From: NMVdS <nmvds@aol.computers> Subject: [PW!] The Phsyics of Magikarp Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 4:07 PM Steve Fugues waited anxiously in the waiting room at the local Pokemon center. During the last encounter which he had with Gil Bates, Karen Oak had been frozen by Gil's Dratini for reasons still unknown. Finally, Karen thawed out. "Are you okay?" Steve asked. "I'm fine," she responded. Karen was a little surprised that there wasn't a joke behind it. "From now on, the motto will be 'friends don't let friends get frozen by ice beams,'" he added. Karen sighed. "So feeling up to going to the Pewter City Gym?" she asked. "Sure," Steve replied, "you?" "Of course." *********** "I hear this guy is good," Karen told Steve, "very good." "I guess I should anticipate that, seeing as how he's the leader of a gym and all," said Steve. Pewter City Gym, which tended to be the gym which most novices attempted their first fight, also tended to be one the busiest. And that would be ignoring the fact that the gym leader, Brock, had to make stops at the local Pokemon Center every so often just like everyone else. "This will be a long wait," he thought to himself as he took a number. Karen took a book on Pokemon out and began to read. "Wake me up when it's my turn," Steve told her. ************ "Prepare for trouble," Steve heard someone shout. "And make it double," said another. "Gil," thought Steve as he sprung into action. "Why are you here now?" Steve asked. "I'll tell you in due time," Gil replied, "but first I have a request." "Which is?" "Wake up." "Huh?" Suddenly, Steve felt himself being shook. "Steve, for the last time, WAKE UP!" Karen yelled. Brock was looking at Steve, a little ticked off. Steve began to wake up. "Are you ready yet?" Brock asked. "I was born ready," Steve replied. "Don't do anything stupid," Karen told him. "Like I would," Steve scoffed. "Magikarp, go!" Brock was a little surprised. "Ohhhhh-kay," he began. "This is an unusual fight, but I'll try. Besides, I have a Geodude that could use a quick victory. Geodude, go!" "Geo-dude!" it grunted "Geodude, tackle attack!" Brock yelled. "Magikarp, uh..." Steve had to think for a second, "just let it tackle you. It'll hurt less if you rolls with the punches." "What are you doing?" Karen asked. "Basic physics," Steve told her. "Those scales of his should disperse the blows throughout his whole body the same was a sand bag would." "But he's not hurting Geodude!" Karen pointed out. "You're just letting Magikarp get beaten." "Well, Newton says that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction," Steve pointed out. "And the light amount of flesh he does have should provide enough padding to make him take the hits better than Geodude's rocky form would." Finally, Brock realized that tackles alone weren't doing much. Which would probably mean that rock throws probably wouldn't do much. And Geodude himself was tiring down whereas Magikarp could be dead and have the same effect. "Geodude, self-destruct!" he yelled. Geodude was surrounded by a field of energy that suddenly exploded outwards before fainting. "Well, it was a shame to lose Geodude, but he's used to that move," Brock noted. Then Brock noticed that Magikarp was still moving. "Magikarp ... won?" asked Karen. "Evidently so..." said Steve. "That's it," Brock said, "I'm going to pull out the big boys. Geodude, return. Onix, go!" The behemoth growled. "Geez..." Karen mumbled. Then she realized that Magikarp definitely wouldn't be able to survive this next battle and reached into her backpack for a Pokeball. She then threw it towards Steve. "Steve, here! It's Psyduck, a water Pokemon!" Steve reached for the new Pokeball and smiled. "Onix, tackle him to unconsciousness!" Brock yelled. "Magikarp, return!" Steve responded. "Psyduck, go!" "Ah, crap!" thought Brock as he remembered the true potential of Psyduck's powers when its headache was agitated. "Onix, wait, don't--" But it was too late. WHAM!!! "Psy-yie-yie!" the Psyduck screamed in agony. "Steve, have him do his confusion attack!" Karen yelled. "Psyduck, what she said," Steve ordered. "Siiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!!!!" the duck yelled as it prepared to attack. Suddenly, Onix began to move erratically and unpredictably. And then it was over. Onix knocked itself out. "Congratulations," Brock said, "you earned yourself a Boulderbadge. I would never have believed a Magikarp could do that if I didn't see it myself." Steve smiled and turned to Karen. "And I couldn't have done it without you," he said. "You two are quite a team," Brock said. "You're not dating, are you?" Steve shook his head. "Well then," Brock said to Karen, "maybe you should leave your phone number at the front desk and we could talk about Pokemon sometime over dinner?" "Sorry, not interested," Karen replied. "They never are," Brock sighed to himself. To reply, remove "puters" from the e-mail address.