From: Karnivax <karnivax@my-dejanews.com> Subject: [PW!] Unstable Ground Date: Sunday, May 23, 1999 6:10 PM And so, here is my third PokéWars story, the first one in which I have a little character interaction (apologies to Roberto Perez-Vila if I mischaracterized his character Jeremy in any way). --UNSTABLE GROUND-- Part 1 by Karnivax The thunderstorm that was hammering Viridian City eventually died down, and the dark cumulus clouds receded. And not a moment too soon, for Kyle Richter was arriving, riding on the back of his Aerodactyl, Grendel, who despised water. "Grendel, stop by that diner there," Kyle commanded, looking down at the well-lit city streets below. "That guy down there has Pokéballs attached to his belt. Maybe he's up for a battle." Grendel started a quick descent towards the muddy, rain-soaked grounds of Viridian City, making it a point not to get himself wet. He landed in front of the Brock's Diner, where the unknown trainer and the girlfriend he kept close at his side were headed. It was nine o' clock at night, quite late to be eating dinner. Seeing the Aerodactyl land in front of them, the trainer and his girlfriend stopped dead in their tracks. "Couldn't help but notice you're carrying Pokémon," Kyle said to the strangers. "Y'up for a duel?" The unknown trainer replied, "I'm *always* up for a duel," and a cocky smile crossed his face. He then turned to his girlfriend. "Go into the diner, Bambi, and get us our usual booth, if you'd be so kind. This won't take long." The girl nodded vigorously and headed into the diner. "So, before we begin the battle, perhaps we should get acquainted," the stranger said. "Name's Jeremy. Future Pokémon League champion." On his white "Do You Smell What the BROCK is Cooking?" shirt the boy had pinned seven of the eight trainer badges, and he proudly displayed them to Kyle. Only the Earthbadge was missing. "I'm Kyle. That's enough to go on," Kyle snorted, embarassed that he had only a Soulbadge and a Volcanobadge to show off; though his Pokémon had overcome substantial adversity to win those badges for him: his Aerodactyl had partially overcome fear of humans to defeat Koga's Weezing many months ago, and his Scyther had overcome fear of fire to defeat Blaine's Rapidash just a week ago. "O-kay. I don't want to keep my girlfriend waiting, so let's just make this one-on-one. I take it you'll be using that Aerodactyl there." Grendel, who was easily spooked by humans other than Kyle, was already shying away. Jeremy ran his left hand through his blonde hair and grinned, shaking his head in amusement at the sight of a large prehistoric Pokémon cowering in fear. "I think not," replied Kyle snidely, as he removed an empty Pokéball from his belt. "Aerodactyl, return." With that, Grendel disappeared in a flash of light. "I choose Scyther." Kyle tossed out a Pokéball, and unleashed his superintelligent comrade, the Scyther known as Torrasque. "Finally, I'm free from that accursed Pokéball!" Torrasque snarled. He then realized that he was about to battle a trainer, so he decided to make his entrance more memorable. He quickly mock-trumpeted the Twentieth Century Fox theme, striking a few heroic poses simultaneously. He then cried, "Torrasque is ready to RUMBLLLLLE!!!" "You've got a cowardly Aerodactyl and a talking Scyther?" Jeremy remarked, laughing. "Jeez, man, you need a magazine rack for all the issues you got going on." _Keep laughin', Blondie,_ Kyle thought. _It'll make it easier for me to ram those badges down your throat..._ "Anyway, I choose Parasect," Jeremy said, a tear of amusement in his eye. He then removed a Pokéball from his belt and released a mushroom-like Parasect. _He's pitting a Parasect against a Scyther? Jeez, this guy's too overconfident for his own good!_ Kyle thought. He took a good look at the Parasect. _Torrasque'll run circles around this six-legged 'shroom!_ "Parasect, exterminate 'im with your Slash attack!" Jeremy shouted, sounding the battle cry. Parasect slowly crawled in Torrasque's direction. Torrasque simply stood and watched the lumbering insect approach. Eventually the Parasect brought one giant claw back, then swung it at Torrasque with enough speed and power to slice through a brick wall. Torrasque merely raised one blade and easily blocked Parasect's attack. Jeremy was in awe. His eyes widened with shock. The confidence left his face. "I had to defeat Blaine's pet Rapidash myself," Torrasque pointed out. "A walking Portabella doesn't scare me." Even Parasect looked surprised at how easily Torrasque had blocked the strike. Torrasque slowly lifted his other blade into the air, then slammed it down hard on Parasect's fungal carapace, nearly slicing the insect open. Parasect wavered a bit, then fell flat and passed out. "No way..." Jeremy commented, returning the unconscious Parasect to its Pokéball. "It's impossible! That Scyther must be some sort o' cyborg!" "Nope," answered Torrasque, with a reptilian grin on his face. "I just pump lots of iron and eat lots of Wheaties. Does it show?" "But...but...that Parasect was at least at level seventy!!!" Jeremy shrieked. "I've been training it ever since my run through Mount Moon!" "Torrasque here is at level one hundred," Kyle pointed out. "As strong as a Scyther gets." Both Jeremy and Torrasque were shocked by that comment. "How do you know?" Torrasque queried. "Oh, I've known it for quite some time," Kyle said, his voice trailing off a bit. "Dad has a device that gauges Pokémon power levels." As Jeremy started to slink into the diner with his head lowered in defeat, Torrasque sauntered over to Kyle, thinking the conversation was unfinished. "So you didn't pit me against Blaine to see how well you trained me, or even to strengthen me," Torrasque realized. "You pitted me against Blaine because you knew that having a bug Pokémon like me beat a fire Pokémon like Rapidash would net you some *sweet* bragging rights. You just weren't planning to tell anyone, not even me, that I was about fifty levels stronger than the Rapidash. That way, no one except you knew that the match was practically fixed. Isn't that right?" Kyle tapped on his own nose with one index finger. Torrasque frowned. "I feel so...*used*." "Don't you feel happier knowing all those years of training have finally reached their culmination?" Kyle asked. "The truth is, if you had known just how strong you were when you fought Blaine, his Rapidash never would've been able to scratch you. The only reason he got those hits in was because you didn't trust your own abilities. When you so easily defeated that Moltres, though, I knew you were beginning to gain some confidence. And just now, through your utter domination of that Parasect, it's obvious that you now know the full extent of your strength." "How long have I been this powerful?" Torrasque asked. "Quite a while. I worked you so hard that you were actually up to level one hundred only a year after I got you. But self-confidence is one thing you had to learn yourself. And now that you have, your training is complete. I won't force you to fight any more. You can go back to doing the things you enjoy doing, like painting abstract paintings, playing violin, and watching WWF." Torrasque's jaw nearly dropped. "Y - you mean that?" he stammered. "But why? If I'm as strong as you say, wouldn't you *want* me to fight for you?" "Wouldn't be any fun," replied Kyle casually. "In your current state you *could* devastate most opponents. But I generally try for *fair* fights." "Wow...just when you think you know someone," Torrasque said. "But what about Giovanni? Do you still think you can beat him without me?" Kyle removed the Pokéball containing his Dragonite, named Leviathan, from his belt. "Giovanni trains ground Pokémon. And Leviathan here is gonna shellack 'em." With that, Kyle put the Pokéball back on his belt and headed for the heart of town, where the Viridian City Gym was located, with Torrasque in tow. --UNSTABLE GROUND-- Part 2 by Karnivax "Hello?" called Kyle, knocking on the front door of the imposingly large Viridian City Gym. "Is anyone in there?" Eventually there was the click of the door unlocking, and the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was a tall, muscular man in his early twenties with short, buzz-cut black hair, the beginnings of a beard, and two blood-red eyes, which were actually just brown eyes with tinted contact lenses. He was wearing ratty jeans, black boots, a white T-shirt displaying a large red R, and a black leather jacket. "I've come to challenge Giovanni," Kyle said to the man. "Yeah, well, he's out on important business," the man snorted irritably, in a thick Australian accent. "So either apply for membership into Team Rocket, or hit the road, mate." "Team Rocket?" Torrasque noted. He whispered to Kyle, "This is not good..." "No kidding," Kyle softly replied. The man in the doorway scowled. "You heard me. Join us, or get to steppin'." "Come now, David," came a calm voice from beind Kyle, one with what sounded like a Brooklyn accent. "As one of my most faithful servants, David, you should know that this boy is a guest in our gym. And he will be treated accordingly." Kyle whirled around to see a black limousine drive up and park right behind him. One of the limo's windows opened, and sitting in the back seat of the limo was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties, who was wearing a clean black business suit. "Welcome back, boss," David said, looking quite surprised. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon." The man in the limousine replied, "Did you think I'd leave this gym in the hands of a bunch of rowdy teenagers for two full weeks?" He rolled his eyes back. "Now do as I ask. Lead our guest into the main arena. He has evidently come to challenge me - the great Giovanni - and so he shall." David grudgingly responded, "As you wish." As the limousine drove around to the back of the gym to park, David motioned to Kyle. "C'mon, come with me." David entered the gym, and Kyle and Torrasque followed shortly thereafter. As they headed down the gym's shiny marble main hallway, David grunted at Kyle, "That talkin' Scyther o' yours better be housebroken, mate." "Funny," snapped an insulted Torrasque. He crossed his scythes in front of his torso. "See this, 'mate?' It's Australian for 'suck it.'" David laughed heartily. "Y'know, bugger, it's a good thing you make me laugh. Otherwise I'd rip off those blades o' yours and chop vegetables with 'em." "You're welcome to try," Torrasque shot back, with a sly grin on his face. Eventually the group reached the main arena of the Viridian City Gym, which looked quite similar to the arena of the Cinnabar Island Gym except for the fact that it was much cleaner, more ornate, and the bleachers were slightly more crowded. When David walked up to an announcing desk and blared over the gym's PA system that Giovanni had returned and was about to battle a challenger, all sorts of different members of Team Rocket flooded into the arena from various hallways and quickly piled into the bleachers. Still talking into the PA system, David then announced that he would be taking on the challenger first. The crowd went wild; apparently David was a champion among Rockets. Kyle had not been expecting to fight David, but he made it look as if it were all part of the plan for him. David took his position at one end of the arena, Kyle took his position at the other end. David tossed out a Pokéball, and a massive Golem, who had an electronic language translator hanging from its neck, was unleashed. A hush fell over the crowd, and the lights in the arena went out, except for one spotlight which shone on David and his Pokémon. David began, "To bereave the wealthy of their worth..." The Golem's translator boomed, "To subjugate the entire Earth..." "To trample upon all who stand in our path!" "To spare no insubordinates from our wrath!" "David!" "Goliath!" "Team Rocket - faster than the eye can see!" "Stand your ground or cower and flee!" the Golem finished, pointing menacingly at Kyle with one claw. The lights came back on, and the crowd cheered and clapped madly. The Golem set aside its language translator and took a fighting stance. Kyle grinned, knowing rock Pokémon were no match for fighting Pokémon. He shouted, "Machamp, GO!!!" and released his musclebound Machamp, Ares. Ares flexed his massive muscles for several seconds, and the crowd responded by throwing trash at him. "Goliath, Tackle attack!" commanded David. As Ares tried to brush away the refuse, Goliath charged and lunged at Ares, knocking him down and pressing him under several hundred pounds of weight. Ares winced in agony and pushed the Golem away with one arm. "Karate Chop, Ares!" ordered Kyle. Ares grabbed Goliath with his two lower arms and started pummelling the stone beast with rapid chops from his two upper arms. Ares eventually let go of Goliath and knocked him on his back with a Low Kick. "Rock Throw!" David ordered. Goliath righted himself, then pulled one of the pieces of his stone armor off. Where the piece had been taken out, a new piece grew in almost instantaneously. Goliath lifted the large rock over his head and heaved it at Ares. Ares casually shattered the projectile with another Karate Chop attack. "Ares, Submission!" Kyle shouted. Ares nodded in acknowledgment. He charged at Goliath like a freight train, flew into the air, and elbow-dropped Goliath, cracking the Golem's rocky carapace. Then, without the order of its trainer, Ares flipped Goliath upside-down, lifted him into the air, then power- bombed him. The entire arena shook with the force of the impact. Goliath was down for the count. "What?!" shouted David. "This is a travesty! That power-bomb isn't one of Machamp's moves..." "What can I say? Ares likes WWF too," Torrasque pointed out. David sighed heavily and recalled Goliath, and the crowd went silent. "You're better than you look, kid," David said to Kyle. "All right, you can battle Giovanni now." David headed into the bleachers, and a massive cheer went up as the man in the black business suit - Giovanni - entered the arena. The man took his position and removed three Pokéballs from his pocket. "Before you challenge me, boy, we must deal with a simple matter of protocol," Giovanni said to Kyle matter-of-factly. "I'm a busy man, and I don't battle just anyone, you see. A fight will not commence unless you show me that you have obtained all seven of the other trainer badges." Kyle lowered his head in disappointment, and revealed his Soulbadge and Volcanobadge. "That's all," he announced. "A pity," Giovanni said to himself, feigning compassion. "Then your only options now are to join Team Rocket, or leave this gym and come back only after you've won the remaining badges." There was a bit of a pause. Kyle let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, I'll leave now...but rest assured, I'll be back before you know it!" he swore. He recalled Ares and headed for the gym exit with Torrasque. And that's all for now. -------------------------------------------------- Karnivax "I know to whom I owe the most loyalty, and I see him in the mirror every day." --Starke of Rath --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- ---Share what you know. Learn what you don't.---