From: Ig88sw82 <ig88sw82@aol.com> Subject: [PW!] Trouble At Mt Moon Date: Thursday, April 22, 1999 11:47 PM Mark felt like a complete moron as he ventured into the twisting caves of Mt Moon. For $500, he got Magikarp, which was undeserving of the crown it wore. What a useless Pokémon! Its Splash attack could hardly be classified as an attack at all. All it did was flop around on the ground! Mark's thoughts were interrupted by a strange humming sound up ahead. "Oddish, let's check it out!" and his loyal grass Pokémon followed, aslo eager to see what had made the commotion. When they reached the source, Mark noticed a small hole, which he was luckily able to crawl through. Oddish trodded in behind him. "Can't see a thing in here. A fire Pokémon would be useful about now," Mark muttered, still concentrating on the Magikarp. But Mark and Oddish still found their way through, and eventually found themselves in a large underground cavern. In the center, Mark could clearly see several moving objects, but couldn't identify them from so far away. "Oddish," he whispered. "Let's get a closer look." Mark and his Pokémon crawled down to a small overhang, and by now they could point out about 20 specimens. "What are those things?" and Mark pointed his PokéDex at the group, after turning the sound off. "Nidoran male. Nidoran female. Ekans. Grimer." Rather than spending precious time reading all their stats, Mark pressed the cross-reference button. "All of these are Poison-type Pokémon. None of these are known to appear in numerous numbers in this area." "What are they all doing here?" Mark wondered. Then he saw. All of them were gathered around an injured Pokémon, previously concealed to Dexter. "Zubat. These bat Pokémon form colonies in perpetually dark places. Uses ultrasonic waves to identify and approach targets." The Poison Pokémon were trying to heal the injured creature! "Good effort, but I'm gonna take it from here," and Mark pushed himself up from behind the rock. All the Pokémon turned and stared at him for only a moment, then attacked. "Oddish! Help!" Oddish did a jump kick at the Ekans, knocking it into the others. "Oddish, use your Acid attack! Drive them away from the Zubat!" "Oddish!" the plucky Pokémon shot blobs of acid at the enemies, forcing them to keep their distances as Mark raced at the Zubat. Suddenly, Grimer used his Sludge attack on Oddish, covering his eyes with a black sticky substance. "Oddish, no!" Mark cried out, but before he could reach him, a few Nidoran males rushed inbetween him and his Pokémon. "Back off Nidoran! Go, Kakuna!" Mark tossed his Pokéball straight at the Nidoran, and Kakuna burst out. "Kakuna, Poison Sting, now!" Kakuna remained in his original position. Dexter spoke up. "Kakuna's only attack is to Harden its body to prevent attackers from causing harm." Mark groaned. His Pokémon seemed to cause new surprises at the worst times. "Okay, Kakuna, Harden and throw yourself at Nidoran!" Kakuna winked to show its acknowledgement. It glowed briefly, then dove straight at the little Pokémon before they had time to react. With a loud crack, the Nidoran were knocked senseless. Before Mark had time to celebrate, about 10 Nidoran females rushed in and attacked Kakuna, beating it senseless. "Kakuna return! Go, Spearow!" "Speeearow!" the bird shrieked as it flew over to Oddish and grabbed him with its talons. "Good job Spearow," Mark yelled as Spearow brought Oddish back to his side. "Use your Peck attack!" "Speeeearow!!!" Spearow zipped around the room, stabbing the enemies with its razor-sharp beak. Soon the Poison Pokémon were dropping like flies. Then, Spearow was knocked from the air, landing right at Mark's feet, twitching. "What the...?" Flapping its wings silently, the Golbat swooped in, shrieking. Before Mark could identify it, Ekans jumped in and snatched his PokéDex. Turning slowly, Mark found that he was surrounded. Golbat hovered above, waiting for the opportune moment to swoop in. "Where's Ebony when you need her?"