From: Time Lady <sailrgal@swbell.net> Subject: [PW!][League]Mowing down the Grass Field: Sarah Jane vs. Trevor Date: Thursday, December 30, 1999 10:06 PM Sarah Jane stood on the green trainer's platform, waiting for the referree to signal the start of the match. Shields stood next to her, waiting. Spunky stood facing a Gloom. She had promised the little Nidoran he could fight on the grass field. Otherwise, he'd be sulking for weeks over Cuddles getting to fight in a big battle. Cuddles was in the stands with her grandparents. So was Pteryx. Instinct told her to send Spunky out first. She hoped her instincts were right. Before they set foot into the stadium, Sarah Jane had made the Nidoran promise that he would explicitly follow her directions, even if she ordered him to return. If he failed to comply, he would be in big trouble. She left the rest up to his imagination. Now Spunky stood facing the Gloom. She could see him waiting, feel his anticipation. Across the field, she could see her opponent Trevor in the red box. Desperation burned in Trevor's eyes. Losing this match meant the end of the tournament and elimination for him. A win might still give him a chance to continue. Sarah Jane bit her lower lip. This would be a tough battle. The referree signalled the beginning of the match. "Poison powder!" ordered Trevor, who was surprised when Spunky shook off the powder. Poison powder would have little effect on a poison pokemon. "Spunky, Body Slam!" ordered Sarah Jane. Spunky ran at the Gloom and flung himself at it full force, bowling the Gloom over. The Gloom appeared stunned, whether from the force of the hit or surprise from that big of a hit coming from so young a pokemon. Trevor gaped in surprise. "Sleep Powder!" he called. The Gloom, still stunned, didn't comply, allowing Sarah Jane to order Spunky to Mega Kick. "Awww.... come on.... Stun Spore!" he begged. His Gloom roused itself enough to release more glittering powder. It was sheer luck that at moment, a small leaf landed on Spunky's nose, causing him to sneeze, effectively blowing away a large portion of the stun spore. He then followed Sarah Jane's Tackle order, sending the Gloom flying across the field. The Gloom, still somewhat stunned, was slow to follow it's next couple of orders, allowing Spunky to land another Body Slam and Mega Kick. In desperation, Trevor called for a Solarbeam attack. The time the Gloom took to unfurl its petals and start taking in sun was all Spunky needed to land a final Mega Kick, knocking the Gloom into the base of the red podium. "Come on, Gloom, get up!" begged Trevor. The Gloom struggled for a moment to rise to its feet, then collapsed. The referree declared gloom out of the match. Shaking his head disappointedly, Trevor recalled his Gloom, then sent out Exeggutor. Sarah Jane briefly contemplated recalling Spunky, but decided to let him continue as long as he was able to. The referree signaled the next match. "Barrage now!" called Trevor. Suddenly, Spunky found himself trying to avoid flying projectiles. He tripped, leaving an opening for the Exeggutor. Two of the projectiles hit Spunky in the side. The Nidoran growled angrily. Sarah Jane's eyes narrowed as she saw something she needed to deal with in Spunky's training.... something that didn't seem to happen with Cuddles. "Poison Sting Spunky!" Spunky tried to comply, but the thick, barklike exterior of the Exeggutor made it difficult to penetrate. "Hypnosis!" ordered Trevor. Suddenly, the little Nidoran found himself becoming very sleepy. "Come on Spunky.... stay awake...." Spunky tried to shake himself out of his sudden lethargy, but the Exeggutor was too strong. The referree checked Spunky and declared him asleep. Trevor sighed with relief as the scoreboard showed them even. Sarah Jane pulled Spunky into his Pokeball. She hesitated briefly, pushed a few buttons on her Pokedex, then threw out her Pokeball. "Let's go Starfire!" "Oh no.... I'm sunk...." muttered Trevor as he saw the Ponyta burst onto the field. Sarah Jane hoped that Starfire had been trained well before leaving the Big P Pokemon Ranch.... Again the referree lowered the flag. Trevor tried to barrage Starfire, but the Ponyta was way too fast. It ran circles around the Exeggutor, taking it by surprise with a Stomp. The Exeggutor began moving _very_ quickly, however, when Starfire's ember attack began to burn its leaves. The Exeggutor tried to attack with Hypnosis again, but couldn't concentrate due to it's now flaming leaves. With a regretful sigh, Trevor called back his smouldering Exeggutor. "Okay.... last chance.... you gotta win this one for me... go Muk!" said Trevor as he threw out his final Pokeball. Sarah Jane bit her lower lip again in contemplation. She decided again to leave Starfire out as long as she could, but she needed to decide what to send out in case it was necessary. Her assumtion was right, as Starfire's embers barely dented the Muk and her Stomps just squashed through the oozy creature. The Muk belched out gas, leaving Starfire coughing. A little while later, covered in Sludge, Starfire was barely able to move. Sarah Jane recalled the Ponyta, then sent Shields out, hoping that the Mr. Mime's Psychic attacks could prevail. Trevor looked as though he felt certain of a win. However, his Muk wasn't quite as mobile as Shields. A lucky Metronome resulted in Agility for Shields, helping him avoid the gas and sludge slung at him by the Muk. Shields retaliated with several psychic blasts, eventually leaving the Muk on the ground. Sarah Jane looked at Trevor, who had fallen to his knees in disbelief. She felt sorry for him. It was likely he would be elminated, while her eight points would probably mean a spot in the next round. She looked up towards the press box, where the announcer was as usual shrieking over his excitement, while the reporters were rapidly departing. Sarah Jane motioned to Shields. She had better leave too, before the vultures tried trapping her for another interview. She had two pokemon in need of treatment at the Pokemon Center, and didn't want to be detained another minute. Her grandparents would know to meet her there or at the central pavilion. [RL Note: I know.... this is a short battle from me, but I'm tired and its late] -- (o)_(o) || Time Lady, sailrgal@swbell.net _(^*^)_ || sailrgal@hotmail.com, sailrgal@my-dejanews.com (__ __) || Visit the Mystic Manor Homepage /_/\_\ || http://members.tripod.com/~MysticManor