. I still think you should train your Pokemon more." *** Three weeks ago... *** "Pineco, do something! Do ANYTHING! Show any sign of life... You call yourself a Grass-type Pokemon?!" *** Two weeks ago... *** "Swinub, use Tackle on that Mareep! No, don't lick that! That's a Mareep, Swinub, not lamb chops!" *** One week ago... *** "Golem, use Rock Throw on that Pidgeotto! Woo-hoo, knocked him down in one hit! Way to go!" *** Today... *** Robert, currently in the Mahogany Town Pokemon Center, sighs and speaks to the videophone monitor in front of him, "After spending the last eight weeks training my Pokemon, Murkrow still hasn't evolved, Swinub would rather eat Pokemon than fight them, and Pineco hasn't won a single battle yet on account of because he's too lazy to move. Are Johto Pokemon just inherently weaker than Kanto Pokemon? Golem's the strongest Pokemon on my Team, but sending a Rock Type to fight Ice Pokemon would be a really bad idea." "My advice to you today is the same advice I gave you the first two times Pryce defeated you," says Rilli, whose face appears on the videophone's screen, "Go challenge other Johto Gym Leaders, then when your Pokemon are stronger or you've caught more Pokemon, return to Mahogany Town to challenge Pryce again." "I still think if I can't beat Pryce, I won't be able to beat the Gym Leader in Blackthorn City, and Blackthorn's my next stop. If only I could get the first hit... Rilli, who's the fastest Pokemon in my entire Team?" "Gengar, but he's part Poison and weak to Ground attacks which Pryce's Piloswine might have in his arsenal." "Drat. What about the second fastest?" "Raichu, but Pryce's Piloswine is part Ground so her Electric attacks wouldn't hurt him." "Drat yet again. Third fastest?" "Murkrow, but Flying Types are weak to Ice attacks." "Fourth?" "Seadra, but she was defeated by Pryce once before." "Fifth?!" "Charmeleon, but he was also defeated by..." "SIXTH?!?!" "Hitmonchan." "Hitmonchan but what?" "Hitmonchan but nothing." Mithril-rama explains, "Hitmonchan is a Fighting Pokemon. Ground Pokemon are neither strong nor weak against Fighting attacks and Fighting attacks are actually super effective against Ice Pokemon. It's too bad your Hitmonchan doesn't know any Fighting-Type attacks, but she does know Fire Punch, which could come in handy." Robert smiles, "Or fisty, in Hitmonchan's case." Mithril-rama sweatdrops before asking, "So will you be trading any of your Pokemon for Hitmonchan? Perhaps Pineco, since he doesn't move?" "Actually, I'm going to send you Golem in exchange for Hitmonchan," says Robert as he removes Golem's Pokeball from his belt and places it on the videophone's Pokeball slot, "Golem's been a good companion for the past few months, but he clearly doesn't need as much training as my other Pokemon, especially Pineco, do." When Robert sees Rilli place his Hitmonchan's Pokeball on the Pokeball slot on her side, he pushes a red button. Electric sparks surround Golem's Pokeball for a moment, then it disappears. Within a moment Hitmonchan's Pokeball rests in the slot. "Thanks, Rilli! Now I'm off to the Gym!" "Good luck, Robert!" Mithril-rama smiles and the videophone turns off. Robert snatches up the Pokeball resting in the slot and pushes the button on it. "Help me, Hitmonchan Kenobi - you're my only hope!" A beam of white light shoots out and coalesces into the form of a female Hitmonchan with small Hitmonlee-esqe feet. She looks up at Robert, immediately recognizes her Trainer, and gives him a big hug, saying, "Chan, hitmon! Chan chan!" "I'm glad to see you too, Hitmonchan! Ready for a brisk afternoon jog to the nearest Pokemon Gym?" "Chan!" Hitmonchan nods, pries herself away from her Trainer, and runs out of the Pokemon Center. "Hey, wait for me!" Robert races after his Fighting Pokemon, trying to keep up with her. After a few minutes of exercise, Robert and his Hitmonchan enter the Mahogany Town Gym together and encounter Pryce brushing his Piloswine's fur near the frozen Arena in the center of the building. "Hello again, Pryce. I'm ready to challenge you again!" "Oh, hello there. Has it been a month already?" Asks the old man wearing a yellow shirt, orange pants, and brown sandals. He checks his wristwatch and nods, "It HAS been a month! When you're my age, time passes by really quickly. Anyway, today we're going to be having another one-on-one match." Pryce raises his hand up to his mouth before yelling, "Sheila - your pal Robert's back for more! Come on over to referee the match!" "On my way!" The female voice belonging to Sheila rings out throughout the Gym as Robert and Pryce take their places across from each other at the Arena. Pryce's Piloswine happily walks onto the ice that makes up the floor of the Arena, while Robert's barefoot Hitmonchan is more reluctant to set foot on the cold surface. The Hitmonchan places one foot first, squints and hisses as she gets used to the temperature change, then places the other one. By the time Sheila is in position to referee the match, holding a red flag and a green flag, Hitmonchan is standing across from Pryce's Piloswine, ready to battle. Robert calls out, "Hitmonchan, let's show Pryce what you can do - start off with your patented Mega Kick!" "Your Hitmonchan can kick?" Pryce raises an eyebrow, "Intriguing. Piloswine, use Blizzard!" Robert bites his lower lip, hoping that his Pokemon will get the first strike. Hitmonchan launches herself into the air, one foot aimed straight at Pryce's Piloswine as the Ice Pokemon takes in a deep breath of cold air. The Mega Kick makes contact with the Piloswine before he can launch his Blizzard attack and within seconds Robert throws his arms into the air in celebration! Disoriented by the attack, Piloswine launches his Blizzard out of the Arena and it misses Robert's Hitmonchan. "The Blizzard... missed?" Robert gasps, "I've never seen a Blizzard attack miss!" "Spend much time in Kanto, eh?" Pryce smirks, "Pokemon here in Johto are known for being less accurate with their Blizzards than Pokemon from Kanto, but a Blizzard missing is still a rare event. The next one should hit. Piloswine, Blizzard!" Robert shouts, "Hitmonchan, Fire Punch!" Hitmonchan pulls her fist back, fire erupts around it, and she thrusts it into Piloswine's face, burning the Ice Pokemon! The Piloswine snorts in anger and concentrates his Blizzard attack on the Pokemon that just punched him! By the end of the attack, Hitmonchan is covered in snow, but not encased in ice as Charmeleon and Seadra had been in the past. She shakes her body, making the snow fly off, and assumes a fighting pose as Piloswine cries out in pain due to the burn he's enduring. Pryce comments, "Wow, twice in a row now the Quick Claw didn't have any effect." Overhearing the comment, Robert asks, "Quick Claw?" "Yes, I attached a Quick Claw to my Piloswine so that he'd strike first more often," reveals Pryce, "That's the reason he was faster than your Charmeleon and your Seadra in our last two matches. It hasn't given him the advantage the last two times in a row, but the third time's a charm - Piloswine, use Rest now!" "Rest?! AHHH - NOOO!" Robert shakes his head, "Hitmonchan, one more Fire Punch!" Robert's Hitmonchan once again pulls her fist back and fire erupts around it, but before she can thrust her flaming fist into Piloswine's face, the Ice Pokemon closes his eyes. However, before the Piloswine can actually fall asleep of his own will, he's knocked unconscious by a critical Fire Punch, courtesy of Robert's Hitmonchan! "Ha, now my Pokemon's using Rest," Pryce gloats, "He should be awake in a couple of rounds, then he'll be able to defeat..." Sheila interrupts the Gym Leader's speech, "Uh, Pryce?" "Yes, Sheila?" "That there Piloswine's not Restin' - he's K.O.'ed." "What?" "Your Piloswine's fainted, Pryce. Or, in other words..." Sheila points a red flag at Robert, "Piloswine's unable to battle - the winner of the match is Robert! Congratulations, Robert!" Pryce runs over to his Piloswine and observes that his Pokemon is still burnt and isn't snoring, "Hang in there, Piloswine, I'll get you to a Pokemon Center in just a moment." Pryce pulls out a Pokeball from one of his pockets and recalls his Piloswine into it. He then approaches Robert, pulls a Glacier Badge out of his other pocket, and hands it to the winning Trainer, "Patience pays off - you have finally earned this Glacier Badge, Robert! Wear it with pride!" "WOO HOO! I got a Glacier Badge!" Robert runs into the icy Arena towards his Hitmonchan to thank her and he slips on the ice! His Hitmonchan catches him before his head hits the ice and she holds him in her arms as he says, "Thank you, Hitmonchan! Thank you for helping me win this Glacier Badge and thank you for catching me right now! I've only got four more Badges to earn here in Johto and I plan to have you by my side as I earn each one." Robert regains his footing and hugs his Pokemon. -Robert