From: Spawn <nmvds@aol.computers> Subject: Re: [PW!] The Training. Date: Friday, July 02, 1999 8:45 PM > "Great!" Steve replied as he handed Mark his Pokedex and walked off. "I can >go back to the fighting Dojo to train my Jynx." > > "Well, I guess we're off then," said Fox as they all left to go to the Dojo. > >TBC Later at the Fighting Dojo... Steve was feeling a little worn out. He had already gotten Jynx to take out the Karate Master's Machamp and Primeape, and Hitmonchan was up next. Steve remember back at the last fight where this was where he started having troubles. Hitmonchan's fire punch was devastating against an ice Pokemon like Jynx. "Wait a second," Karen wondered, "wouldn't the Pokemon League rules only force Steve to defeat one of the gym leader's Pokemon? "Yeah, but, uh..." Gohan began to rationalize, "this isn't an official Pokemon League Match?" "Jynx, psychic attack!" Steve shouted, this time taking Hitmonchan down before he had a chance to do anything. He was beginning to learn that sometimes it was best to use a Pokemon's abilities in moderation in order to test the full extent of a Pokemon's powers. And other times it is wiser to simply end the battle quickly. "Hitmonchan, return!" shouted the Karate Master. "Hitmonlee, go!" Steve knew that Jynx wasn't at full power against yet with her psionics, but he had to act quickly. "Jynx, another psychic attack!" Steve yelled. Jynx fired yet another psychic bolt, this time not taking the opponent down completely but weakening him considerably. "Hitmonlee, hi jump kick!" the Karate Master ordered. Hitmonlee began to focus its attention and prepare itself. In Taoist philosophy, there is often the question of the unstoppable force and the immovable object. The Tao, or way, can be likened to the former. It is a force that surrounds us all and that cannot be stopped. It is eternal and everywhere and reveals itself in nature. One who lives in harmony does not attempt to fight it. Hopefully, they try to go with it. If that is not possible, than avoiding or deflecting the power of an unstoppable force is more effective than trying to behave as the immovable object. "Jynx!" Steve shouted, "MOVE!!!" Jynx stepped out of the way as Hitmonlee leapt through the air and aimed right at her, forcing him to miss and crash full force into the wall. Unfortunately, the force of the impact along with the earlier psychic attack made him faint. "Hitmonlee, return!" the Karate Master ordered as he face back to Steve. "I declare you the victor. I believe you have achieved a level of strength and endurance which has exceeded the expectations of this building." "Thank you, master," Steve said as he bowed. "However, you do realize that we cannot reward you victory with an emblem of our gym?" the Karate Master asked. "Instead, please take one of our fighting Pokemon." "I have another request," Steve told him. "Oh?" the Karate Master asked. "I would like to have a sword to assist me in future battles," Steve explained. He saw a few samurai swords displayed around the gym. "Very well then," the Karate Master granted as he began to open up a glass case and pull out an old carbon steel sword which had a nice curve to it and a beautifully carved handle made out of ivory to look like a dragon head. "Legend has it that this sword is centuries old and has been used to slay the dragons of ancient times. I trust that you will be able to use it wisely in the future." "Thank you, master," Steve said as he put the custom made sheath along his waist and placed the sword inside it's sheath. The sheath was designed with almost as much mastery as the sword itself. He smiled and left the Dojo. "Great Steve," Karen smiled as the walked back to Mark911's Tech Shop, "now you don't just act psychotic, but you have a deadly and out of date weapon now too. What exactly do you need a sword for, anyway?" "It's a guy thing," Steve explained. TBC -Spawn "Wise Pokemon trainers never get involved in a cat fight" -Brock To reply, remove "puters" from the e-mail address.