From: Bandraptor <bandraptor@aol.com> Subject: [PW!] Misty's Wrath Date: Monday, November 29, 1999 4:21 AM Misty had finished her morning swim for the day, and now she was getting dressed for an afternoon of gym battles. She slid a pair of leggless jean shorts over her bikini, being careful to leave the top unbuttoned, and the zipper half down. Then she wiggled into an orange halter top, keeping the neck loose, so anyone at eye level with her head could easily stare down the shirt. Next, she attached her leather suspenders, hiking her short shorts up even higher. She didn't have to worry about the suspenders chafing her exposed stomach, because, thanks to the way her body curved, they never came anywhere near it. Finally, she grabbed her Pokébelt, and hung it loosely around her waist. The youngest Cerulean Gym leader admired her reflection in the swimming pool, pleased to have finally surpassed her three sisters in fashion sense. She could tell they were jealous, because whenever she asked them how she looked, they sweatdropped, and came up with an excuse for leaving. From the other end of the gym, there came the sound of a door opening and closing. Blizzard the Persian strode purposefully into the gym, glad that she had found it, after what seemed like ten days of searching. On her way in, she passed a Slowpoke, who seemed to be in a daze, and paid her no heed. Blizzard couldn't help feeling a little insulted--after all, she was used to having everyone comment on her remarkable beauty. Under normal circumstances, she would have beaten the Slowpoke over the head, to teach it some manners; but today she had more important things to worry about. She sauntered over to where Misty was standing, and sat down before her. "A Persian?" Misty blinked, "What's a Persian doing in my gym?" "Persian shian shian persin purr sian persian shann shann purr," Blizzard explained. "What, are you hungry? We don't have any milk here. Just Calistoga, and some diet Frappuccinos! I don't suppose you'd want any of that..." "Persian shian persian persian persian shan!!!!" "Ash is stuck down the well?!?" Misty crossed her arms. "Well, I'm not calling the fire department this time! Tell him he can use his Bulbasaur or whatever, to get himself out!" "Persian shan shan persian..." Blizzard sighed, frustrated that Misty couldn't understand her request for a badge. "Persian persian shan persian shan shan persina persian shan shan persian!" "Are you sick?" Somehow, Misty managed to lift the puma-sized wildcat, and cuddle it against her chest! "Poor thing. We'll get you to the Poké Center, and Nurse Joy'll have you fixed right up!" Frightened by the prospect of getting 'fixed', Blizzard voiced her request with new resolve. She struggled in Misty's arms, and flailed her claws about, indicating that she wanted to fight! "Persian shian shian persian persian shan persian!!!!" One of her paws went flailing a little too wildly, and slashed Misty's shirt wide open! Although no more of her was revealed than before, Misty instinctively dropped the Persian, and clutched her chest. "Why, you!" Misty fumed, too upset to come up with anything more threatening than 'Why, you!' . "Grrr...that's it! I want a match, right now!" "Persian!" Blizzard smiled, pleased to have finally gotten through to the gym leader. She happily bounced across the floating mats that lay throughout the swimming pool, the slippery platforms being no problem for her, thanks to her many years in Seafoam. The Persian chose a platform that was to her liking, and took a seat, careful to avoid any puddles. "Hmm...." Misty stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Now, which Pokémon should I use? Tentacruel? Nah. Dewgong? Nah. Gyarados? Overkill. Staryu? Starmie? Too predictable. Goldeen? Better wait for it to evolve into Seaking. Horsea? Better wait for it to evolve into *something*. Togepi? Er...Maybe not. Psyduck?" "Psy!" *SMACK!* "Just a preventive measure." Misty tossed the mallet aside. "Ah, here we go. Misty calls Poliwrath!" On the platform across from Blizzard's, a large bluish-grey creature appeared. It glared at her with its big, angry eyes, and clenched its white gloves into fists. Somehow, it managed to grunt "Poli! Wrath!" despite the fact that it had no mouth. Blizzard cocked her head, trying to make heads or tails of the creature. Finally, she gave up, and turned back toward Misty. "Persian?" "Never seen one'a these before, eh?" Misty sneered, "Well, don't feel too bad--you're one of the many. We'll just have to ingrain it in your memory! Poliwrath! Let's give that cat a fight it'll never forget!" "Poliwrath!" For a long time, neither Blizzard nor the Poliwrath made a move. Blizzard was still trying to size up her bizarre opponent, wondering if she had any moves that would be effective against it. Bite was out, of course, because she didn't want to lick the vile, slimy tadpole. Slash would be her best bet then...but she really didn't want to touch the thing, even with her three inch claws. Payday? There was an attack she hadn't used for a while. Yes, a long range attack would be perfect for this situation. The Persian squinted at her opponent, judging the distance between them, calculating the trajectory of her coin toss... Poliwrath hadn't attacked yet, because it was busy performing Amnesia! Suddenly, its eyes snapped open. It leapt into the air, and came down in a cat stance. With a cry of "HA!" it clapped both fists together, then threw them out towards Blizzard, unleashing a Hydro Pump attack from its palms! Fortunately for Blizzard, this was one of those one-in-five chances, where Hydro Pump missed its mark completely. Unfortunately, the only reason it had missed her, was because Blizzard had jumped in the pool to dodge it. The very wet, and very unhappy Persian cat-paddled around the pool, finding it difficult to swim with her drenched fur weighing her down. "All right, Poliwrath," Misty snapped her fingers, "Now that it's in the water, there's no way you can lose! Not that there was any chance of losing to begin with! Get in there, and give it your Submission attack!" "Poli...wrath..." Poliwrath dove into the pool after Blizzard. It cut across the water with long, graceful strokes, and although Blizzard could normally run circles around a Poliwrath, she was out of her element, and unable to escape. When Poliwrath came close to its target, it latched onto her with all four limbs, and wrestled her to the bottom of the pool. Blizzard's eyes went wide, as they sunk deeper into the water, and throwing her vanity into the wind, she began to claw desperately at the Poliwrath's body. The burst of action caused her to run out of air more quickly, and within seconds, she felt like her lungs were about to burst. The surface of the water seemed to draw further away, and the Poliwrath's face in front of her became blurry. Blizzard felt a sudden snap at the back of her head, and then everything went dark... "Great job, Poliwrath!" Misty congratulated her Pokémon, as it lugged itself out of the pool, pulling the drowned Persian after it. "Now, what to do with a fainted Persian. Hmmm... Maybe I'll trade it to that guy down at the Earth Gym! He's always looking for Persians, and I could use that Kingler of his. Then again, I think I remember something about the Earth Gym being affiliated with Team Rocket. I'll just keep this Persian for myself! After all, a Classy Cat befits a classy Pokémon trainer like me!" Upon saying this, Misty carelessly shrugged off her torn halter top; and motioned for Poliwrath to follow her to the Pokémon Center, so they could heal her new Persian. As they left, a rather dazed Psyduck stood up, and realized that it was wearing the discarded garment atop its head. It blushed slightly, and decided to try it on. "Psy ai ai..." TBC... -Beth "Ii kanji!" http://members.aol.com/bandraptor