From: Karnivax <karnivax@my-deja.com> Subject: [PW!] [LEAGUE] Field of Screams Date: Saturday, December 11, 1999 10:23 AM Whee! More brutal Pokémon League fun... --FIELD OF SCREAMS-- Part 1 by Karnivax At the front desk of Indigo Stadium, the receptionist wheeled the field roulette monitor in front of Kyle and Jessica once again. The Ice Field monitor had been blacked out, verifying Kyle's earlier victory there. Kyle hit the red button, and the roulette came to a stop on the symbol of the Grass Field this time. "You know, Kyle, you might just want a grass Pokémon for this round," Jessica noted. "I'll lend you Tendril, if you want." "Grass Pokémon on the Grass Field? Where's the fun in that?" Kyle queried. "Kachuuu," Cathode said, hungry for attention as he sat atop Jessica's shoulder. Jessica scratched the young Pikachu behind the ears. The second monitor was wheeled in front of Kyle, and this monitor cycled through a new collection of faces as it picked out Kyle's second opponent. After fifteen seconds of cycling, the face that came up was one Jessica recognized but Kyle did not. "That's Jeanette Fischer," Jessica pointed out. "I saw her compete in round four against Ash Ketchum a few years back. I remember that she has a Scyther..." "Well, you don't spend six years training a Scyther without learning all its weaknesses," Kyle responded. "You *did* get Seaclamp and Thanatos healed up after the battle with Enzo, riiight?" Kyle scratched his head. "Well...I went to the Pokécenter...but you see, it was kinda crowded..." Jessica smirked. "You're sure you don't want any temp Pokémon?" "I'll be fine," Kyle replied, as he headed down the path to the Grass Field. "I've still got five Pokémon in cyber-storage, you know." "But...they're David Bradley's!" Jessica pointed out. "See you on the flip side," Kyle added as he disappeared into the stadium. Jessica sighed and headed back to her seat in the stands with Cathode. About forty-five minutes after Jessica took her seat, the scoreboard lit up and the commentator started introductions. Kyle headed out on to the field and took his place atop the red platform at one end of the field. "Greetings to all Pokéfans! The second round of the Pokémon League Games has begun!" the main commentator announced. The red platform rose up from the ground. "The red trainer in this Grass Field matchup is Cinnabar Island's Kyle Richter, who defeated odds-on favorite Vincenzo Larufa in a decisive first round Ice Field battle." The cheering that accompanied Kyle's introduction was considerably louder than it had been in the first round. A red carpet unfurled at the other side of the stadium as the kimono-clad Jeanette Fischer entered with head lowered. A lithe, short- haired woman walked alongside Jeanette and showered her with cherry blossom petals. A vast field of cheerleaders, band members, and martial artists dashed over to the sidelines to cheer Jeanette on. Jeanette took her place atop the green platform and lifted her head to look at her opponent as the platform rose. "The green trainer will be Jeanette Fischer, who has always been right at home on the Grass Field. As our viewers may recall, Jeanette was defeated in the fourth round of last year in an amazingly close Rock Field match." While this was going on, Kyle was fiddling with his Pokédex and summoning one of the Pokémon he had in cyber-storage. As Jessica watched, she smacked one hand against her forehead. _I hope you know what you're doing..._ she thought. The bald-headed, diminutive referee took his place on the sidelines and shoved a few of Jeanette's supporters out of the way in the process. "Let's get it on!" he shouted once again in his Southern drawl. The crowd cheered madly. Jeanette produced a Pokéball from seemingly out of nowhere and threw the spheroid into the field just as Kyle received his Pokéball of choice. "Beeee!" An angry Beedrill emerged from Jeanette's Pokéball. Kyle tossed down his Pokéball, and out came the only Pokémon in Kyle's cyber-storage area that was guaranteed to be obedient. "It's an Arcanine!" the commentator noticed. "Beedrill will have itswork cut out for it in this match!" Jeanette suddenly looked inordinately shocked...after all, many of her best Pokémon were weak against fire. "Oh, no!" Fenris the Arcanine had once been defeated by Koga's Beedrill, and the sight of another Beedrill made the fire-dog furious. Fenris took a defensive stance and growled fiercely. "Arrrrrc!!!" "Beedrill, use Swords Dance, then strike with your Poison Sting attack!" Jeanette ordered. Fenris's ferocious glare turned to a look of confusion as Beedrill landed, danced a brief mambo, and started glowing. Then Beedrill took flight again, pointed the massive stinger on the tip of its abdomen at Fenris, and tried to perforate the tiger- striped canine. The first sting attempt hit Fenris in the side of the neck, but that was the only sting attempt that hit. As if by reflex, Fenris used Agility and retreated from Beedrill's furious assault. "Take Down!" Kyle shouted. As Beedrill chased down the sprinting fire-dog, Fenris skidded to a stop on the moist grass and kicked Beedrill with his hind legs like a mule. With Beedrill momentarily stunned in midair and the Agility technique still in effect, Fenris turned, charged, and rammed his head into Beedrill's thorax, knocking the yellow and black beast out of the air. "Now, Bite attack!" Fenris flipped Beedrill over and then tore the insect's wings off with his teeth. The now-apterous Beedrill rolled away and stood up, awaiting further orders. The strict code under which Beedrill had been trained forbade him from showing pain in front of an enemy. "Fury Attack!" Jeanette cried. Beedrill charged on its frail legs and unleashed a piston-like flurry of drill strikes upon Fenris. Tufts of hair were torn from Fenris by the attack, but there did not seem to be any blood...except from the spot where Beedrill's Poison Sting had hit. With the two combatants close enough to feel each other's breath, Fenris sneered at the attacking bee and spontaneously hit the grounded insect in the face with a Flamethrower attack. The Flamethrower burned off significant portions of Beedrill's antennae, rendering him virtually blind. The nigh-helpless Beedrill, wondering where his target had gone, waved one drill about aimlessly. "Finish him off with another Take Down!" Kyle added. Fenris pointed his head skyward and let out a decidedly lupine howl. Then he dashed toward the stumbling Beedrill and rammed him into Jeanette's pillar. "Beeee...beeee..." the bug wheezed. Fenris backed away from Beedrill, and the insect slumped to the ground. "Beedrill is out of the match!" the referee bellowed, raising the red flag. A green light went out on the scoreboard. "And Kyle's Arcanine has utterly crushed Beedrill!" the commentator remarked. "Jeanette had best have one heck of a trick up her sleeve!" Jeanette, without the slightest loss of dignity present on her face, recalled Beedrill. "I would have wanted to save this Pokémon for last," she said, "but I suppose now is as good a time as any! Bellsprout, I choose you!" From Jeanette's second Pokéball came a shiny Bellsprout. "Bell," the plant said plainly as it took a fighting stance. "Sprout." "You have *got* to be joking," Kyle responded. "Toast it, Fenris!" Fenris opened his gaping maw wide and released a series of flame blasts. The nimble Bellsprout sidestepped the first shot effortlessly, then backflipped away from the subsequent blasts. Fenris sweatdropped. "Arc arcanine?" Kyle sweatdropped as well. "Try a Bite attack, then!" Fenris, planning to make the anthropomorphic plant into salad, jogged with head down and mouth open toward Bellsprout, who did not budge from his position. The second that Fenris was within leaf's reach, Bellsprout jabbed one of his leaves into Fenris's open mouth and flipped the Arcanine over on to his spine. "...The hell?" "Bell. Sprout." The miniscule plant crossed his leaves in anticipation as Fenris got back up. "Bell." Fenris growled less fiercely then before. He was starting to wear down. But before he could try to exact his revenge, the fight was interrupted by a man who leapt out of the audience with paper and pen in hand and ran over to Jeanette's pillar. "Jeanette, I'm your biggest fan!" the audience member blubbered. "Could I get your autograph?" Both Bellsprout and Fenris watched with surprise. Suddenly, a pair of Officer Jennys, accompanied by a Growlithe, dashed into action. "No spectators are allowed on the field without proper authorization!" one Jenny shouted. The fanboy did not move. This was his big chance! The other Jenny pointed to the raving fanboy and commanded, "Arcanine! Take Down attack!" The snarling Growlithe charged and rammed into the lawbreaker's legs, knocking him to the ground. The Jenny duo handcuffed the fanboy and started to cart him away. "Um...Officer, why did you just call that Growlithe 'Arcanine?'" Kyle queried loudly. One of the Jennys looked at Kyle indignantly. "What's wrong with having a Growlithe named Arcanine?" When Kyle failed to respond, the officers took the fanboy off to jail. Kyle let out an exasperated sigh. "Oookay." Then Fenris went right back to growling at Bellsprout while Bellsprout just gave Fenris the usual blank stare. Ignoring the affront upon her by the fanboy, Jeanette shouted, "Bellsprout, Razor Leaf attack!" Bellsprout jumped into the air and flung two sawtoothed green blades Fenris's way. Fenris sidestepped the first, but the second gashed his side. Blood that was almost invisible against Fenris's dark red fur dribbled down his body. "Arrr!!!" the fire-dog whimpered. He sent another flame blast at Bellsprout, but the slippery plant Pokémon jumped and flipped over the burning projectile. "Slam attack!" came Jeanette's next order. Bellsprout bounded toward Fenris and hammered the Arcanine's forehead with one surprisingly tough leg/root. Milliseconds before the Slam hit, Fenris saw Bellsprout's other leg in front of his face and quickly shot a spark from his canine nose. That was all it took. Bellsprout's leg caught on fire. Bellsprout's look was no longer blank. "Bell! Sprout!" he shrieked, frenetically beating his burning leg against the ground to smother the flames but only succeeding in setting the grass around him ablaze. Fenris, who seemed to be having trouble standing up, stumbled toward the burning Bellsprout and stamped him out like a cigarette. When Fenris moved his paw aside, the scorched and flattened Bellsprout lay unconscious in a circle of charred grass. Black smoke was rising from Bellsprout's stringy form. "Now that's what I call smoking weed," Kyle remarked. "Ba-da- bump!" Jessica and Cathode both sweatdropped. The referee raised the red flag again. "Jeanette has just one Pokémon left!" the commentator noted, as Jeanette withdrew Bellsprout and another green light went out on the scoreboard. "I thought Bellsprout was Jeanette's most powerful Pokémon...but judging by the look of confidence on Jeanette's face, she has something even better this year!" _Come on, Jeanette,_ Kyle thought. _Send out that Scyther of yours. You *know* you want to._ Jeanette sneered as she released her final Pokémon... TBC, of course... --K * A * R * N * I * V * A * X-- "Our wretched society is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road." --Voltaire Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.