From: Cat-Gonk <gjani@iinet.net.au> Subject: [PW!] Tourney Preparations, part 1/2 Date: Wednesday, December 01, 1999 9:38 PM Tourney Preparations, Part One of Two (I can't be buggered writing the rest of it now) By Cat-Gonk. Shrike touched down in the gardens outside the Hellion Six Star Circus, careful not to damage any of the delicate flowers and seedlings. Unlike her landing at Cinnabar, this one was more graceful and precise, her airspeed coming to almost a dead stop as she glided to a halt, her talons gently coming into contact with the ground. "When did Dad put this together?" The Six Star Circus was surrounded by the gardens, the ornate arrangements of trees and shrubs spreading out with the diameter of a city block. Pidgey nestled in the trees, Butterfree and Vileplume dancing nearby. A small pack of the famous Hellion Growlithe walked through the pathways, careful not to ignite anything with their burning breath. This couldn't have all been done in the space of a few months, could it? "Feeeearow." As soon as Felix dismounted, Shrike took off, entering the circus through the open roof. Felix walked around the gardens for a few moments, pausing to pet a wandering Vileplume, and walked into the building itself. Leon Charlesson held a brochure in his hand and was studying it carefully. Vektor trailed close behind, emitting a constant stream of otherwise-indecypherable blips. As soon as he heard the sliding doors close behind Felix, Leon looked up to greet him. "Felix! Have you heard of this?" Leon thrust the brochure into Felix's hands. A Pokeball was displayed on the front, the eight Gym Badges around it. It was for the Pokemon League Games. The pair sat down in the grandstands, freshly polished and gleaming. "Tournament matches are the best way of displaying your skill," said Leon. "The Gym Leaders aren't there to win, they're there to test your ability. In a tour, you're facing_real_opponents, people who want to win and not just see how good you are." Felix checked over the skill brackets. They were arranged in terms of badge numbers. "I can use my Tech Emblem to get into the 7+ division, right? I think my friends at Cinnabar would by on their way to Indigo, and I haven't had a chance to verse them yet." "I thought you would have fought them already," said Leon, reminiscing. "When I was a trainer, I fought almost all of my battles against Tick, we knew each other's every move and wildcard. By the way, I'll get around to telling you what it was I called you back here for after you win the Games." "Dad, I'm not that good. I don't have anything strong. My Pokemon are travelling companions, they aren't really built for combat." "Then why do you have them?", he laughed. Leon never had figured out why people prefered to keep Pokemon as pets rather than train them to fight. "Take them out, I'll tell you what's viable." Reaching for his Pokebelt, Felix ran his hand over the tops of all seven balls in one quick motion. Cygnet, Oddish, Galahad, Chansey, Seel, Flutterby and Clampion released themselves. Clampion floated towards his trainer, Leon, and fully opened its shell. "I've got one Pokemon in our Pokenet account, but I don't know where I got it from," explained Felix. "It's this beefed-up Kangaskhan. I couldn't have caught it, it's too strong. I'm pretty sure it belongs to someone else. Its trainer name is N-something, and it has a nickname, Kangas Rex." "I saw that, I mistook it for one of my own Pokemon. That thing's a tank. You should take him into the League, if he'll obey you, that is. But I'd be more afraid of the original owner." "I don't know, never opened the Pokeball." "Well, let's give him a test run, shall we?" Vektor morphed into a computer terminal, a cable rapidly extending from his "back" to the Pokenet connection in Leon's office. "He's in our box, right?" "Yep." Wallace and Sandstorm were training inside the ring. Starmine hovered around Percivore, who was training for the Strongman role in the circus, Lancelot had gone out for a bite to eat with Djinni. A green Pokeball landed into the ring from the grandstands, and released its contents in a flash of blue light. "Whoa!" Felix drew back slightly in fear. Kangas Rex was massive in size, an eight foot monstrosity with its hide studded by bony plates of armour. The Kangakhan's hands and feet were covered in what appeared to be bone shaped like the gauntlets and greaves of a suit of armour. Red, penetrating eyes glowered from the beast's head. Its pouch held a baby Kangashkan, whose smiling, baby-ish cuteness was a sharp contrast to the killing machine behind it. The Kangaskhan stood obediently, awaiting an order. Wallace and Sandstorm just looked at it, somewhat afraid despite their own power. Vektor's screen listed the creature as a League level 86, but something that terrifying could easily best the L100 Pokemon Leon wielded. There was only one way to be sure though. "Starmine! Percivore! Stop what you're doing and defend yourselves!" Leon hadn't barked an order for many, many years, the thrill of a battle against such a powerful opponent had taken him back. "Kangas Rex! Attack!" Starmine turned and let rip with a blast of electricity from the tip of its highest point before Kangas Rex could even draw a bearing on his assailant. Percivore continued bench-pressing, confident in his friend's ability. The Thunderbolt attack didn't even faze Kangas Rex, who broke into a charge headed straight for the two Pokemon. "I refitted Starmine's moves," said Leon. "He's more versatile now with Hydro Pump, Recover, Thunderbolt and Psychic. It's not like I used him in friendly matches anyhow." Spinning through the air like a disc, Starmine tried to pin Kangas Rex down with powerful Hydro Pump attacks, but the massive torrents of water glanced off Kangas Rex's hide. The water didn't even slow down its charge. Leaping up into the air, Starmine tried frantically to mentally alter its trajectory with Psychic, but to no avail. An armoured foot crashed down into Starmine's obsidian-black core, shattering it with the impact. "Don't worry. Getting back up again it what Starmine does." It would appear that Starmine had been dealt the final blow. But before it could touch the ground, it took off through the air spinning. Though shards of black crystal littered the ground, Starmine appeared to be in full health. Recover has healed it completely. "Starmine! Hydro Pump!" This time, Starmine focused the broad spray of its water jet into a thin, immensely powerful beam. The shot hit Kangas Rex's armour, and with the accompanying glass-like shatter of plates and bone, drilled through its left arm, Kangas Rex being too fast to hit in a lethal spot. Even with Starmine's accuracy training, the Kangaskhan moved too fast for the eye to follow, it was a blur of brown and black, almost appearing to split in half... "It's using a Double Team!" shouted Leon. "Hit it with Psychic!" Starmine's crystal glew white to match the rest of its body, the rapidly-moving Kangas Rex was hoisted off its feet by waves of psionic energy and slammed into the grandstand. Pulling itself together, Kangas Rex drew its hands back to its waist, and clenched them tightly. "Watch out! It's charging up a Mega Punch!" Blasts of inner energy lashed out from Kangas Rex's fists as it punched forwards, the scything bolts raking Starmine's body. The baby carried in its pouch held its fists out too, mimicking its parent. Starmine was too badly damaged to recover, and collapsed in a heap, its crystal flashing red. From behind Kangas Rex, Percivore lashed out with the barbell it had been carrying. While Kangas Rex and Starmine fought, Percivore had used his speed and agility to sneak up behind Kangas Rex. The massive, weight at the end of the barbell impacted sqarely in the back on Kangas Rex's armoured skull. It turned, unfazed, leant back in its tail and delivered a kick from both powerful legs. The stagbeetle-Pokemon was sent flying through the air, its carapace dented with two massive footprint-shapes. Summoning up all his agility, Percivore hit the wall feet-first, pushed off from it and vaulted down into the ring. Taunting Kangas Rex with a snap of its pincers, Percivore appeared to be undamaged by the otherwise lethal attack. "Percivore! Submission attack!" Leon was enjoying this. Kangas Rex was a baby in terms of level compared to his other Pokemon, but had already defeated one of his most lethal charges. If if could resist a fighting-type attack, which normal-type Pokemon are weak to, Kangas Rex would be unstoppable, and an invaluable asset in the Pokemon League Games. The two Pokemon rushed head-on at each other, Kangas Rex jumping down into the ring and Percivore leaping up to meet him. Kangas Rex had the weight advantage, but Percivore's two wickedly spiked pincers could chop it down before it had a chance to attack with a Headbutt or something similar. As Percivore and Kangas Rex passed each other, a bone-splintering crack filled the Circus, and the town, for that matter. The sound echoed through the very streets of Hellion. No ordinary Pokemon could survive that kind of damage. Felix and Leon watched in suspense and Kangas Rex and Percivore came to a stop. Percivore fell to the ground, a fist-mark pressed deep into his thorax. Kangas Rex had a slash across its body, but was otherwise undamaged. Now, Leon was scared. Percivore was next to unstoppable in hand to hand combat, but this newcomer had taken it down without sustaining anything worse than a flesh wound. Looking around, Wallace and Sandstorm were eying their potential foe nervously. Kangas Rex stood still, awaiting his next order or opponent. "I could have Djinni take him on," thought Leon, "just to see how much punishment he can take. Kangaskhan can't harm a Ghost-type." But that seemed like the wasy way out, he wanted to best his opponent in a fiar contest. "Hey! Come back!" Clampion had floated into the ring, ready for battle. Percivore and Starmine had been somewhat tamed by Leon, Clampion was with Felix. Though formerly the most mentally stable of the three, Clampion was now the most dangerous. Narrowing the opening in his shell, the bivalve-Pokemon prepared for combat. This time, Felix took control. "Clampion! Use Blizzard!" Felix remembered what Clampion's Ice moves could do. He had witnessed Clampion's Blizzard snap-freeze a palm tree, so that the slightest touch caused it to shatter into hundreds and thousands of pieces. Clampion's shell shined a bright blue, and hundreds of fragments of energy began to break off from its aura and launch themselves as Kangas Rex. Kangas Rex was forced to run into the grandstands. The bolts of ice froze instantly what they touched, chairs, railings, metal and flesh. The Kangaskhan struggled to keep moving, but could not, as the Blizzard began to freeze its armour, it could no longer support the extra weight of the ice. A sickening crunch filled the arena. Kangas Rex was unfrozen, but its own thick scaly armour had formed it a coffin. It could not escape from the icy prison Clampion had locked it in, and slowly, the organism inside began to die from its own skin. The baby Kangaskhan it carried had leapt out, and was clutching the ice-covered ankle of its parent, wailing. "Clampion! Return!" Clampion was about to close the distance and deliver the killing blow with its powerful Clamp, but obeyed Felix's command. It was good to have fought another battle for both its masters, thought the bivalve as it floated back to Leon and Felix's position on the grandstand. Leon brandished Kangas Rex's green Safari Ball, and returned it to the safety of the Pokeball. Cygnet flew over once the still-impressive behemoth was safely inside a Pokeball, and picked up the infant. "I like this guy," said Leon as he studied the smooth Safari Ball. "One Pokemon like this could win you a lot of battles. Are you going to take him with you to League?" "Nah," replied Felix. "I'd rather bring my own Pokemon. I wonder why the original owner of that Pokeball hasn't come searching for it yet?" "Maybe he's busy," said Leon, "or doing other things. I'm sure that he'll come to collect it someday, I sure wouldn't pass up a Pokemon like that. I wonder what else he carries?" "So, you've already got six Pokemon, Cygnet, Oddish, Galahad, Chansey, Seel and Flutterby." "Flutterby's too low in level. I'm unfamiliar with Seel. I'll really only have four Pokemon to choose from, and two days to train up." "Chansey and Galahad are your best bets, Farfetch'd are weak up in the high levels and Oddish is more of a mascot than anything else. But your Oddish is still pretty tank, and Cygnet thinks the same way you do in battle. I'd love to have a Pokemon that did that without telepathy, having a Mr Mime poke around inside your head is a frightening experience on the best of times." Settling down in a coffee shop, Felix and Leon began preparing for the Pokemon League Games. TBC..... -- Cat-Gonk: Novaa Valias Starr. ---------------------------- Do you believe in Goddish? AIM Screenames: CatGonk, Simyn Gonk, CatGonkNoMiko, Sailor Gonk, ATR CatGonk, Doc Oddish The Kitty Litter Box. http://catgonk.cjb.net/ The AGNP WebRing (currently hibernating). http://www.geocities.com/agnpring/ Azure Heights Pokemon Laboratory. http://www.geocities.com/~korelano Yoda Communications. http://yoda.pagehub.com The AGNP Pokezine. http://members.xoom.com/pokezine Spaceman's Pokecentre. http://iinet.net.au/~finebear Over 4000 posts to alt.games.nintendo.pokemon, and counting. -=|[Unknown AGNPer]|=- Email: catgonk@hotmail.com