From: Rob (robfrompw@yahoo.com) Subject: [PW!] [SC] [R2M4] When Pokemon Attack! Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-12-15 02:40:51 PST "Good news, everyone!" The announcer for the Silver Conference proclaims to the audience gathered inside Silver Town's Silver Stadium, "The two Trainers set to battle in the final match of Round Two are both in the Stadium!" The crowd cheers at this announcement, many of the audience members having been disappointed that Match 3 was cancelled. The announcer says, "Robert, the Gym Leader of Kanto's Diversity Gym, will be battling Ben from the Hoenn region! Trainers, approach the field!" Robert emerges from the Red Trainer's waiting room, pulling a Pokeball out of a Technical Machine in his hand and placing it on his belt. He pockets the TM then turns his attention to the Trainer arriving on the field through its eastern entrance. Seeing how messy Robert's black hair is, Ben isn't as self-conscious about the state of his messy hair as he usually is in front of large crowds. He takes his place on the field across from Robert. "Seeing as how our last referee threatened to kill a Trainer, we have replaced him with Eric Jenson, our back-up referee." Eric Jenson takes the field wearing a generic black-and-white referee outfit amidst groans and boos from the crowd since people watching the Silver Conference have gotten used to seeing interesting referees. The referee watches as the field selector lands on the Water symbol and the electronic roulette wheel indicates that the green Trainer must go first. As an unused Grass Field sinks into the ground, Eric states the obvious, "Match 4 of Round Two of the Silver Conference will pit Red Trainer Robert against Green Trainer Ben." A Water Field with two white platforms on it emerges from underneath the Stadium as Eric says, "The match will be a 4-on-4 Pokemon battle on a Water Field with no time limit. Green Trainer Ben will select which Pokemon to send out first. Let the battle begin!" "Hmm, water conducts electricity. I know who to send out first. Go, Metrix!" Ben pulls out a Pokeball and releases a Magneton who hovers over the water in the field, his three eyes staring at Robert as he awaits his opponent. "So you're starting with the only Pokemon on your team I'm familiar with, huh?" Robert quietly asks the question despite the fact that Ben is too far away to hear it. However, Ben does hear Robert when the Gym Leader calls out, "Golem, I choose you!" Robert is very careful where he aims his Pokeball as he pushes the button on it, making sure that his Golem will appear on the white platform on his side of the field instead of in the water surrounding it. His aiming is accurate and the Golem appears on the platform. "Golem, gooolem..." The moment the Rock Pokemon sees that there's water all around him, he digs the claws on his feet into the platform to make sure he doesn't fall during his battle. "The Red Trainer has started the match with a very odd choice for a battle on a Water Field," the announcer tells the crowd, "Golem is a heavy Rock Pokemon. One wrong step and Golem will sink to the bottom of the pool!" Having been well aware of that fact before the announcer said anything, Ben has already formulated a strategy. He calls out, "Metrix, don't bother with Electric attacks since Golem is part Ground. Use Tri-Attack to knock Golem off his platform!" "Yikes!" Robert yelps, concerned that Ben's plan might work. Before the match had begun, Robert had been hoping Golem would get to fight on a Rock Field and dreaded that a Water Field would be selected. The possibility that a Water Field could be selected, however, led Robert to formulate an unorthodox plan that would, in theory, allow Golem to use his most powerful attack on a Water Field. He now hopes that his theory will work when put into practice as he commands, "Golem, Rock Throw yourself onto that Magneton and hold on tight when you make contact!" Golem looks up at the Magneton hovering some distance away and starts calculating the trajectory he should use when launching himself across the Arena. While Golem attempts to figure this out, each eye on Metrix the Magneton glows a different color - one red, one blue, and one yellow. Each of the three three eyes shoot a beam out at an angle and the red, blue, and yellow beams merge into one beam that heads directly towards Robert's Golem! Right before being hit by the Tri-Attack, Golem bends down and digs the claws on his hands onto the platform below him. The Tri-Attack ends up hitting him on his Rock shell, where it breaks up into three different beams that sink into pool. Though hurt by the attack, Golem has not budged from the spot where he dug his claws. He releases his grip on the platform, takes a few steps back, careful not to fall in the pool, then dashes for the entire length of the platform before slamming his hands onto it and summersaulting into the air! Metrix hovers a few feet backwards in an attempt to have Golem land in the water instead of on top of him, but Robert's Golem had predicted Metrix would do this when he calculated his trajectory. The Rock Throw lands Golem right on top of the Magneton! Golem holds onto two of Metrix's magnets so he won't fall into the pool. "Gooooooool!" Golem cheers like a soccer announcer from his perch atop Metrix, who's trying to shake him off, "Goooooooool!" Ben is surprised by Robert's unconventional battle tactic, but he quickly devises his own unconventional tactic, "Metrix, use Metal Sound as loud as you can to get Golem to cover his ears!" Worried that his Rock Pokemon will fall into the water at any moment, Robert calls out, "Golem, use Earthquake on top of the Magneton then hop to the nearest platform!" The Metal Sound that Ben's Magneton produces is so ear-piercingly loud that Robert, Ben, and Eric the referee all cover their ears when they hear it. Robert's Golem squints in pain as his Defenses are considerably lowered by the Metal Sound, but fearing what could become his watery grave, he withstands the aural torture. Golem kicks Metrix with all his force, an action that would normally create an Earthquake on the ground. Metrix the Magneton vibrates due to the powerful Ground attack coarsing through his body until all three of his eyes shut. As Metrix plummets into the pool, Golem hops off the Electric Pokemon and onto the nearest white platform, which happens to be the one on Ben's side of the field. After Metrix splashes into the pool, Eric lifts his red flag towards Robert and announces, "Magneton is unable to battle. Golem is the winner!" "Metrix, return!" Ben recalls his Pokemon, surprised that Robert's Rock Pokemon was able to overcome his field disadvantage to defeat him. No longer underestimating the Golem's abilities, Ben takes no chances as he produces his next Pokeball. "Swampy, go! Use Muddy Water!" Ben releases a tall blue Swampert onto the white platform where Golem is standing. Not knowing what a Muddy Water attack does, but knowing that neither Mud nor Water is good for Pokemon with Rock and Ground attributes, Robert cries out, "Golem, quickly use Rock Slide to knock that Pokemon down!" The Swampert looming over Robert's Golem looks down at the Rock Pokemon and shoots brownish Muddy Water out of his mouth, The Golem withdraws his head, arms, and legs into his Rock shell to hide from the attack, but Swampy keeps on spewing Muddy Water for a good long minute. Once the attack is hover, Golem's head and limp limbs slide out of his body. His eyes are closed. Pointing his green flag at Ben, Eric Jenson declares, "Golem is unable to battle. Swampert is the winner!" Robert recalls his Golem and re-attaches his Pokeball onto his belt. He calls out to Ben, "I knew you were going to send out a Swampert so I came prepared to defeat your part-Water part-Ground Pokemon! Say hello to my Vileplume!" Robert pulls another Pokeball off his belt and this time aims the white beam that releases his Pokemon towards the white platform on Ben's side of the Arena. When Robert's dark blue Vileplume emerges on the mud-covered platform next to Swampy, she puts her arms up to keep the heavy large red flower on her head from tipping her over into the pool. "Hello, Vileplume." Ben says, not at all concerned that his Swampert is facing a Grass Pokemon. He tells Robert, "I've taught Swampy how to deal with Grass Pokemon. Show him what I mean, Swampy - use Ice Beam!" "Ice Beam?!" Robert sweatdrops, knowing how weak Grass Pokemon are against Ice attacks, "Vileplume, send out Sleep Powder to keep that Swampert from using Ice Beam!" Swampy shoots a Beam of Ice out of his mouth and the chilling attack fired at point blank range forces Robert's Vileplume to tip over despite her best efforts to remain standing. Shivering due to the cold attack, Robert's Vileplume uses her last ounce of strength to shoot blue Sleep Powder from her flower... but it harmlessly lands in the water since the Ice Beam tipped her over. Her small red eyes shut and she continues to shiver in her unconscious state. "Vileplume is unable to battle." The referee raises his green flag towards Ben as he repeats, "Swampert is the winner!" "My secret weapon against Swampert... defeated in just one hit..." Robert sighs as he recalls his Vileplume into her Pokeball and attaches it to his belt. Pulling another Pokeball from his belt, Robert calls out, "You're not the only one who's taught one of his Pokemon Ice Beam, Ben! Piloswine, I choose you!" Once again, Robert aims his Pokeball's beam so the part-Ground Ice Pokemon known as Piloswine emerges right next to Ben's Swampert. While Ben normally recalls his Pokemon after they defeat two opponents, since Swampert hasn't been attacked once since he was sent out, Ben decides to leave him in. He commands, "Swampy, drench that Piloswine with your Muddy Water!" Afraid that Swampert's Muddy Water will do to Piloswine what it did to his Golem, Robert shouts, "Use Ice Beam, Piloswine!" Swampy's mouth opens wide for the third time today and a flood of Muddy Water shoots out of it for the second time today. The water soaks Piloswine's thick brown fur. While Robert's Piloswine is willing to eat many things, mud is not one of these things, so she keeps her mouth shut, unable to perform an Ice Beam while the Swampert next to her spews Muddy Water on her. It takes about half a minute for Swampy the Swampert to shut off his waterworks. Angered that her fur coat is muddy and wet, the first Ice Beam Piloswine ever shoots out of her mouth hits the Swampert on his head. Robert's Piloswine keeps shooting the Ice Beam as she moves her head up and down until the Swampert responsible for dirtying her coat is encased in a block of ice. Without prompting from Robert, she uses Take Down on the block of ice, sending it soaring out of the field! "Swampert is unable to battle." Eric Jenson declares before waving his red flag at Robert, "Piloswine is the winner!" Ben pulls his ice-encased Swampert back into his Pokeball and pauses to determine which of his Aggron, Blade or Nails, would be a better Steel Pokemon to send out to finish off Robert's Ice Pokemon. Deciding that Blade might be tired from fighting two Pokemon in yesterday's match, Ben grabs Nails' Pokeball and releases the huge Steel Pokemon onto the white platform where Piloswine stands. Concerned that Robert's Piloswine knows Earthquake and figuring that Swampy's Muddy Water attack has weakened the Piloswine considerably, instead of telling Nails to use the powerful but inaccurate attack known as Iron Tail, Ben tells his Aggron to use a weaker but more accurate Steel attack, "Nails, finish off Piloswine with Metal Claw!" Robert confirms Ben's concern when he calls out, "Piloswine, Earthquake!" Being faster than the heavy Aggron, Robert's Piloswine lifts up her front hooves and smashes them into the platform below her before the Aggron looming in front of her can attack. The Earthquake issued by the Piloswine remains localized on the white platform, where it shakes up Nails the Aggron. While most part-Rock part-Steel Pokemon would be taken out by one Earthquake attack, Nails is strong enough to endure the attack. The moment the Earthquake is over, Nails rakes her Metal Claws across the Piloswine's body, knocking the Ice Pokemon out. The Aggron proudly raises his arms high to celebrate his win. "Piloswine is unable to battle." The referee extends his green flag towards Ben, "Aggron is the winner!" As Robert recalls his fainted Piloswine and puts his Pokeball on his belt, the Silver Conference's announcer says, "Yesterday we saw one of Ben's Aggron single-handedly defeat a Combusken and a Wartortle. Will Ben's second Aggron be able to defeat two Pokemon in a row as well? Even if he can't, Ben can still send out another Pokemon, so Robert's Pokemon selection at this juncture is extremely crucial!" Hearing the announcer's comments, Robert starts to sweat. He looks down at the Pokeballs on his belt, trying to decide whether he should send out Hitmonchan, Seadra, or Charmeleon. "I may not know much about Steel Pokemon, but I do know they don't like fire!" Robert plucks Charmeleon's Pokeball off his belt. He's about to aim the Pokeball at the platform on his side of the Water Field, but he stops short and says, "...but wait. If Charmeleon were to fall in the water, his tail flame could go out. Besides, Aggron are part Rock, meaning Seadra's Water Gun would fare better than Charmeleon's Flamethrower." Robert reaches down to put Charmeleon's Pokeball back on his belt, but at that moment the sun is reflected off Nails' Steel armor and into Robert's eyes. Robert misses the slot on the belt and he drops his Pokeball! Seeing the Pokeball roll towards the pool, Robert falls to his knees to grab it... But he doesn't reach it in time. Charmeleon's Pokeball falls into the water. "NOOOOOOO! CHARMELEON!" Robert's about to dive in after the Pokeball when he sees his Charmeleon's red head and swinging arms surface near the white platform on his side of the Arena. Fearing for his life, the Fire Pokemon climbs onto the platform, grabs his tail, lifts it up to his mouth, and blows on the dim flame on its tip. After enough carbon dioxide is exhaled onto the flame, it grows to its normal size. Charmeleon heaves a sigh of relief then turns to face Robert with flames in his eyes. "I am sooo sorry, Charmeleon! Believe me, I'm extremely sorry!" Robert calls out to his angry Pokemon in the hopes of calming him down, "In my all my years of training you, I've made sure to keep you away from bodies of water! Even when someone's using a Grass Pokemon or a Bug Pokemon in the Diversity Gym's Pool Room and I know I'll lose the match unless I send you out, I don't do it, worried that you might fall in the water! I was going to send out Seadra just now so what just happened to you wouldn't happen... You've got to believe me, Charmeleon! This isn't what I wanted - please understand, Charmeleon!" In response, Charmeleon spits a Flamethrower attack at Robert. The Gym Leader dodges the Flamethrower and says, "Use Flamethrower on the Aggron, not me! I didn't send you out on purpose! I'd recall you right now, Charmeleon, but your Pokeball is in the pool..." The next Flamethrower attack aimed at Robert prompts him to start running around the pool. The Charmeleon's subsequent Flamethrower attacks follow Robert as he runs around the Arena in a circle. When Robert runs past Eric Jenson, the referee ducks to avoid one of the Flamethrowers and flees. The Silver Conference announcer shouts in an excited voice, "This is a Silver Conference first! The Red Trainer's Pokemon has started attacking his Trainer instead of his opponent! As far as I know, there isn't anything in the Silver Conference rule book about this peculiar scenario! Right now, Ben having his Aggron knock out Robert's Charmeleon would be an act of mercy!" "I agree." Ben nods, seeing a frightened Robert running in his direction, "Nails, Hidden Power!" The moment Robert runs past Ben, Charmeleon shoots a Flamethrower attack at him and it just so happens to line up with where Nails the Aggron is standing. The Flamethrower is so powerful that the weakened Steel Pokemon faints before he can show the crowd his Hidden Power. Ben recalls his Aggron and reaches for his Salamence's Pokeball. Enraged more than he's ever been enraged before and wanting to leave the platform he's on to teach Robert a lesson, instead of resisting the natural impulses he's been experiencing lately when he gains a level, Robert's Charmeleon allows himself to glow a bright white. As the Charmeleon's head grows in size, his one horn shrinks into his head and two larger horns grow out. His body and tail expand outwards as his tail flame grows to three times its size. Finally, he sprouts two enormous blue wings. After the glow subsides, his skin color has changed from red back to the orange color it was when he was a Charmander. Robert's Charizard roars, "CHAAAAAAARRR!" and takes flight using his new wings. He's about to leave the Arena to Slash Robert when he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns around to face a flying blue Dragon Pokemon with red wings who promptly spits his Dragonbreath onto the Charizard's face. "CHAAAAARRRRRRRR!" Robert's Charizard Slashes Ben's Salamence across the chest with the same force he was going to Slash Robert in response to the attack. By the time the two flying dragon Pokemon have begun fighting, Robert has completed one lap around the field. He now stands where he stood earlier, panting quite a bit. "Robert!" Ben shouts to his tired opponent from across the field, "I was going to have Aeros fetch your Charizard's Pokeball, but told him to use Dragonbreath instead when I saw he evolved and was going to attack you! I'll have my Salamence distract your Charizard - you go into the pool and grab his Pokeball!" "Thanks, Ben! I'll do just that!" Robert takes off his long-sleeved black shirt, tosses it to the side, takes a deep breath, and dives into the water. Right before he splashes into the pool, Robert instictively shuts his eyes. Ever since he was a child, he's had an irrational fear of opening his eyes underwater. This fear continues to plague him as he swims to the bottom of the pool to feel around the floor of the Water Field for Charizard's Pokeball. Back on the surface, Ben tells his Salamence, "Aeros, Dragon Claw!" Robert's Charizard Leers at the blue Salamence right before the Dragon Pokemon rakes him with his Dragon Claws. Aeros' defense is lowered slightly since the enraged Charizard's Leer makes the Fire Pokemon look even more intimidating than he himself looks. The Charizard looks down at the claw marks on his chest and snarls before he Slashes Aeros in retribution, creating a large gash! "Crunch, Aeros!" Ben calls out, as Robert's head pops up from under the water, "Did you find the Pokeball, Robert?" "Not yet..." Robert sadly admits before taking in a deep breath and diving underwater again. Whilst underwater, Robert knows he has to overcome his phobia in order to find his Pokeball in time to keep his Charizard from attacking him. He reluctantly raises one eyelid that twitches quite a bit as Robert tries to keep it from shutting. He spots a red and white Pokeball pressed up against the white pillar on his side of the Water Field. He starts swimming towards it at full speed! High above the water, Aeros the Salamence has his jaw locked tightly on Charizard's long neck, and the Crunch is weakening Charizard considerably. To break free from the attack, Charizard reaches up and Slashes at Aeros' neck. "Saaaaaa!" Aeros opens his mouth to cry out in pain, releasing his grip on his opponent's neck. Worried about the attacks Aeros is enduring, but knowing that his Dragon Pokemon is strong enough to take them, Ben commands, "Aeros, try to paralyze that Charizard by using Dragonbreath again!" The weakened blue Salamence does as his Trainer commands, spitting a Dragonbreath attack onto the heavily breathing Charizard flying before him. When the attack is over, Charizard finds himself unable to flap his wings. "CHAAAAAARRRR!" Charizard starts plummeting down towards the white platform below him due to the partial paralysis he's suffering. On his way down, he spews a Flamethrower directly at Aeros! The Fire attack makes him woozy, but doesn't knock the Salamence out. The burn inflicted by the Flamethrower attack, however, does knock Aeros out. The blue Dragon Pokemon from Hoenn splashes into the pool just as Robert's head emerges from the pool next to the white platform where Charizard now stands. "CHAAAAARRRRRRR!" Robert's Charizard lunges at his Trainer's head, his claws unfurled, but right before he can make contact, Robert lifts Charizard's Pokeball out of the water with one hand and pushes the button on it with his thumb. The red beam that instantly shoots out of the Pokeball catches Charizard off guard and within seconds the Fire Pokemon is trapped within the spherical device. Scared half to death and thoroughly exhausted, Robert starts swimming to where Ben is standing. Eric Jensen, who had run into hiding the moment a Flamethrower attack almost hit him, slowly walks back out onto the field when he sees that Robert's Charizard has been recalled. Remembering his duties as referee, he points his red flag at the swimming Gym Leader and declares, "Both Aggron and Salamence are unable to battle. Charizard is the winner. Robert wins the match!" Ben recalls his Salamence and says to the Pokeball, "You put up a really good fight, Aeros. That was one tough Charizard." The moment Robert climbs out of the pool, he hugs Ben and exclaims, "Thank you for saving me from my Charizard! Thank you so much! That Pokemon and I have had our problems before, but he's never tried to kill me. I guess he just snapped when he thought I had tried to drown him... I didn't mean to drop his Pokeball in the water, honestly I didn't!" "I'm just glad to see you're all right." Ben smiles when Robert finally releases him, "It was a really good match up to the point where your Charizard went berserk. Still, despite your difficulties controlling Charizard, it's clear you've done a good job raising your Pokemon up to now since he could defeat Aeros." "You're a very mature kid, Ben, and take it from me, all your Pokemon are very well-trained." Robert tells the teenager who saved him, "I wish you good luck in future tournaments you enter. I hope to see you around. If you're ever in Lavender Town and need anything, look me up. I run the Diversity Gym there." Robert shakes Ben's hand, carefully places his Charizard's Pokeball back on his belt, then walks across the field to pick up the black shirt he took off before he dove into the pool. "And that concludes Round Two of the Silver Conference," the Silver Stadium announcer declares, "And WHAT a conclusion! I've never seen a more aggressive Charizard in my entire life! A reporter is now approaching the field to speak with Robert about the match." As Robert puts his black shirt back on and checks to verify that his fifteen Badges are still pinned to it, a female reporter named Gabby who has short blue hair and wears a blue shirt and blue jeans approaches Robert. She's followed by Ty, a cameraman who's wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and a red cap. Ty points his video camera, which is hooked up to a Magneton beside him, at Gabby as she raises her microphone to Robert and says, "Hi! I'm Gabby, from Mauville City's PNN affiliate. Cue interview! That was an intense battle! I need you to describe your feelings about the battle, but it has to be short and sweet. Go!" "Why?" Robert asks, wondering why the description of his feelings must be short and sweet. Gabby nods, "Mmm, yeah! That's the perfect clincher! I get the feeling that this will make a great TV show. There's a chance they'll air this on TV, so make sure to look for us! Is there anything else you'd like to tell our viewing public?" "Yeah, just one more thing." Robert steps up to Ty's camera and pleads, "If anyone out there has a nice, quiet, and obedient Fire Pokemon they would like to trade for a powerful Charizard that needs some obedience training, please contact me at robert@lavender.twn. I'll be at the Silver Conference until it's over, so you can also visit me here until then if you're interested! The sooner I can get this Charizard off my hands, the better! Not all offers will be accepted. Void where prohibited and all that jazz!" Robert waves to the camera then exits the Stadium's field just as the cleaning crew arrives. -Robert