From: Newton P. Haights (newhaights@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] [SC] [R1] What Goes Around Comes Around Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-12-06 02:01:52 PST (OOC: SHAKK, After talking it over with Rob, I've decided to change the pokemon Andrew's sending out, to make this a *little* more realistic.) Evir stood in the hallway, surrounded by reporters. Everyone was asking him questions, but he handled them all with ease. "How hard do you really think this battle is going to be?" asked a reporter for the Celadon Tribune. "Not hard at all. Have you seen the pokemon he has? This'll be child's play." "What do you plan to do with your winnings?" "I plan to pay for an investigation to find out who my true parents were." "Evir..." "Mr. Apocalypse..." "Mr. Evir, sir..." Evir Apocalypse smiled in his sleep, enjoying the praise of the reporters. Just as he was about to make a deal with the LCN to appear on their top-rated talk show, a sudden announcement from the loudspeakers jolted him awake, much to his chagrin. "ATTENTION TRAINERS: THE FOURTH MATCH OF THE SILVER CONFERENCE ROUND ONE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. EVIR APOCALYPSE, ANDREW J. O'REILLY, PLEASE ENTER THE ARENA." A smile returned to his face. "It's showtime." *** "WASN'T THAT AN AMAZING MATCH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN? I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT KIND OF POWER IN A LONG TIME!" The Silver Conference announcer makes his best attempt to keep the crowd excited for the next match. "Something tells me that this matchup will be even more exciting, folks! Match four pits up-and-coming powerhouse Evir Apocalypse against 3rd-round Indigo pullout Andrew O'Reilly!" As the announcer continues to pump up the crowd, the two trainers climb up to their platforms and prepare themselves for the match. Evir starts blowing kisses to the crowd and flexing for the camera, fully confident that he'll pull a victory off easy. Andrew, seeing this confidence, starts to get a little nervous, when he suddenly remembers something... Andrew reaches into his backpack and finds his locket. 'Ah, the old locket..."Never give up" indeed. To think I almost threw this thing out.' He replaces the locket in the backpack, looks up, and regains his confidence, even managing to crack a faint smile and wave to the crowd. "The field selector has just landed on...ah, it's the Ice Field! Possibly one of the most dangerous fields in use! Our trainers had better be careful for this one! And it appears that the Red Trainer, Evir, will be going first." The referee approaches the sideline of the field. "Red Trainer, are you ready?" he shouts. Andrew swallows nervously, and nods to the referee. "Green Trainer, are you ready?" Evir lets out a hearty laugh. "Are you kidding? I was born ready! Let's get this thing on!" The referee signals to the trainers, and Evir immediately releases his first Pokemon -- tall, brutish, and green, it was a Pokemon Andrew wasn't familiar with. Whipping out his Pokedex, he scanned it. "Tyrainitar: Armor Pokemon. This pokemon, which evolves from the cocoon-form Pupitar, is extremely strong, and has the power to change the landscape itself when properly trained. Its near-invulnerability gives it a tendency to challenge anything and everything." "Oh, great." Andrew sweatdropped. "This isn't going to be fun. Well...it worked once before..." Andrew reached for a Pokeball and threw it toward the behemoth Bangiras. "Blaze, Ember! Ember low!" As soon as the Growlithe left the ball, he immediately...started throwing Embers at Tyranitar's feet. "AHAHAHAHAHA! Look at this schmuck! He's -- what the hell is he doing? Doesn't he know that Rock-types are strong against fire attacks? What is he doing, trying to warm up your feet, Tyranitar? Thrash! THRASH! STOMP ON THAT LITTLE MUTT!" The Tyranitar, which was previously unconcerned, started to work itself into a frenzy, flailing about and stomping all over the ground. "Don't let it faze you, Blaze!" Andrew encouraged the Growlithe. "Get away and keep on Embering! You know what to do!" Blaze continued to throw sparks around the arena, concentrating on whatever area was just in front of Tyranitar's feet. Eventually, the Tyranitar stopped chasing Blaze and simply stomped around at nothing in particular, having become dizzy and Confused from his tirade. Unfortunately for the Tyranitar, fire, ice, and repeated impact don't mix. With one final earth-shaking STOMP, Tyranitar broke a hole through the ice, sending himself plunging into the water. Still confused, and in pain from the sudden submersion, Tyranitar continued to flail about, near-drowning and unable to recover. "Tyranitar is unable to battle!" The referee holds up a flag and points it at Andrew. "Growlithe is the winner!" This sudden turn of events dumbfounded Evir. "What the -- HOW DID YOU LOSE ALREADY, TYRANITAR?! HOW DID THAT JUST -- ah, never mind, return!" Evir recalled the Tyranitar to safety, grasping another ball as he replaced Tyranitar's. "That isn't happening again. GO, EXPLOUD!" The purple hide and gaping maw of Exploud were, once again, unfamiliar to Andrew. "Wow, I need to get around more." He whipped out the Pokedex again. "Exploud: Loud-noise Pokemon. While normally quiet, during battle, Exploud is known to cause earthquakes with its bellows. Caution must be exercised around this Pokemon, especially when it inhales from the many tubes around its body." "...ok, a blowhard." Andrew sighed. "Try Tackling him, Blaze!" Blaze lowered his head in preparation to run into the Exploud. Unfortunately, the ice was still wet from Blaze's Embers, so he couldn't get his footing, remaining largely in place. Focusing so hardly on getting up to speed, Blaze didn't notice himself passing the Exploud -- and falling facefirst into the hole the Tyranitar had created. Fire and water don't mix, of course, and Blaze soon found himself flailing about and in danger of fainting in the water. "Growlithe is unable to battle! Exploud is the winner!" The referee raises a green flag to Evir. "Aw...no...Blaze, return!" Andrew recalled the Growlithe. 'Hrrm. Which pokemon would stand the best chance on the ice?' While Evir and his Exploud waited, Andrew cycled through his team. 'Well, the Mankey would probably be agile enough to cope...it's worth a try.' "Go, MC2! Scratch it's face up! Blind it!" As the ball flied into the arena, MC2 the Mankey flew straight out, straight at the tubes on the Exploud's head! Grabbing on to one, it gained footing and started scratching at the Pokemon's face, staying clear of its enormous mouth. Exploud, unable to see, flailed around like it's predecessor, and also like its predecessor, fell into the water. "Ladies and gentlemen," explained the announcer, "this is exactly why I said the Ice Field is dangerous! Now, four out of the total six pokemon have fallen into the water! A word to all trainers -- if you want to battle on ice, you'd better bring swim trunks!" Fortunately for the two pokemon, neither one was particularly subsceptible to cold water, and since Mankey was still holding onto the Exploud's bellow-tubes, the two managed to escape the water completely unscathed. Both trainers sighed in relief. Evir, however, took advantage of the pause in action, yelling out to his Exploud, "Now you start Stomping! Flatten that little furball!" "Dodge it and give it a Karate Chop!" Andrew yelled out in turn. Staying clear of the hole, Exploud shook the Mankey free and ran full-tilt toward MC2, ready to slam a well-placed foot straight down on it. MC2 stood ready, waiting for the right moment. The Exploud raised its foot, and brought it crashing down onto... ...nothing, as MC2 had already deftly ducked under Exploud's body! The Mankey landed a hard chop to the purple Pokemon's back, and the combination of low friction, forward momentum and the added force of the Karate Chop caused Exploud to fall over and slide well past the boundary of the field. The referee lifted his red flag, proclaiming, "Exploud is outside the boundary of the fighting arena! Mankey is the winner!" "Aw, jesus..." Evir cursed under his breath. "Where the fuck has my luck gone? Well, there's only one choice left. GO, MANECTRIC! Quick Attack!" With a huge thunderclap, the blue-and-yellow quadriped appeared on the field and immediately sprinted toward the Mankey. The Quick Attack hit MC2 before he even realized the other Pokemon was there; he had no chance to defend. "Mankey has left the boundary of the arena!" the referee exclaimed. "Manectric is the winner!" Andrew sighed. "MC2, return!" he yelled as he recalled the Mankey. 'What is this, all these new Pokemon?' The Pokedex came out again. "Manectric: Discharge Pokemon. This dog-like electric pokemon collects and constantly discharges electricity from its mane. Its very presence brings thunder." Evir yelled across the arena to Andrew, "HEY, O'REILLY! WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND, HUH?! NOW BRING OUT YOUR LAST VICTIM ALREADY!" Andrew, exasperated, yelled back, "Give me a minute already!" Andrew pondered quickly before realizing which pokemon he should use. 'Of course -- get him back the same way! Use another Quick Attack!' "GO, SNICKER! Knock him out like he did MC2!" Andrew threw the ball, and out popped -- A Bulbasaur. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Evir burst into uncontrollable laughter. "THE SHMO CAN'T EVEN KEEP HIS OWN POKEMON STRAIGHT! AND HE YELLED OUT THE STRATEGY TOO! WHATTA SCHMUCK!" Obviously enjoying Andrew's bad luck, he offered an out for Andrew. "Hey, I feel so sorry for you and your poor little Bulbasaur that I'll even give you the first shot! G'wan, make your move!" "Ok then, if you want to be cocky about it..." Andrew rolled his eyes in contempt at Evir's attitude. "Yuugi, Leech Seed!" "Manectric, Quick Attack!" Before Yuugi could even think, Manectric immediately gutchecked him, sending him sliding clear across the field. He managed to stop himself just short of the hole, and launched seeds straight at Manectric, which immediately took root in its mane and hair. "Quick, Yuugi! Vine Whip!" "THUNDER!" Manectric gathered its concentration, shaping the thunderstorm above its head. Yuugi ran up and started whipping the Manectric, but while it sustained noticeable damage, it continued to work the energy of the storm above. At just the right time, it took its stance, stared at Yuugi, and let loose the fury of the heavens! Unfortunately, the fury of the heavens isn't very focused; the Thunder attack completely missed Yuugi, hitting the exposed water and setting the entire arena aglow. Yuugi felt a tingle from the electricity, but nothing happened otherwise, so he kept Vine Whipping away. "TRY IT AGAIN! THUNDER! AND HIT THAT SONUVABITCH THIS TIME!" "Keep on Whipping, Yuugi! You've almost got him!" Manectric, although weak from the continued Vine Whips, continued to ignore them and fired another Thunder from the clouds, and unfortunately, this time it hit Yuugi in mid-lash. He was now badly singed, heavily damaged, and worst, he was paralyzed, vines spread out on the arena. "THIS IS IT, MANECTRIC! HE'S POWERLESS! HE'S WEAK! TACKLE HIM! PUSH HIM INTO THE WATER AND THUNDER HIM INTO OBLIVION!!!" Manectric smirked as he started running toward the defenseless Bulbasaur. Unfortunately, the seeds started doing their job, leeching the very last of Manectric's health. Manectric shuddered, and immediately fainted in mid stride. It slid over to Yuugi, who -- now unparalyzed, thanks to the energy from the seeds -- poked at the Manectric, which didn't respond. He looked up at the referee and shrugged. "Manectric is unable to battle! BULBASAUR AND THE RED TRAINER ARE THE WINNER!" "WOW, THAT WAS AMAZING!" bellowed the announcer. "It was a real battle of determination there at the end, with both pokemon attacking seemingly regardless of circumstances, but this time it was the little guy that came through! Andrew O'Reilly is the winner, and advances to Round Two!" While the announcer spouted on about the match, and Evir stood in shock of how he was beaten, Andrew looked down at the field and noticed something odd. Yuugi seemed to be shivering uncontrollably. "Oh goddish...Yuugi must have hypothermia! I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" Andrew jumped down off the platform to rescue him personally. As soon as Andrew set foot on the ice, however, Yuugi suddenly started shimmering with an intense light! The light grew in size and intensity, and when it subsided, a majestic Ivysaur stood where Yuugi once stood. "Oh my...YOU EVOLVED!" Andrew ran...slipped, fell...got back up, and ran to Yuugi, hugging him. "I never thought I'd never see another Pokemon of mine evolve!" Andrew remarked, beaming. "Wait until the others get a look at you now! Meanwhile Evir just looked down at the scene, steaming. "How the hell does he get all the luck?" -- Newton P. Haights newhaights@aol.com http://www.geocities.com/newhaights/