From: Time Lady <sailrgal@swbell.net> Subject: [PW!][League]Battle on the Rock Field Date: Saturday, December 04, 1999 11:25 PM Sarah Jane sat on the grass outside the rock field. Pteryx perched on her "mother's" knee as Sarah Jane fed her. Spunky gobbled his pokechow from his bowl, while Cuddles took her time. Shields also finished his snack. Sarah Jane only half paid attention to the Pokemon she was feeding. In the back of her mind, she went over strategies. The trainer she was facing was totally unknown to her.... she had no idea of how to plan. Sighing, she realized that two of her slots were taken by Cuddles and Spunky. As much as she would prefer to enter with a selection of 6 pokemon to choose from, she would have to enter with 4. Shields was a definite. But this would be a good place to test out potential teams for facing the elite 4. The trainer was fairly confident of her collection of pokemon in most fields. Psychic was her strongest area, she thought, then smiled ruefully. "Am I becoming like Sabrina was?" Her smile turned to a frown. "I don't want that.... I can't rely solely on my Psychic Pokemon.... that doesn't give me a well rounded team....." Nipper would be good for water. Her Tangela was also a well trained grass pokemon.... Ground and Rock were no problem.... Electric? Fire? "Hmmm.... I'll have to give Cherry Bomb and Starfire some more training...." she said to herself as she thought about her Voltorb and Ponyta. "My weakest area is flying.... other than my Butterfree, my other flying pokemon are still weak." Sarah Jane brushed away a tear. "I need to consider training either my Doduo or my Pidgey as a replacement for Bombadier.... I'm going to miss him....." Before Sarah Jane could linger further on images of her late Fearow, Pteryx squawked in alarm. The baby Aerodactyl hopped from its perch to Sarah Jane's lap. Cuddles and Spunky growled in warning. Forcing back panic at the thought of Team Rocket possibly trying to take her pokemon again, Sarah Jane handed Pteryx to Shields, then stood up. Relief showed in her face as she recognized the people approaching. Cuddles and Spunky watched as Sarah Jane ran up to the strangers and threw her arms around them. "Grandma.... Grandpa.... you don't know how glad I am to see you....." she began as tears ran down her cheeks. "I know sweetie," said Lillian Eckert as she embraced her granddaughter. "I'm sorry about your Fearow," said Xavier Eckert as he joined the hug. "Much more happened.... more than I could tell you then...." said Sarah Jane. "We figured as much. It's hard to talk over the phone," replied Lillian. "Niiii?" asked Cuddles enquiringly as the Nidoran looked up at Sarah Jane's grandparents. Spunky remained in a defensive position, growling at the strangers. After the recent strangeness, he wasn't taking any chances. Sarah Jane knelt down to the grass and petted him soothingly. "Calm down. These are my grandparents," she told the worried Nidorans. "Everything is okay." Her fears brushed away, Cuddles came over to Lillian and rubbed up against her ankles. Then Cuddles rose onto her hind legs. "Niiii?" "What a little dear," said Lillian as she obligingly picked up Cuddles. Spunky sat down. "They certainly live up to your descriptions," said Dr. Eckert. He knelt down and held out a hand to Spunky, who first sniffed it, then pounced on it. Sensing that the danger was over, Pteryx squawked for attention. Shields brought Pteryx over to Sarah Jane. "Shields is looking well," said Dr. Eckert as he looked at the Mr. Mime. "And I must say, you're doing a good job with the baby Aerodactyl. She'll be a strong flyer when she grows up." "That reminds me," said Sarah Jane as she picked up her backpack and pulls out some marked pokeballs. "Thanks for the lift Grandma. All my friends arrived in one piece. Though not everyone was thrilled with the flight." "It happens," laughed her grandmother. "Have you decided who to bring into the battle?" asked her grandfather. "I was trying to decide.... but it's difficult. I only have 4 available slots." "That's what I thought. I also figured that you wouldn't want to worry about having to keep Cuddles and Spunky under control while trying to concentrate on the gym battle. Your grandmother and I can keep an eye on them in the stands, while you use these." Dr. Eckert hands Sarah Jane two of her Pokeballs that he had brought from Rosetta. "Thank you," exclaimed Sarah Jane as she threw her arms around her grandfather again. Then she turns to Cuddles and Spunky. "You two will watch from the stands with Grandma and Grandpa." "RAN! Nidoran ran ran ni DO!" barked Spunky. "No Spunky," said Sarah Jane. "You and Cuddles still have a long way to go before you're ready to participate in a tournament." "Ran ni nido ran ran," complained Spunky. "You have a choice Spunky. Either you can watch the battle from the stands with my grandparents, or you can wait in your Pokeball until the battle is over." "Ni.... nido ni..." said Cuddles from Lillian's arms. "Well?" said Sarah Jane. Lillian and Xavier watched the exchange with amazement, and a little apprehension. "Ran...." agreed Spunky. Sarah Jane picked him up and handed him to her grandfather. She also handed her grandfather the two's pokeballs in case of emergency. Lillian put on Pteryx' carrier. "You be good," said Sarah Jane as she set the baby Aerodactyl in her carrier. "That goes for you two as well." "Would the next two trainers please report to the Rock Field?" announced the loudspeaker. Startled, Sarah Jane gasped "That's me! I need to go...." "Don't let us hold you up sweetie," said Lillian. "We'll find our seats in a few minutes." With a last hug and kiss to her grandparents and another warning to Spunky, Sarah Jane dashed off into the stadium, Shields close on her heels. Lillian turned to her husband. "We're going to have to discuss this with her sooner or later...." "After the tournament. It'll be easier to talk to her back home in Rosetta." ------ "Well Biff, it's just about time for our next battle on the Rock Field." "Right you are Buck. This next couple of challengers are both up-and-coming new trainers who look like they'll give the Elite Four a run for their money." "Here comes the green trainer, Eric Kaicho from Pewter. Eric just received his Earthbadge two months ago and is training hard before he tries for the Elite Four." A young man came out of the corridor. He appeared confident.... very confident.... "Eric certainly looks ready for this match Biff." "The red trainer is also entering the stadium, fresh from receiving the Volcanobadge in Cinnabar. Sarah Jane Eckert." Sarah Jane quietly enters the stadium. A few people laugh when they see the Mr. Mime beside her. "Don't underestimate this trainer. She hails from Rosetta Town and is the granddaughter of one of the deans of the university," said Biff. "I'll tell you," said Buck, "That Mr. Mime looks all business." "Oh man," said Eric. "They send a little girl with a clown out against me.... You shouldn't even be here kid." "I have my qualifications," replied Sarah Jane simply as she sized up her opponent. "And I have seven badges." She'd give this trainer a fight to remember. Predictably, Eric sent out a Sandslash. "Just as I thought," she told herself. "He's going to go with ground and rock types on the rock field. Not a good move..... "Asterik, go!" It was a gamble sending out her new Staryu, but she needed to see how well it fought. The referree lowered his flags, signalling the start of the match. "Sandslash, slash now!" "Asterik, Tackle!" The Sandslash, who had started its attack a fraction of a minute before Asterik, caught one of the Staryu's arms with its sharp claws. Asterik barely managed to move out of the way before it could attack again. "Recover now!" Asterik began to glow faintly. "Fury swipes now!" This time, Asterik was able to avoid the sharp swipes made by the Sandslash. "Water gun attack!" Asterik's water gun hit the Sandslash straight on, but didn't do as much damage as Sarah Jane had anticipated. She made two mental notes - one to increase Asterik's training and one to enhance Asterik's moves with a TM. "Keep the Water gun up!" "Poison Sting Sandshrew!" Summoning its last reserves of strength, Eric's Sandshrew stung Asterik with one of its stingers. However, it was too little, too late. The Ground Pokemon fell to the constant onslaught of water. "Victory to the red trainer," called the ref as he raised a red flag. "I went easy on you kid," growled Eric. "Onix, go!" Asterik didn't look too well as the poison coursed through its system. "Return," called Sarah Jane. She didn't hesitate as she sent out her Tangela. "Go Medusa!" The Tangela was dwarfed by the Onix as they waited for the referree. Sarah Jane planned her moves well. Mega Drain rejuvenated Medusa after a hit by the Onix's rock throw. The Onix tried Rage, but Medusa's constant use of Mega Drain wore the rock snake down, until the Onix collapsed. Medusa didn't even look wilted. "Victory to the red trainer," called the Referree. "Well, that's some planning on the part of the red trainer," said Buck. "Sarah Jane is up, 2 to 1. What do you think Eric is going to pull off of his belt now?" "I don't know," said Biff. "Let's hope that he doesn't try another rock or ground Pokemon." "Whatever he sends out, something tells me that Sarah Jane will be ready for him," ended Buck. Eric seemed to have a vein popping out of his head as he threw out his final Pokeball. "Hitmonchan, go!" "Chan!" Sarah Jane was only mildly surprised at the change in tactic from Rock/Ground to Fighting. As soon as the referree signalled the start of the round, Sarah Jane called out "Medusa, use your sleep powder!" "Agility now!" The Hitmonchan moved too quickly for Medusa's sleep powder to hit. This Pokemon was fast. "Fire Punch that ball of weeds!" "Tangela!" cried out Medusa as flames from the fire punch singed her vines. "Keep it up!" returned Eric almost gleefully."Burn baby, burn!" Sarah Jane looked at her opponent angrily. How could someone treat a pokemon that way? "Medusa, return," she called as she pulled the burned plant pokemon back. "Shields, you take this guy." With a nod, Shields stepped onto the field. "Gonna send in the clowns?" scoffed Eric. Sarah Jane just smiled. The referree started the final round. "Shields, use confusion," she said. With a brief nod of acknowledgment, Shields dodged a fire punch. Suddenly, the Hitmonchan clutched its head in pain. "Hey, what? Ice punch that clown!" Eric's Hitmonchan tried to comply and wound up punching itself in the face. "What are you doing? Punch the clown, not yourself!" "Chaaaannnn...." moaned the Hitmonchan. It only wound up hitting itself again. "Shields, use Psychic!" The Hitmonchan's mind began to clear briefly, but it was too late. It fell over, clutching its head, until it passed out. "Victory to the red trainer!" called the referee. "Nooooooo!!!!! I can't lose!!!!!!" complained Eric "Well, that's that," said Biff as the scoreboard read "Congradulations," with Sarah Jane's picture. "In an upset, Eric Kaicho has been defeated by newcomer Sarah Jane Eckert...." The rest of the announcer's discussions were lost as Sarah Jane embraced Shields. Looking up in the stands, she could see her grandparents cheering loudly. Cuddles and Spunky jumped excitedly as she waved at them. Sarah Jane was about to leave the field when a hoard of news people surrounded her. As she answered their questions, she wondered how her friends had done in their battles. -- (o)_(o) || Time Lady, sailrgal@swbell.net _(^*^)_ || sailrgal@hotmail.com, sailrgal@my-dejanews.com (__ __) || Visit the Mystic Manor Homepage /_/\_\ || http://members.tripod.com/~MysticManor