From: <lordlocke@my-deja.com> Subject: Re: [PW!] Black-Flamed Phoenix: Fun and Mind Games Date: Tuesday, November 02, 1999 8:20 PM (OOC: Sorry it's so late, but my internet connection has been as buggy as hell. My ISP is upgrading their server soon, so I'll be posting more regularly once again in the near future...) As the shorts kid and Brock went to the battle area, Andrew and Mara hung around the enterance. "If Gads is coming, he's gotta go through here." Andrew sat down and pulled out his guitar. Mara kept looking in the direction of the arena. "Isn't it odd that a shorts kid is challenging Brock?" "Nah. They do so consitantly. They figure that if they can start beating him, they can get an offical gym of their own. They have an unoffical one hidden on the way to Mt. Moon, but almost no one ever stumbles in on it..." Andrew began to play a soft melody. "I never heard of it. Then again, it'd be tough to take a gym lead by a Shorts Kid seriously." Mara sat down on the other side of the doors. "Mankey... man man man..." Monk-chan just stood in front of the doors. There was something wrong... that shorts kid seemed funny... Andrew stopped playing and looked at the worried Monk-chan. "Don't worry my good Mankey, there's no way a levitating, twisted, demented psychic is getting past us. This is the only way to Brock, and unless Gads can turn invisible, we won't miss him." Andrew looked over at Mara, who has sunk into depression again, hearing what Gads had seemingly become. "*Sigh* I just hope we can talk some sence into him..." "You still kicking yourself? What's done is done. What matters is that you're making an effort do make right out of what's wrong." Andrew began playing again, this time something more uplifting. "I know..." Inside the arena... Brock moved over to his side of the battle area. The shorts kid stood on his side. The platform slid into place, turning the simple arena into something more like an rock quarry. "This will be 2 on 2 battle. No time limit." Brock smiled to himself. 'No matter how many times they challenge, I always look forward to these fights with the Shorts Clan. I can win these!' "Got it. I'll start with... PIDGY! GO PIDGY!" The small bird pokemon appeared in front of the kid. If Brock had been paying attention, he might of seen the kid smirking. "I'll use GEODUDE!" Geodude appeared in front of Brock, upon one of the smaller rocks. "Pidgy, QUICK ATTACK!" "GEODUDE, ROCK THROW!" The Pidgy darted around like mad as Geodude hefted the rock it was resting upon. Just as the Geodude got the rock over it's head, the Pidgy swept in and smacked the boulder Pokemon in the face with a wing. While it didn't hurt Geodude much, it DID cause it to drop the rock right on top of itself, which DID hurt it. "Now Pidgy, SAND-ATTACK!" The Pidgy landed long enough to kick some of the loose dirt into the eyes of Geodude. "Geodude, TACKLE!" Despite not being able to see, the Geodude lunged at it's target. Pidgy, not fast enough to avoid it, got slammed by the attack, and fell to the ground. However, once it got up, it started glowing white, and grew. When all the special effects were finished, it was a Pidgeotto. "All RIGHT! Pidgy... I mean Pidgeotto, WHIRLWIND!" The newly-evolved Pidgeotto created a large whirlwind, which caught the recovering Geodude head-on. Geodude was lifted up a good 15 feet, then dropped to the ground, knocking it out. 'Wha? A Pidgeotto beating Geodude? Grrr...' "Geodude, return!" The KO'ed rock Pokemon returned to it's pokeball. Meanwhile, Pidgeotto flew to the top of one of the taller boulders and began to clean itself. "Go ONIX! BIND THAT PIDGEOTTO!" The rock snake appeared, let out a mighty roar, then lunged at the unprepared Pidgeotto. "PIDGEOTTO! STOP SCREWING AROUND! AGILITY!" Too late, as Onix reached it and wrapped itself around the cockey bird. "Pid.. pid... PIDGEOTTO!" "Damn it... Pidgeotto return! Go... RATTATA!" Gnawer appeared, looking questingly at it's trainer. The shorts kid bigsweatted, then whispered to the Rattata. "For now, you're Rattata, ok?" "Rat." The Rattata turned to the Onix. "Are you kidding? A Rattata? Just forfit..." "No way!" "Fine. Onix, BIND IT!" "Not this time! Rattata, Quick Attack!" The Onix lunged at the Rattata, but it was to no avail, as by the time it got there, the Rattata was gone. The Onix looked around... ... but forgot to look up. The Rattata came crashing onto the Onix's head. A minor annoyance to the Onix, but put the Rattata into safety. "Rattata, Tail Whip!" The Rattata wagged it's tail in the face of Onix. This had the effect of pissing off both Onix and Brock. "ONIX! RAGE!" The Onix started slamming itself around, into rocks, boulders, the floor, and once, even the ceiling. However, every time it contacted with an object, the Rattata had moved to another part of it's body. After a few moments of this, Onix stopped, exausted. "Rattata, HYPER FANG!" Gnawer bit down into the only soft area of Onix, it's eyes. This made it start thrashing around again. Brock cried out to his enraged Onix. "No, Onix, STOP!" However, the Onix was too pissed to care. At it's first chance, the Rattata lept off onto one of the taller rocks, watching as the Onix threw itself around. The Onix finally stopped when colliding into the rock with the Rattata on it. The Rattata fell off, onto the ground, but the rock was destroyed, falling around the Onix. The Rattata, after a moment, got up. Onix didn't. It was out cold. "You... you won..." Brock held his head down in shame. 'I lost to a shorts kid... a SHORTS kid...' The Shorts Kid was in mid-celebration. "YEAH! Brock goes DOWN! I wonder..." "Wonder what?" Brock looked questioningly at the kid. "Well... you lose another battle, but you never used your best Pokemon..." "Onix came out... are you blind?" "Not Onix... your Vulpix." The Shorts Kid almost grinned, but settled for a smirk. "Vulpix? But he's not rock..." "Does the Pokemon League REQUIRE you to use a theme?" "Well... no..." "Tell you what. I'll give you a chance to regain some dignity. You can keep your badge... if Vulpix defeats Rattata. If I win, you gotta advertize it in your cafe. Poster, the works." Brock though about it for a moment. 'I don't want another loss... and that Rattata is no match for Vulpix...' "You're on! GO VULPIX!" The fire fox came out, and yawned. It had just woken up from a nap. After all, it's not often that Brock used it in Gym battles... "Rattata, Hyper Fang!" "Vulpix, Flamethrower!" The Rattata began dashing at the Vulpix, who shot out a wave of fire at the Rattata. It almost got there, but Vulpix let out another wave, this time singing the hairs on one side. "Damn... Rattata, QUICK ATTACK!" "Keep it up, Vulpix!" Once again, the Rattata dashed at the Vulpix. This time, however, it's focus was on speed. Vulpix missed with it's first flamethrower... and didn't have time to let out a second, as Gnawer ran into it's side, flinging it into a rock. "Now, Rattata... BUBBLEBEAM!" "WHAT! BUBBLEBEAM?" Brock was utterly confused. Bubblebeam? On a Rattata? Sure enough, the Rattata shot out a high-powered jet of bubbles at the Vulpix, slamming it into the rock once again. "Heh... who'd a thought that that TM that came with the badge I won from Misty would be so useful... or that it could be taught to a lowly Rattata..." "You... beat Misty?" This time, the shorts kid DID grin. Showing off a gleaming pair of fangs. "Oh, yes. Roughed her up REAL good. I hear her Starmie's still in intensive care..." The shorts kid reached under his shirt, and untied something... which turned out to be a tail. "G... g... Gads?" Brock was worried now. "Ah... you heard of me. I didn't know I was that famous. Gnawer, Bubblebeam again!" The Rattata shot another jet-stream of bubbles at Vulpix, which was now crumpled down against the rock. "VUL... PIX!" The fire Pokemon cried out in agony. "S... STOP IT!" Brock pleaded. Gads dumped a bottle of water over his hair, rincing the dye out and showing it's currently-natural white color. "Oh, but I think not. I'm rather enjoying the show. Aren't you." "Why YOU!" Brock built up some courage and lunged at Gads... just to be telekinetically slammed into another rock. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit a cripple?" Gads stopped his faux-standing and referted back to full-float. "But... I saw... you... walk..." Brock grunted out as the psychic powers held him in place. "A simple telekinetic trick. I moved my legs individually with telekinesis. Gnawer, another Bubblebeam." The Rattata shot out another wave of bubbles. Besides a small whimper, the Vulpix didn't do anything. "Stop... please... don't do this..." "Oh no... you're going to watch me destroy you through what you value most... for you, that would be that... soggy fur coat over there." "You... are... crazy..." Brock slumped down as Gads releaced his psychic hold on him. "I beg to differ. I'm thinking more clearly than I have in my entire life..." At the doors to the Gym... "Gads must be way behind. It's been over half an hour, and no sign of him." Andrew stopped playing again, and looked over at Monk-chan. He looked ready to run into the arena. "Heh, you planning to win a badge for yourself, MC?" Suddenly, a small legion of shorts kids ran up, lead by one in a... pink, frilly lass dress. Mara looked at the group. "You here to cheer on your buddy? He's right inside, but the battle's been going on for a while now..." "Buddy?" The Lass/Shorts-Kid turned around and took a quick tally. One... two... three... four... five... six... nope. All members of their group was accounted for. "If it's a shorts kid in there, it's an independant one. What did he look like." "Well, you know... shorts, shirt... he did have blue-green hair... a lot like yours..." "Like mine... but... the dye I use for my hair is only sold in one place..." He turned to his fellow Shorts kids. "The bastard's in there. The one with the tail that stole my clothing, my dye, my Pidgy, and most importantly, MY SHORTS!" Andrew and Mara's jaws both dropped. Andrew stuttered out. "O-o-one with..." Mara finished. "A-a tail?" They looked at each other. "GADS! But that means..." They heard Brock cry out from inside the gym. "Oh no..." Mara charged through the doors, Andrew and Monk-chan on her heels. Seven angered Shorts Kids followed closely behind. TBC? (OOC: Heh... Shorts Kids. Gotta love all the fun things you can do with them... and TO them. After what I did to that one... I couldn't just leave them alone. Maybe they'll have some vengance. Or maybe not. They ARE shorts kids, after all.) From your friendly, neghborhood LORDLOCKE Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.