From: Rob (robfrompw@yahoo.com) Subject: [PW!] [SC] [SFM2] Unorthodox Methods Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-12-19 02:56:13 PST From his place on the Silver Stadium's field, Robert crosses his fingers as he stares up at the field selector on the Stadium's giant scoreboard. He's holding his Golem's Pokeball, planning to send him out first against his opponent, Aerie, since he figures that none of the Pokemon on her team have a type advantage against his loyal Rock Pokemon. He says, "Please don't be a Water Field, please don't be a Water Field..." The Water Symbol on the field selector is highlighted. "D'oh!" "Robert will be battling on a Water Field for a second time this Silver Conference!" The announcer declares, as the damaged Ice Field from the first match of the day sinks below the field. "This field is new to Aerie, considering she's battled on Rock Fields the last two Rounds - will Robert's familiarity with the field put him at an advantage?" This question is asked as the Water Field emerges from below the Arena. Aerie rolls her eyes at the announcer's question, "I guess he forgot I made it to the Final Round of the Whirl Cup." Robert isn't paying attention to Aerie, nor the six Pokemon gathered around her. Not only is he scared to make eye contact with with the girl, he's also distracted by the red and green electronic roulette wheel on the giant scoreboard. A green line ends up highlighted. The announcer exclaims, "Green Trainer Robert will be selecting first!" "This will be a 5-on-5 Pokemon battle with no time limit." The bald referee at the side of the pool says, "Let the battle begin!" Robert pushes the button on the Pokeball he's holding and the white beam of light that is shot at the white platform on his side of the Water Field turns into his trusted Golem. "A Golem on a Water Field? I could exploit his weakness to water, but I won't since there's no need." Aerie waves her hand towards Robert's Golem, saying, "Heracross, Bug Hug." "Bug Hug? Eww..." Robert grimaces, disgusted by the name of the attack. "I really need to learn more about Johto attacks..." Seeing the large dark blue Heracross Aerie is commanding fly over to his Golem, Robert calls out, "He's flown into range, Golem! Hit him with Rock Slide!" Before Golem is even able to retreat his head and limbs into his Rock shell, Aerie's Heracross wraps his arms around Golem, hugging him. The announcer cries out, "It appears Aerie has told her Heracross to hug Robert's Golem! Aerie is known for her unorthodox methods, but this is ridiculous!" "Go..." Golem fruitlessly tries pushing Heracross away, but the more he struggles the tighter the Fighting Bug Pokemon's grip around his opponent becomes. Once Heracross' grip becomes tighter than a Pinsir's Vicegrip, Heracross once again takes flight, carrying the heavy Rock Pokemon with him as he flies upwards, demonstrating how strong he is. Once Heracross is about the height of the Stadium's scoreboard, he turns his body upside down starts plummeting! A mere second before Heracross hits the white platform, he throws his opponent onto the concrete and changes course. The impact Golem has on the platform creates a small Earthquake that's confined to the platform and almost knocks him out! The announcer admits, "I'm not sure whether that was Rock Throw, Seismic Toss, or Earthquake, but whatever it was, it appears to have worked!" "Golem!" Robert gasps when he sees that one of his strongest Pokemon is about to faint without weakening Aerie's Heracross at all. Knowing that he must fight aggressively if he hopes to win the match against Aerie, Robert tells his loyal Rock Pokemon, "This is going to hurt both of us, Golem... but when the going gets tough, the tough use Explosion!" Aerie yawns, already bored with the match. "Heracross, Endure." Golem takes a few steps back on the platform he's standing on then runs forward up to the tip of it, leaps towards where Heracross is hovering over the water, and tucks his arms and legs into his Rock shell to gain speed on his way towards the Bug Pokemon! "Cross!" Heracross crosses his arms in front of his chest right before Robert's Golem crashes into him and Explodes! Chunks of Golem's Rock Shell break off his body - some crash into Heracross with a tremendous force but others soar harmlessly into the water. Before what's left of Golem can hit the surface of the water, Robert recalls his Pokemon. "Golem is unable to battle." The referee points a red flag at Aerie, "Heracross is the winner!" After placing Golem's Pokeball back on his belt, Robert looks up to see that Heracross hasn't fainted yet. He managed to Endure the Explosion and while he's breathing deeply, he's still eager to battle whatever Robert sends out next. Robert pauses to decide which Pokemon he should send out to finish off Heracross. While he had planned to send out his Slowbro against the Fighting Type, he now thinks that sending out the most powerful Pokemon he presently has on his team to defeat a weakened Pokemon could be a mistake. "I may not know very much about Heracross, but I do know that Bug Pokemon don't like Poison! Vileplume, I choose you!" Robert plucks Vileplume's Pokeball off his belt and releases the Pokemon within. "Heracross, come back to rest a while. I may need your help later on." After Aerie says this, Heracross obeys the command despite his willingness to continue fighting for her. "Electrode, Flashbang." When the Electrode Aerie is commanding hops on the white platform on Aerie's side of the Water Field, it releases a Flash so bright that Vileplume has to shut her small red eyes. Since her eyes are shut, Robert's Vileplume doesn't see the Electrode bounce over to the platform she's standing on and she certainly doesn't see it use Explosion. The force of the Explosion is so strong that not only does it knock out Robert's Vileplume before she can perform a single attack, it sends the unconscious Electrode flying all the way back to its spot next to Aerie! "Both Vileplume and Electrode are unable to battle," the referee points his red flag at Aerie and his green flag at Robert. Robert sighs, disappointed that his Vileplume was unable to successfully perform a a single attack, just like in the last Round, and disappointed that his only win against Aerie thus far had nothing to do with his ability as a Trainer. After recalling his unconscious Vileplume and returning her Pokeball to his belt, he grabs his Seadra's Pokeball. "Seadra has the field advantage. She can hide from any of Aerie's Pokemon underwater..." Robert points his Pokeball at the Water Field and pushes the button on it. A white beam is shot into the pool. Aerie tells the Electric Pokemon by her side, "Magnemite, Telebolt." Before anyone in the audience can blink, the Magnemite that was hovering beside Aerie has Teleported to center of the pool and, hovering an inch above the surface, it lets loose from both of its magnets Thunderbolts that make contact with the water. The electricity is conducted throughout the entire pool! Before the attack is over, an unconscious Seadra floats up to the surface of the water. Robert's eyebrows tilt upwards in shock and his jaw drops in dismay the moment he see another one of his Pokemon defeated so fast. Speechless, he pulls Seadra back into her Pokeball and places it on his belt. "Seadra is unable to battle." The bald referee points his red flag at Aerie a third time, "Magnemite is the winner!" "It looks like Lavender Town's Gym Leader is in trouble now, folks!" The announcer points out to the crowd, "Robert can only send out two more Pokemon against Aerie and Aerie can counter them with four Pokemon from her team, the majority of which aren't the least bit tired!" Robert swallows some saliva that is gathering at the back of his mouth. He happens to glance at Aerie while trying to figure out which Pokemon to send out next and the confident smirk on her face intimidates him considerably. As he wonders whether he should send out his Piloswine or his Slowbro next, he remarks to himself, "Well, at least I don't have to worry about Aerie killing me if I lose..." He plucks his Piloswine's Pokeball off his belt, points it at the platform where his Vileplume was quickly knocked out, and pushes the button on the device. When his big brown Piloswine materializes on the white platform, Robert hopes that she will be able to stand on it much longer than Vileplume was able to. "I'm counting on you, Piloswine... I just hope I made the right choices when I bought those TMs for you." Aerie says, "Magnemite, you've done enough for now. Take a break." When the Electric Pokemon returns to Aerie's side, she tells the green Bug Pokemon standing behind her. "Scyther, your turn." Robert is confused by Aerie's selection of Pokemon. He understands why Aerie recalled her Magnemite, but he wonders why she would send a Flying Bug Pokemon out against an Ice Pokemon when a Ninetales is standing right next to her. Not sure why she sent out the Scyther but not about to underestimate someone who just defeated three of his strongest Pokemon without breaking a sweat, Robert says, "Piloswine, use Ice Beam and watch out for any tricks that Scyther might try to pull!" -Robert