From: Bandraptor <bandraptor@aol.com> Subject: Re: [PW!] She Blinded Me with Psyduck! (Continuation of POKE WARS!) Date: Thursday, December 23, 1999 5:53 AM > >"Your turn, kid" he said to Nori with a victorious smile as he passed her in >the hallway. "Meet me at the pokemon center, okay?" Nori just nodded, >wondering what was with the eye. "Uhhhh..." Nori stared after Shard, as he left the gym. "What an odd little man." Misty scowled impatiently, "Well, are you going to fight me, or not?" "Actually," Nori responded carefully, for she knew an irate Gym Leader was nothing to be trifled with, "I already have my Cascade Badge. I fought you a few months ago. Remember, I had the exploding Magmar..." Misty sweatdropped. "Hey, if you're not going to fight, stand aside, for those of us who are!" Nori spun around, to see a boy standing behind her. Actually, it wasn't fair to call him a boy, since he looked to be at least fifteen. He had messy red hair, that was tied into a ponytail in the back, but hung wildly in the front, and a self satisfied smirk that made Nori want to barf. "You heard me," he continued, "get outta my way! Gym Leader--I challenge you!" Now it was Misty's turn to look disgusted. "Grrr...I don't know who you are, but you're gonna be sorry you ever set foot inside this gym! Tentacruel, Go!" Misty's Tentacruel wasn't nearly as big as the one that had terrorized Puerto Vista a few years back, but it could get points for trying. It turned to the trainer who had insulted its master, and growled "...TENTA..." "That's the best you have?" the trainer nearly fell over laughing. "All right, let's get this over with. Terzo, go!" He pulled a Pokéball from his belt, and an instant later, a large Venusaur appeared beside him. Its face carried the same smug look as its trainer's. "Venu. Saur." Nori boggled at the massive creature, with its flattened head, and bulging eyes. "Ugh, what IS that thing?" "Don't you know *anything*?" the trainer sighed, in an almost scolding tone, "It's a Venusaur. The evolved form of Bulbasaur." "Ewww, you mean Fushigidane's gonna evolve into *that*?" Nori shuddered at the thought. The trainer grabbed Nori by the shirt, and led her to the far side of the room. "Look, why don't you stand over here for a while?" That done, he returned to the arena, and motioned to his Venusaur, who appeared to be in the middle of a staring match with Misty's Tentacruel, despite the fact that neither of them knew Leer. "Terzo! ...Eh, Mega Drain." "Ha!" Misty sneered, not even waiting for Terzo to finish its attack, "I guess you didn't know that Tentacruel have no weakness to Grass. Tentacruel, use Ice Beam!" "Crueeeelll..." Misty looked back at the pool, to see her Pokémon floating belly up in the water. "What the-- How did he--" Misty stomped up to the trainer, and stood on her tiptoes, to stare him right in the eye, "I know you cheated in that match, and I'm gonna find out how!" With that, she threw a Cascade Badge at his forehead, recalled her Pokémon, and stomped off to the Poké Center. Nori watched as the trainer pocketed the badge. "Wow...that was...something." "Bah." The trainer gave his Venusaur a kick in the stomach. "Terzo only won, because he outweighed it by about fifty levels. It didn't even make for a good show." "Yeah...but you got your Cascade Badge..." Nori cringed on the Venusaur's behalf, "...isn't that all that matters?" "I guess." the trainer shrugged, "though I already HAVE five of 'em." "Five?!?" The trainer sneered, and handed her a business card. "Andrew Benjamin. I deal in badges. Prices range from fifty dollars for one of these beauties...to a good two thousand for an Earth Badge. You seem like the sort of person who could make use of my services..." he added, with a laugh. "'What is that thing,' indeed." "Hey!" Nori threw the card to the ground, "I may not've seen every Pokémon in the world like you have, but at least I treat the ones I own with respect! ...Except for Rubix... Anyway, you shouldn't mistreat your Pokémon like that, or one day they might turn on you!" "Don't make me laugh," Andrew responded, although it appeared that she already had, "my Pokémon *have* to obey me. I have all eight badges. Besides, if I was all sweet and fatherly to all my Pokémon, do you think I'd have a team of level 100s today? Of course not! I'd have a bunch of fat, spoiled babies. But what's the point in telling you that? You probably smother all your Pokémon...why I bet you wouldn't even make a Pokémon evolve, if it didn't want to." "I know one thing. I'm not letting my Fushigidane evolve into one'a those Venus-things." "Whatever..." Andrew shook his head, and recalled Terzo back into its Pokéball. "I have three more gyms to hit by nightfall. Smell ya later." And after muttering the famous words of the former Pokémon League champion, Andrew found the door. Nori clenched her fists. "I don't like that guy," she said, to no one in particular, "I really don't like him. In fact, I think I hate him! If ever I make an official list of all my enemies, he's going right at the top! Well...right under Sarah Jane. Who doesn't count, because I'm going to kill her! Bwahaha!!!!" The girl flung open the door of the gym, and headed back to the Poké Center. TBC -Beth "Ii kanji!" http://members.aol.com/bandraptor