From: Karnivax <karnivax@my-deja.com> Subject: [PW!] Best of the Best Date: Thursday, September 09, 1999 2:28 PM The subject that's going to be occupying my next couple of stories - Kyle versus the Elite Four - begins here! Finally! --BEST OF THE BEST-- Part 1 by Karnivax David Bradley and Goliath reappeared standing next to Panopticon inside the lair of his mysterious master, a dome-shaped subterranean room that was lit only by an eerie red light, as well as light coming from a large glass cylinder, in which a catatonic-looking Nidoking sat. Just above the Nidoking inside the cylinder was what looked like a miniature electromagnet, and it was arcing visible electric currents into the Nidoking's head. The master's consciousness had been gradually transferring itself into the Nidoking brain for almost a week now - the Descension, as the master called it, was well underway - but the process was going to take at least two more weeks to complete, as dubbing over entire consciousnesses was a very time-consuming endeavor. Standing next to the cylinder was the now-brainwashed Alakazam that had once belonged to Sabrina. The Alakazam was holding a burned-out Moon Stone that he had acquired at the top of Mount Moon and had used to evolve the former Nidorino into what he was currently. David then heard the booming voice of the master, which seemed to be coming from everywhere in the room at once. "It would seem I underestimated the strength of young Jessica Sullivan's traveling companions...a mistake I shall not make twice. Panopticon?" "Yesss, massster?" Panopticon responded. "When Proteus returns from the wedding in Celadon City, I want you to go with him to capture Jessica and bring her to me. Sending both of you may seem a bit excessive to you, I am certain...but I want absolute assurance that Jessica will not escape us again." Panopticon grudgingly responded, "I underssstand." He bowed down in front of his master, and subtly scowled when he thought about having to work together with Proteus. "David, you and your partner will remain here for now," the master continued. "Aside from the fact that I have not come across any other viable targets for you to capture of late, I can replace your hand while you are here." "That's a good one, master," David snorted, the pain from the loss of his left hand starting to abate slightly. "Observe," the master said. David then saw what looked like a small silver puddle sliding toward him. The puddle latched on to his left boot, then oozed up his body until it reached the end of the bloody stump where his left hand had once been. The puddle took on the shape of a left hand, then solidified into what felt like solid steel. "What in bloody 'ell?" David wondered. He had no feeling in his new left hand, but he found he could control it just as easily as he could his old left hand. "Your new hand is actually a dense swarm of microscopic robots united by a core consciousness," the master explained. "The term used to describe it is 'nanotechnology.' I learned a great deal about how to use it from the time I spent in Silph's research and development laboratories...apparently Silph believes nanotech is the wave of the future. The ignorant fools..." There was a bit of a pause. "But I digress. Your new hand also has limited shapeshifting abilities...it can not form anything particularly complex, but it can form solid metal objects, such as stabbing weapons. It reacts to your thought patterns." David thought about solid metal objects for a second, and then thought about a machete. No sooner had he thought about that than his left hand morphed into a machete blade. "Hmmm...ya know, I could get used to this," he said, grinning diabolically. He returned his metal hand to normal. "Massster...all thisss time, you have had accessss to sssuch powerful technology, and you never utilized it?" Panopticon asked. "Oh, but I have, Panopticon," the master replied. "The red jewel that serves as Proteus's power source is in fact a cluster of nanites." "Well...I sssuppossse what I mean isss...why do you ussse it ssso sssparingly?" "That is because I was only able to misappropriate a very limited number of nanites from Silph. The imbeciles there are constantly talking about how they are mere inches away from discovering how to make nanites self-replicating...yet, to this day, they still have not discovered how. If and when they do create self-replicating nanites, however, rest assured that I will procure at least one. Our nanite supply will never be depleted again..." "Jussst one other query," Panopticon continued. "Why isss it you are ssso interesssted in capturing young Sssullivan?" "Simple. Capturing four were-Scythers for the energy expenditure of one is an offer too good to pass up." Panopticon raised one eyebrow in puzzlement. "Four? I do not follow." The master just let out a dry, almost metallic laugh...his first laugh ever. Elsewhere, Grendel the Aerodactyl made a rough landing at the very top of the wind-swept high ground that was Indigo Plateau. At the top of the Plateau stood the imposing and ornate marble building commonly referred to as the Pokémon League Headquarters, a place only the greatest of Pokémon trainers - and perhaps a few enterprising folks looking to peddle various souvenirs - would ever set foot inside. Kyle and Jessica dismounted from Grendel, and Kyle recalled the prehistoric avian. Then the duo slowly headed for the massive entrance, followed closely by a small group of free-roaming Pokémon - a beaten-up black Gengar, a crestfallen white Charmeleon, a toddler Pikachu, and an amorous Scyther couple. Kyle was in little mood to enjoy the architecture. One of his most trusted and loyal Pokémon, the Arcanine known as Fenris, had recently been stolen by David Bradley and possibly was never to be seen again. His emotions as he wandered up to the main gate consisted of an uneven mixture of remorse and anger, with the latter being dominant. He fumed and muttered idle threats about how he was going to kill David throughout the whole flight to the Plateau. A burly guard stopped the crew as they reached the main entrance, which looked like the door to some massive cathedral. Kyle showed all eight of his badges to the guard, and the guard grunted that Kyle and six Pokémon could enter. The sentinel hit a button on the wall next to the door, and the door swung open, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound. As Kyle started to enter, the guard stopped Jessica. Jessica did not yet have all of the trainer badges, so the guard informed her that she could not go in. "Just go on without me for now," Jessica told Kyle. "When you come out, though, I want a full report on how you fared against the Elite Four..." "I'll remain out here as well, to protect Jessica from any sudden threats," Atropos announced. She took a ready stance in front of Jessica and started looking quickly from side to side. "That's...very thoughtful of you, Atropos," Jessica commented. Torrasque handed (so to speak) Cathode the Pikachu to Atropos. "Kyle can only take six Pokémon into the building, so please hold on to Cathode for a little while," Torrasque gently commanded. "I'll see you on the flipside..." Right before Torrasque disappeared into the building, he and Atropos blew kisses to each other. Then Kyle, Espio, and Thanatos entered, and the giant door slowly shut itself. "Chaaa..." Cathode wailed, waving goodbye to his owner. As Kyle entered, he saw before him a vaguely gymnasium-sized room. On one half of the room was a Pokémart with no customers in sight, and on the other half was a Pokécenter where one of the numerous Nurse Joys and a Chansey were sitting, fast asleep. "What were these people thinking, trying to set up businesses in this deserted place?" Torrasque remarked. "They forgot the three most important rules of starting a business: location, location, location." Kyle went over and rang the cobweb-adorned bell on the counter of the Pokécenter, and Nurse Joy and Chansey sprung to life. "Wha...a visitor? Why, it's been months!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. "So, do you need helping? Errr...no, wait, that's not it...sorry, I'm a little out of practice." Nurse Joy pondered deeply for a few seconds, then asked, "How can I help you?" She grinned from ear to ear. Kyle dropped the Pokéball containing Seaclamp the Cloyster on the counter, then, in spite of the fact Kyle knew how much Thanatos hated Pokéballs, he beamed the weakened Thanatos into a Pokéball and then placed the red and white orb on the desk. "Okay!" Nurse Joy said cheerily. "We'll have your Pokémon up and fighting in no time." Chansey grabbed the two Pokéballs and then headed into a back room, followed by Joy. There were two metal chairs sitting in front of the counter, and Kyle and Torrasque immediately sat down, leaving Espio standing. "Of course, I'm the one who doesn't get a seat," Espio muttered. So Torrasque selflessly got up from his chair and motioned for Espio to sit down in it. "Oh, you only got up because the chair didn't fit that fat abdomen of yours," Espio snorted at Torrasque. Espio sat down in the empty seat nonetheless, but it was not long before his powerful tail-flame melted the whole chair into a bubbling puddle of slag. "I deserve this," he whimpered, as he sat in the glowing molten metal. He buried his saurian face in his hands. Nearly an hour later, Nurse Joy and Chansey reappeared, and returned the two fully-healed Pokémon to Kyle. He attached the two occupied Pokéballs to his belt. "Now, guys," he said to Espio and Torrasque, "I don't want the Elite Four to know which Pokémon I have until I send them out. So I'm going to have to put you in Pokéballs." Espio had no objections, but Torrasque certainly did. His shoulders sunk, and he frowned. "At least this is the last time I'll have to go inside one of those stupid little things," he grunted. Kyle beamed Torrasque and Espio into their respective Pokéballs, then headed for the door that led to the first member of the Elite Four. --BEST OF THE BEST-- Part 2 by Karnivax Beyond the wooden portal was a rectangular, tennis court-sized room with a Pokémon arena in the middle, marked in white paint. Surrounding the arena was a deep moat of sorts, with only thin wooden bridges leading to the designated fighting area and to the door on the far side of the room which led to the next trainer. The room appeared deserted, so Kyle crossed the arena and tried to open the door to the next room. It was locked. It was then that he saw a cluster of bubbles forming on the surface of the moat. The cluster moved toward the opposite side of the arena, and as Kyle watched, he saw something living starting to rise to the surface. Then, all of a sudden, a massive Lapras jumped out of the water and slammed down on one end of the arena, letting out a shrill wail. Kyle was nearly frightened out of his wits. Sitting on the Lapras's back was a woman who looked to be in her twenties. She was wearing goggles and a rubbery black diving suit. She had a belt with five Pokéballs attached. She removed her goggles, then produced from an almost invisible pocket in her diving suit a pair of glasses. She put the glasses on. "Impressive entrance, no?" she said. She took a good look at Kyle. "Though I suppose you'd never be able to appreciate it. I've seen your kind a thousand times before. You're just another one of those mediocre teenage trainers who spends more time training their Pokémon than they do maintaining their hygiene. Why, just look at that unshaven countenance of yours! It's positively repulsive!" Kyle scowled, not taking kindly to having his face insulted. "And you are...?" "My name is Lorelei, of the Elite Four. And since you're obviously here to battle my mighty ice Pokémon, we might as well cut right to the chase. We'll both choose three Pokémon. If Goddish is smiling on you today and you somehow defeat my Pokémon, I'll open the door to the next room." She reached for a Pokéball. "I select...Dewgong!" From her Pokéball came a rotund, blubbery sea lion- like Pokémon. "Gong, gong, dew gong, gong," Dewgong barked, clapping her front flippers together. "Hmmm...what beats ice?" Kyle wondered, having never encountered an ice Pokémon before. "Fire would make sense...Charmeleon, go!" Kyle then released Espio. The white Charmeleon beamed his unnecessary clothing back into his Pokéball and took his place on the battlefield. "Let's get this over with," he said. He beckoned to Dewgong. "Dewgong, Water Gun!" Lorelei commanded. Espio froze up upon hearing those words. Seconds later, Espio was splashed with a hose- like blast of water and was nearly knocked out of the arena. He shook his head and managed rather easily to hold on to consciousness. Water Gun was one of the weaker water attacks, after all. "Water?! You said you used ice Pokémon!" Kyle cried. He recalled Espio, knowing he had no hope of winning. "I didn't say they were purely ice Pokémon," Lorelei responded. "Now send out your next Pokémon." "Fine...I'll go with Machamp!" Kyle unleashed Ares the Machamp, who was dressed in his Rocky Maivia attire: a pair of sunglasses, and a blue-and-white, unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt. He removed his shirt and shades, then showed off his giant muscles for several seconds. "Maaaaachaaaaamp!!!" he boomed, pretending to talk into a microphone. Lorelei sweatdropped, knowing fighting Pokémon had a distinct advantage over ice Pokémon. Kyle quickly commanded Ares to perform Seismic Toss, and almost effortlessly, Ares lifted the corpulent Dewgong with one arm and leapt straight up into the air, swinging the sea lion in a circle before slamming it back to the ground. Dewgong let out a cry of pain and flopped over to Lorelei's side. "Use Aurora Beam!" Lorelei commanded. Dewgong gathered energy for a few moments, then spit out a light blue energy blast which Ares almost dodged. It covered his left upper arm in a heavy layer of frost. Ares put little thought into his frozen arm and went on fighting. Kyle called for a Karate Chop, and Ares chopped at Dewgong's head twice, dizzying the sea lion briefly. After a frenzied order from Lorelei, Dewgong bounced at Ares and pounded him with a Body Slam, pinning him to the ground. "Try Low Kick!" Kyle shouted. Ares rolled out from underneath the heavy Dewgong, then gave it a low roundhouse kick to the belly. Dewgong's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets as the wind was knocked out of her. "Well! Dewgong doesn't like fighting-type attacks too much, does she?" Kyle noted. "Ares, use Low Kick again!" Ares kicked Dewgong a second time, and she was knocked clear out of the arena and into the moat. Lorelei recalled Dewgong. "That was just luck!" Lorelei snorted. "Jynx, go!" From Lorelei's next Pokéball came what had to be the most hideous Pokémon Kyle had ever seen. It was humanoid, and evidently female, but it was short and rather fat, and had freakishly large lips. Even Ares was shaken by Jynx's peculiar appearance. "Jynx, Lovely Kiss!" ordered Lorelei immediately. Jynx puckered up, and Ares lost his composure as he realized he was about to be smooched. He broke down into tears and ran over to Kyle, begging in Poké-ese to be recalled. Kyle obliged, a little stunned that Ares had not even tried to fight Jynx. Kyle then sent out Espio again. "Ugh!" Espio commented, taking a look at his new opponent. He shielded his eyes from Jynx. "When did humans and Pokémon start having kids?" "Just look at it and toast it with Flamethrower, and you won't have to look at it any more," Kyle suggested. "Ice Punch!" Lorelei suggested simultaneously. Jynx clenched her left hand into a fist, and it started glowing with a blue aura. She quickly charged and landed a left jab on Espio's chin, thus encasing him in a thin layer of ice. It did not hold the Charmeleon for long, however. The ice melted away, and the angry Espio hit Jynx with a massive blue Flamethrower attack from each index talon. When the flames subsided, the scorched Jynx just stood still for a few seconds with tears welling up in her eyes, seemingly ignoring the fact that her hair was on fire. "Jynx jynx?" she whined dejectedly. "Finish off that...thing...with a Slash," Kyle commanded. Espio gave Jynx a backhand Slash to the face, and the freakish humanoid keeled over. Lorelei smacked herself in the face and beamed Jynx back into her Pokéball. Both Espio and Kyle exclaimed, "Thank you!" "I've been toying with you this whole time," Lorelei lied. "For my final Pokémon, I select Lapras!" Lorelei dismounted from the Lapras she had been sitting on, and sent the plesiosaur Pokémon into the battlefield. "Hang in there, Espio! Give it your Fire Spin!" shouted Kyle. Espio lit his left hand talons on fire, then leapt toward Lapras and spun around in midair with his claws outstretched, in a way combining Fire Spin with Slash. The fiery claw attack hit Lapras dead-on, but hardly even scratched the giant aquatic reptile. "Errr...Dig?" suggested Kyle. Espio did not get a chance to follow that order. Lorelei called for Hydro Pump, and before Espio knew what was going on, Lapras let out an almost earsplitting roar and lowered its head as a giant waterspout burst up from the ground underneath Espio and launched him straight into the air. He crashed back down near Kyle. Espio made a valiant attempt to get up, but halfway there he stumbled back to the floor, panting heavily. "Game...set...maaatch..." he moaned shortly before losing consciousness. "Damn! I'm down one Pokémon already..." Kyle noted, realizing that he should have bought some items at the Pokémart before battling. He recalled the fainted Espio and unleashed Ares for the second time. "Ares, you've got the upper hand against ice Pokémon! Just keep using Low Kick until it drops!" Ares nodded in agreement and charged at Lapras. "Body Slam, quickly!" Faster than the musclebound Ares could run, Lapras threw its weight around and hammered Ares with a Body Slam. The sound that resulted from the slam was the disgusting sound of something snapping. Ares had dislocated an arm. Kyle heard not a cry of pain from Ares. Ares gave Lapras a mighty Low Kick in the gut, freeing himself from underneath Lapras's impressive girth. Then Ares stood, held on to the dislocated arm, and simply popped it back into place. His face bore a pained sneer, but he said nothing. Lorelei grimaced, as she was positively repulsed. Ares dashed at Lapras and Low Kicked her in the belly. She doubled over. Ares Low Kicked her for the third time, and Lapras almost fell. "Sing!" Lorelei called out. Lapras backed away from Ares, then closed her eyes and started to sing a whalesong-like melody, her own name being the only lyrics. Ares stood still, wondering what was going on for several seconds. But by the time he realized what Lapras was doing to him, it was too late. He fell sleeping to the floor. "Argh! Now what am I supposed to use?" Kyle groaned as he returned Ares to his Pokéball. In desperation, he shouted "Cloyster, your turn!" and released Seaclamp. Seaclamp slowly opened his shell, expecting a threat. "Cloyssster?" Seaclamp said in an unusually high-pitched, feminine voice. Seaclamp then rapidly slammed his shell shut. "Now is not the time to be taking up soprano, Seaclamp!" Kyle snorted. "Don't you know anything about your Pokémon?" Lorelei scoffed. "Oysters can change gender at will...and so can Cloysters!" "Wonderful..." Kyle commented. "Seaclamp, use your...uh...Spike Cannon!" Seaclamp paid no attention at first. She was too busy being scared out of her wits by the giant Lapras that stood before her. Lapras grinned, believing she had the battle all sealed up. Knowing Surf, Hydro Pump, and Ice Beam probably were not going to do Seaclamp in, Lorelei called for another Body Slam. The awkward Lapras flopped its way toward Seaclamp, ready to splatter the Cloyster all over the room. But as Lapras jumped, Seaclamp opened her shell a crack and, like a rocket, the long spike that was sticking out from just above her core launched right at Lapras. It hit Lapras square in the body, then exploded violently, stopping the Body Slam dead. Lapras hit the ground hard and shook her head, trying to recover. Lorelei was thunderstruck. She watched helplessly as Seaclamp fired another exploding spike at Lapras, striking her in her thick, scaly neck. The blast flipped Lapras over and on to her back. When Lapras opened her eyes, they were swirling around in her head. "This can't be happening!" Lorelei cried. "Lapras, get up!" Lapras thrashed and flopped about madly for several seconds, but like a capsized Squirtle, a capsized Lapras had little to no hope of righting itself without help. Lorelei sighed and called the helpless Lapras back. "If she hadn't fallen, those two measly spikes never would have stopped her..." Lorelei asserted. Insult was added to injury when another new spike mystically appeared, loaded into Seaclamp's Spike Cannon. "All right, I'll open the door," Lorelei grudgingly announced. "You can go on to fight the next trainer. But sooner or later that incredible luck of yours is going to run out. Somewhere along the line, one of the Elite Four is going to crush you!" Kyle called back Seaclamp. "That remains to be seen," Kyle said slyly. He knew that even if all else failed, he had the mighty Torrasque as a last-ditch weapon. Lorelei walked over to the door that led to the next member of the Elite Four, then unlocked and opened the wooden portal. Kyle walked through the doorway, and the door slammed shut behind him. Hard to believe, but I'm actually planning on giving this story two or three more parts... --K * A * R * N * I * V * A * X-- "Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the former." --Albert Einstein Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Share what you know. Learn what you don't.