-=Game=- Dragon Tamers Battle Range version 19! (M.A. by Pidgeot)

[The Pet Keeper]

(how long will the current scenario stay up?)

[Lady Vulpix]

Ok, Parsec's Politoed! You can have your stamps now.
Anna, the scenario won't change until someone gets to post a whole story for it. Many of us are either writing or planning to write ours, so it will remain up for a while.

[Matt]

Hello everyone. I would like to ask for a time extinsion thingy for this scenario. I don't know how long this may take me to write =P. I'm going to start writting it now, but it still might take me a while. So thanks.

[Lady Vulpix]

Ok, Matt. I doubt you'll need it, but you can have it.
Has anyone else noticed the board is having problems? I hope this post comes out below Matt's, where it's supposed to be.

[The Pet Keeper]

i was free from school so i wrote this, but it doesn't have anything to do with the current scenario

----
They had spent hours in complete darkness with only their hands to guide themselves with. Just when each one had slowly started to give up their hope (except for Zed who kept on charging up everyone) when Silver squeaked “Look, light!”
“Very funny”, grunted Illusion.
“I can see it too” said Anna with excitement and the whole party stumbled throw the cave and saw how the light became stronger.
”It’s a hole, a way out!” cried Anna and rushed throw the rock tunnel. The tunnel became brighter and turned into a cave. Anna saw a clefable who stared at the yelling human who popped up from nowhere with surprise. Anna just took a fast glimpse at him, she had never seen a real clefable before, but she could only think of the opening.

Soon the entire team was gathered in the opening of the cave; Zed, Illusion, Nemesis, Silver, Anna and Titan. Titan spotted the clefable and loudly barked at him, but the clefable just tenderly jumped over to the angry kabuto, softly slapped her and then he giggling disappeared into the darkness. Titan was just going to rush after the clefable but she was stopped by Illusion.
“Don’t you dare to run back in there”, told Illusion the young kabuto and picked her up. Titan soon forgot the clefable and tangled up mustache of Illusion instead.
“You’ll take her”, Illusion irritably handed the baby kabuto to Anna and then Illusion tried to fix her messed up fuzz with her claws.

The area outside the cave was a huge grass field, surrounded by reddish mountains.
“We are still in the mountains” said Nemesis and pulled Annas sleeve to get attention. “It’s cold too”, Anna nodded to Nemesis. Just as Anna ended her sentence, large snowflakes started to fall from the cloudy sky.
“Awesome” groaned Illusion angrily and gazed at the gray sky.
“Should we try to find food?” suggested Silver and tapped his belly. None had eaten any food for several hours, but they at least had lots of water in shape of snow now.
“Is it possible to find food here?”, Anna turned to Zed; Zed knew all sort of stuff.
“Uh, except for grass, I’ve heard that there is a sort of berries that grows all the year in mountain areas”, Zed scratched his snout and thoughtfully added “but they taste horrible”.
“Food as food”, Anna shrugged and helped Silver who tried to climb up on her shoulders.

They all marched away throw the grass and snow in a line. Illusion had the lead, closely followed by Titan who played with the tip of the kadabras big tail. Silver rode upon the shoulders of Anna, where he was able to see a much longer distance then anyone else of the team. The snow kept on falling and soon covered the ground with a cold, white layer.
“There!” yelled Silver and pointed with one off his short fingers “it looks like a bush!”
Everyone except for Nemesis looked at the place where Silver had pointed. It looked like a huge boulder covered with snow, but since it lay in the middle of a grass field it must been an exceptional large bush.
When they reached the snowy shrub, Anna put her hand into the snow and carefully touched whatever it was under it. She felt a hard surface like a stone, but it felt warm.
“I think it’s just a rock”, muttered Anna and started to wipe off some of the snow. It looked like a rock too; big, bulky and gray. The disappointment fell over the group.
“Stupid, stupid stone”, yelled Silver with anger and kicked the rock with frustration. And the stone moved.
“Whoa, you’re a strong fellow”, Zed said and picked up the upset abra.
“Don’t be silly, there’s no way he can move that rock”, smirked Nemesis and crossed her arms. “At least not with physics”, snorted Illusion at Nemesis, and then the two psychic pokémon furiously glared at each other.
“Time out”, Anna cut the upcoming fight with. Anna started to dig in the snow on the rock. She swept away a big bunch of snow and curiously looked at the gray surface she had revealed. Anna thought it looked like an eyebrow and quietly laughed at herself. Then she found out that a big red eye tiredly watched her. Anna fell backward by chock and landed in the snow, and then the eye closed and the boulder looked like a normal stone again
“That’s no rock” hissed Anna and shake her head with unbelief.
Zed, Illusion and Anna removed the snow rapidly with their hands and Silver helped them too with his ability to create fire. Nemesis just watched with skepticism when her teammate worked, and Titan jumped around the boulder loudly crackling something that sounded like “rock ock” mixed with “ka kabuutooo”.
“It’s a…” started Zed and Illusion ended “rhyhorn? Don’t they live in flocks?”
“She’s wounded” whispered Anna while she inspected a nasty slash upon the rhyhorns back. Nemesis quietly looked at the big creature that being hidden by the snow and muttered something that was impossible to hear. Zed ignored Nemesis and joined Anna.
“Looks like the snow incorrupt an arcanines meal” said Zed.
“Can we…”, Anna bit her lip “do something?”
“We need something too clean to wound with”, smiled Zed sadly. Anna ripped up her backpack and found a bright blue towel in it.
“It still has blood stains from the last time” Zed mumbled as he took the towel from Anna. Nemesis smirked at Illusion; they both remembered perfectly well when a Team Rocket trained sneasel had beaten up Illusion.
Zed melted some snow and dipped the tip of the towel in the water and then he used it to clean the rhyhorns wound. When he was done, he and Anna tried to figure out a way to tie the towel over the injury, but they couldn’t come up with any ideas.
“We have to get her into cover and heat her up”, Anna walked around the rhyhorn; it looked impossible to move.
“We need cover too, I’m freezing” said Illusion. Anna started to push the rhyhorn; it had to walk by itself. “Come on, you have to walk”, Anna pushed harder from behind but with no result. “You’ll die if you don’t”, Anna used all her power to drive the rhyhorn, but she didn’t move. “Why?” yelped Anna. She angrily felt that tears were coming.
The rhyhorn slowly opened her eyes and looked at the little human. “Please, leave me alone” said the rhyhorn with a deep, sleepy voice that reminded of an earthquake.
“Why?” repeated Anna.
“I’ve lost my herd”
“We’ll help you find them!”
“No, there’s no use. They all have been kidnapped, one by one”
“But how..?”
“You should know you’re a human” the rhyhorn said and closed her eyes “now leave me alone”
“You shouldn’t just give up like that”
“You have no idea what it feels like”
“I do” said Silver and went over to the rhyhorn and petted her nose. ”I’ve lost my family too” whispered Silver to the rhyhorn very quietly so no other heard what he said. ”But those guys took care of me”, Silver waved at his team with his arm. Then, like a miracle, the rhyhorn suddenly went up from the ground. “I wonder what he said”, said Anna to Illusion. Illusion just nodded and walked over to the rhyhorn. “Who’s the leader?” asked the rhyhorn
“There’s none”
“Can I hang out with you guys? Just for awhile…”
“You’ll stay as long as you want”, Anna smiled.

The rhyhorn presented herself as Tanya and she got introduced too the rest of the group. Zed was a little bit worried about the injure Tanya had.
“Oh, that?” said Tanya and nodded at her back, “it’s nothing”
“So, where are we going?” asked Tanya directly after she had explained about the slash.
“We don’t know because we are lost”, snickered Illusion.
“We trying to get down from the mountains”, explained Anna and gently bumped Illusion with her elbow because Illusion had given Tanya such answer.
“I know a way”, Tanya made a shy smile.
“Let’s not waste any time”, mumbled Nemesis and started to walk throw the snow.
“Little pokémon, you won’t reach the pass for days with that speed, now jump up” said Tanya and made a kind smile.
“Jump up?”
“Yes, I’ll give you a ride” said Tanya; she was in a much better mod then before, she even seemed exited. “Are you sure you are strong enough?” wondered Zed and worried studied the rhyhorn.
“Strong? None of you look too heavy”, smiled Tanya.
“But isn’t you ill and tired”, Anna gave Tanya a wondering look.
“Me? No, it takes more to kill me then some snow. My amour helps me keep the heat. Actually, I’m not even cold”
“I who thought you was dying”, Anna climbed up on the big rhyhorn and settled behind her neck shield. After a while, everyone had managed to sit down on the bulky creatures back.
“Are you sure we isn’t too heavy?” asked Zed again.
Tanya just laughed, shaking her head and started to walk. Tanya had a very wobbling walking style and the passengers stumbled around on her back
“Now, hang on” said Tanya after awhile. Anna was just going to ask why when Tanya suddenly made a rapid shrug, then Tanya accelerated and started to rush throw the snow with incredibly speed. The snow whirled around Tanya her heavy body made the ground shake each time she put down a feet.
“Maybe you want to travel inside your pokéballs instead?!” yelled Anna to the pokémon behind her; she had started to become cold because of the icy wind that was created by the speed. Illusion yelled something back but her words died in the wind, and then Illusion disappeared into her pokéball. Anna turned her head around just in time to see how Zed followed Illusions example, and then Silver, Titan and Nemesis was left. Silver shrugged and disappeared too. Titan got confused when everyone started to vanish around her and she took cover in the backpack Anna had. Nemesis was shaking by the cold but there was no way she would get into a pokéball and Anna knew that. Nemesis carefully crawled over the rushing rhyhorns back and sat down upon Anna lap. Anna opened her jacket and showed Nemesis that it was big enough for both of them. Nemesis closed her eyes and dragged her head into the jacket where she fell asleep.
Anna watched the landscape that flew by. It was mostly just grass covered with snow and more mountains, but she also saw large hoards of miltank and tauros pass by and one time she thought she saw a kangaskhan. The only thing she missed right now was some food and a soft bed. Then she changed her mind; any sort of bed would make it.

[Lady Vulpix]

I'm going away fpr the weekend. I'll be back on Monday. See you all soon!
Anna, I'll read your post when I get back. Amy or Connor may rate it first, but I'll still read it.

[Aglandiir]

Where are you, Scott...

[Last Exile]

Originally posted by Aglandiir
Where are you, Scott...

Geez, look who dropped in!

[Lady Vulpix]

That was nice, Anna! Take 4 stamps! ¢¢¢¢

Charlie, it's great to see you here! Will you stay around?

If Scott doesn't come back by the last week of March, Connor will take his place as the judge of the Dragon Games.

[Aipom Of Doom]

Ah good, so the Dragon Games will get resolved after all =).

So the last round will start at the beginning of April, I guess? That sounds good to me. =)

[Matt]

Well I sorta have writer’s block right now, so I will post the prologue.

My POV

I looked out into the distance. All I could see was the white stuff called snow. I bent down and picked some of it up. My hand started to get very cold. I threw it down on the ground and started to walk on towards the lodge that was near-by.

It was pretty far to the lodge from where I was standing. I didn’t know how long it would take to get there. Then where I get there, I could warm up by the fire and maybe train my pokemon some. Soon I got bored. Then I figured out what to do.

“Go Surrender” I said. My white pokeball flew out of my hand and landed on the ground. A light flashes as my male Sneasel pops out onto the ground. I remembered that he likes snow and ice, so he is perfect for this situation. He looked at me and smiled. He was glad I called him out of his pokeball. He sat down in the snow and started to throw it around.

I laughed a bit. Then I motioned for him to get up. Sneasel got up and smiled more. I squatted down a bit and picked up Sneasel, and I put him on my back. Sneasel grabbed onto my shirt, and I started to walk on towards the lodge. The snow started to get worse the closer I got the lodge. Sneasel started to blow off my back. I got out his pokeball and recalled him.

“Return Surrender” I yelled trying to fight off the snow.

I kept walking on with my hands in front of my face. It started to get into my eyes. Then I had another idea. I grabbed a pokeball from my belt and got out a black pokeball. I threw it on the ground.

“Go Stanty” I called. My female Stantler popped out of her pokeball. She growled as the snow got into her fur. I walked over to her.

“Stanty, I need to ask you a favor” I said.

She looked at me with a confused look. I started to pick out the snow from her fur. She smiled at me.

“Stanty, may I ride on your back so we can get to the lodge?” I asked.

She smiled and nodded. I climbed onto her back, and Stanty started to move.

“Go straight Stanty” I said. “According to the map, the lodge is straight” I continued.

Stanty started to run very fast. It looked like it was as fast as she could go. It wasn’t long until I could see the top of the lodge building. Stanty continued to run towards the lodge. As soon as we were close enough, I got down.

“Ok, you can stop Stanty” I said.

I could see that Stanty was breathing really hard. “I’m sorry Stanty” I said. “You did very well” I continued. “Return Stanty” I said.

The red light hit the Stanty and she was absorbed into the pokeball. I smiled at the pokeball and put it back onto my belt. I looked at the sky, and I could see that the snow was letting up. I laughed and walked on towards the lodge. It wasn’t long until I was there. I opened the door to the lodge and walked in. There were a lot people in there warming up by the fire.

I walked into the building more and found a seat near-by. I sat down and started to rest by the fire. I looked around the room. It was a lot of pictures and other things on the wall. Then I noticed a hallway. I got up from my seat and walked down the hallway. When I got down to the end of the hallway, I could see that it was a pokemon center in here too!

I walked over to the desk and rang the bell for the nurse to come out. She came out of the back and smiled at me.

“Hello” she said.

“Hi” I said. “Can you heal my pokemon” I asked. “We were just in that bad snow storm and some of them are really cold and tired” I continued.

“Of course I can” she said.

She took the pokeballs and went into the back. I could hear rustling back there too. When she came back into the front, I could see my pokeballs in here hands.

“Thanks you, Nurse” I said.

“No problem” She said. “You know, there are games here that are starting soon” She said.

I stopped and listened to her. “What are these games you are talking about” I asked.

“They are winter events that your pokemon can enter and play against the other pokemon” she said. “If you want more information, then you can look at the sign that is in the hallway” she said.

I walked into the hallway and looked at the sign. I saw that the first event was some kind of ice skating race. I looked and saw that the lowest level pokemon was a level 10 Swinub. That was a perfect pokemon for me to race. I began to think about what pokemon I was going to use. I walked into the room with the fire and sat down. I thought about all the pokemon I have.

Then I figured out what pokemon I was going to use. I figured that I would use Sneasel! I got up and smiled. It was perfect! Then I heard an announcement on the intercom.

Hello Trainers. The sign ups for the race ends in about 10 minutes. If you want to sign up, please come to the lodge pokemon center as soon as possible.

I started to walk down the hallway. It was really crowded now that everyone heard that the contest sign ups were almost over. I pushed my way through the people and got to the desk.

“Hello” the nurse said.

“I would like to sign up please” I said.

“Sure” she said. “Now what level would you like to compete in and what pokemon will you be using?” she asked.

“I want to compete in the beginner’s level and I will be using my male Sneasel” I said.

She got out a piece of paper and started to scribble something on it. She put the paper in a box and put the box away.
“Ok you’re all signed up sir” she said.

“Thank you very much” I said.

I walked back up the hallway and out of the lodge. I started to walk towards the place that the race would take place. It wouldn’t be that much of a walk from here…




Yeah, I know. It sucks...

[Lady Vulpix]

No, it doesn't, Matt. It was ok, and you're getting 3 stamps for it. ¢¢¢

[Lady Vulpix]

I got an e-mail message from Scott. This is what it said.

Hello

I'm sorry for not replying but I have been wrestling for quite a while and I lost my love for the boards. I'm sorry for not telling you before.
Thanks for not forgeting me but I am not going to be posting anymore. Sorry and I hope you have good luck. This is hard, but goodbye.

Well, I agree that it is hard, but Dragon Tamers will go on. From now, Connor will take over the Dragon Games. Will you contact me, please, Connah?

Well... It's too late in the night for me to think of a good way to end this message, but I thought it was important for everyone to know this.

[Aipom Of Doom]

It's a shame to see Scott leave... How many DT mods have left now? =/ But then, there would be no point in them staying if they didn't like TPM anymore.

When are the finals of the Dragon Games going to start now? Is it still going to be in April, or is it going to be sooner?

[Charizard04621]

Actually, I have a change in plans. I was planning to use Switchblade in the ice hockey game, but I shouldn't post his part until his battle at the Battle Tower is over; otherwise there would be problems with gaining levels, and they'd be contradictory. I've recently adopted a new pokémon at the Dragon Tamers Adoption Center, who will take Switchblade's place. This isn't the ice hockey game itself, yet. It's just more introductory material.

My POV:

"Okay, okay, don't panic," I told myself. But how was I to keep calm? That nasty pokémon thief was at large, bent on causing trouble, and on top of that, had what seemed to be a long-lasting grudge against me; not to mention he had escaped yet again from the reach of authorities.

The police had been chasing Mike for over three years now. He had long since escaped their sight, and they had been surprised when I had reported him to them. They told me then that no one had actually spotted him for ages, let alone been confronted by him. I had to be the lucky one, didn't I? I just had to go and get myself a stalker; and a dangerous one at that. Whatever chances the police had of catching Mike rested on me and my pokémon. Lovely.

"ATTENTION DRAGON TAMERS!" The announcer's voice rang loudly through the lodge. "THE ICE HOCKEY GAME WILL START IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES. PLEASE GET READY AND REGISTER THE PARTICIPANTS NOW!"

"Well, looks like it's time for you three to go. I'll be watching from inside after we're done with registering. Good luck!"

Switchblade shook his head. I'm not going to leave you here. That lunatic is still around here somewhere, and if he's going to show up with his mean Porygon2 again, I'm going to need to be here with you.

"But Switchblade, Evenstar and Nimrodel can't play a 2 on 3..."

You've forgotten someone. Switchblade winked.

I turned red with embarassment and guilt. "Oh, of course! How could I forget?" I picked up the fourth pokéball from my belt.

"Élan, come out."

Élan emerged with a silvery cry. The Unown had a helmet-like structure above his main circular body; a long, zigzagged tail extended downwards. For an Unown, he was rather small. People would mention to me how strangely three-dimensional he was all the time, though. I would smile and say nothing. Despite popular belief, Unown are not simple two-dimensional characters of a strange alphabet. They are living creatures, too.

I had found Élan at the Dragon Tamers Adoption Center not too long ago. I remember that what had struck me most when we met was his fiery spirit. He had so much life, so much vigor. He was quick to anger, though, and when he was enraged, he battled with so much fury that he would surprise his opponent, always. And he usually won, too. Well, good for him. It was their fault that they underestimated an Unown.

Unown are reputed to be useless creatures without their Hidden Power technique. But they're pokémon, and no pokémon can be simply defined. I knew that Élan was so much more than just some little black piece of the alphabet that knew Hidden Power.

Yes, it's a good idea for Switchblade to stay with you for your own safety. I will do perfectly well in his place. You can count on me. You stay here. Evenstar can bring along Nimrodel's pokéball. You can register us inside, I believe. You don't need to go outside again. That pokémon thief could be anywhere.

"Thanks," I said, smiling. I saw Élan leave with Evenstar, who was carrying Nimrodel's pokéball. The three of them were supposed to compete with a Smoochum, Swinub, and Squirtle. I giggled, thinking how intimidating a Lapras would be to the three small pokémon. Yet gentle Nimrodel was the one they would need least to fear... And Élan would be the most frightening of all. Funny how so many people felt pity for Unown. I wished they could all meet Élan. He was sensitive about the way some people treated him, though, as if he were permanently handicapped and helpless. He hated it, and I never mentioned it in front of him. Personally, I could feel his frustration. It just felt... wrong.

Then there were people who thought that supposedly "genderless" pokémon had no feelings, just because they didn't understand...

I myself could tell that Switchblade and Élan were male pokémon, though how I did not know. I just sensed it. Every time I thought of them or referred to them, the word "he" would pop into my mouth instead of "it". It was strange, but comforting. I wouldn't know how I could stand calling Switchblade and Élan "its" all the time, anyway. It was just a picky thing I had that I couldn't explain.

Switchblade nudged me. Let's go get some hot chocolate. Anything to get away from these big windows. I have the strange feeling that we're being watched.

I looked at Switchblade and sighed. Ever since that first incident with Mike and his Porygon2, Switchblade had lost his bouncy, carefree nature; or at least it had been subdued. He worried more often, which was not something that Switchblade would normally do. He had recovered rather quickly, though, after we had spent some time without having to see the pokémon thief again. Now, however, he was becoming edgy again, and much less playful than before. I had hoped that the dull winter had something to do with it, but in my heart, I knew that it wasn't so.

"Sure, why not? Let's go get hot chocolate. You can have extra cream, as usual." I picked Switchblade up from the floor. Not like he couldn't move faster by himself - he definitely could - but I just felt like it. I needed to hold something. Switchblade could sense it, so he didn't whine.

When we got to the hot chocolate stand, there was nobody there. We got ready to leave, but as I turned to go, someone shoved me into the corridor behind, hard.

"Hey!" I yelled, pushing myself to my feet painfully. But then the door closed, and the lock turned. I turned around in shock to see the face that haunted my dreams. Switchblade went into battle mode. His eyes blazed with fury.

"You're still going around with your baby Porygon?" jeered Mike. "Well whatever the case, it will sell for a fat sum of cash. I've never seen another Porygon with a birthmark on its chest that resembles the Fire Blast kanji symbol before, and I'll bet no one else has, either. Some rich fool will pay a huge load of money for it. Go, Porygon2! Snatch that Porygon! Destroy its trainer, while you're at it!"

I knew Mike meant it the other way around. He wanted me to suffer, mostly. He was rich. He couldn't care less if he actually got to steal and sell Switchblade or not. That wasn't important. Mike just wanted to see me dead. Agonizingly dead.

Switchblade didn't even get a chance to launch an attack at the Porygon2. He was immediately trapped in a restraining energy sphere, the likes of which I'd never seen before. Whatever Mike had done to his Porygon2, it was way too fast for Switchblade. I gritted my teeth. Speed was Switchblade's only advantage over that Porygon2 the last time... Switchblade was one of the quickest of his kind, but somehow, Mike's Porygon2 had boosted itself far above its natural potential. It was frightening. The pokémon thief had access to technology that made his Porygon2 a fearsome force.

"No more stinking Porygon to protect you now! Finish her, Porygon2!"

My eyes widened with fear. What did I do to deserve this? I asked myself.

At that moment, time seemed to fly by. It took me a while to realize exactly what happened next. Things just happened so quickly...

"Czarnina, go!" yelled a guy who had just come up behind Mike. He was my age, but a significant bit taller. I was cursed with shortness.

His Farfetch'd charged through the air as she uttered an awesome war cry, brandishing her magical leek, her deadly sword. Within moments, Czarnina had managed to hack down the Porygon2 into a state of frightened submission, and Mike, horrified, had recalled his precious pokémon and run, as fast as the wind despite his fatness. In a few seconds, he had disappeared from the scene.

I stood there, dumbstruck. Switchblade was surprised, too, but mostly relieved. Having been released from his energy prison, he came immediately to me to help me recover from my shock.

"Um, thanks," I managed to say after a while. "Not to be rude, but who are you, and how did you get here just in time? I haven't seen you at any Dragon Tamers event before."

"That's because I'm not a Dragon Tamer," he replied. "To tell the truth, I make it my duty to track down criminals and put them where they belong. My name? Mike." He extended his hand.

I took it, and we shook. "Hi, I'm Karin. Thanks again. It's a pity that you share the same name as that horrible man, though."

"I do?" Mike frowned. "Well, that's that, I guess."

"AND NOW, LET THE ICE HOCKEY GAMES BEGIN!" yelled the excited announcer.

"Oh, Evenstar, Nimrodel, and Élan will be starting," I said. "Switchblade, let's hurry." I turned to thank Mike(the skinny one) again, but he had disappeared. I guess he went off to chase Fat Mike.

[Lady Vulpix]

That was excellent, Karin! Take 6 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢

[Charizard04621]

Élan the LV9 *male* Unown G, Evenstar the LV10 female Sneasel, and Nimrodel the LV7 female Lapras
vs.
LV10 Squirtle, LV10 Swinub, and LV10 Smoochum

Élan the *male* Unown G’s POV:

When Evenstar entered the ice rink on her skates, her movements graceful as a gentle flowing stream, the three pokémon who were already waiting held their breath in awe. Even more so when Nimrodel emerged from her pokéball, glowing with divine white light, but there was then an element of fear. How could I blame them? The Squirtle, Swinub, and Smoochum knew nothing. Of course they would be afraid. But when I came, they nearly choked with laughter. I fumed. I vowed that they would see the error of their ways.

Nimrodel, not wanting to go on offense, decided to act as the defender of our goal. I was glad that she did; she’d make a great defender. Being a Lapras, Nimrodel could easily cover more ground than Evenstar or I could. Our opponents would most definitely think twice before attempting to approach her. Besides, it was good that Nimrodel remained behind. She was young and shy, and it would have been torture for her to try to play against our opponents. As it was, Evenstar and I could protect Nimrodel from harm, if need be. I had a feeling that the three were quite vicious and aggressive in nature.

Little did I know how right I was. As soon as the game began, the Squirtle and the Smoochum charged at Nimrodel from the left and the right, respectively, each with a fist that blazed with white chi energy. The Swinub approached from behind the Squirtle, ready to knock the puck into the goal… Evenstar, alarmed, had quickly managed to restrain the Smoochum, but the Squirtle was too quick for me; I was too far away to reach in time. The Squirtle leapt into the air, and it really looked as if it was going to bring its fist smashing down into Nimrodel’s face… But she ducked in time, and her attacker sailed past her and fell to the ice. Nimrodel dodging was what the Swinub had counted on, though, and in that instant, it whacked the puck directly above where Nimrodel’s head would have been if she had not dodged. The puck flew right into the goal. “SCORE!” the announcer yelled. “One point for the Blue Team!”

I was irritated, but I said nothing. If I had spoken, Nimrodel would probably have thought that I was putting the blame on her, which was not the case. I was irritated at myself for not catching the Squirtle. Evenstar could see that and understand, so she let me be.

Fueled by the first round of defeat, Evenstar and I, determined not to let something similar happen again, sped down the ice to the unguarded goal. Evenstar could skate faster than our three opponents, while I could float more quickly than everyone. By the time we made it to the rival goal with the puck and scored, our opponents were huffing and puffing behind us, flushed. In attacking, they had forgotten to leave one pokémon behind to tend their goal.

To my surprise, the three, after retrieving the puck, left their goal unattended – again. Each moved at a greater pace than before, racing towards Nimrodel with glee, as if they had escaped us. Nodding at each other, Evenstar and I pursued the fleeing three; we caught up with them before they had made it halfway across the field. While Evenstar leapt in front of them to intimidate them, baring her teeth and brandishing her sharp claws, I snatched the puck from the Squirtle unnoticed, and scored before the three had a chance to recover from the shock of having failed to prevent another point from going to us. They had made the same mistake as before.

This time, the Swinub stayed behind to guard the goal. About time. I was beginning to think they would never take the hint. Evenstar got the puck this time, but quickly lost possession of it. The Smoochum had cleverly stolen the puck with her telekinetic grip, and as she did so, the Squirtle had quickly shot a forceful jet of water at Evenstar to make her lose her balance. Evenstar did not stumble, but she had to wipe the water out of her eyes, for there was so much that she could not see.

Then Nimrodel surprised both her attackers. All three of our opponents had figured out rather early that Nimrodel’s size was not to be feared; they knew that she wouldn’t like to hurt anyone, which was why she stayed to tend our goal. They had fallen into the trap of underestimating her, like they still did me. When they approached, threatening to administer physical blows to her again, both the Squirtle and the Smoochum assumed that Nimrodel would simply let them pass and score easily. That was where they were gravely wrong. Nimrodel would not hurt either of them if she could help it, but that didn’t mean that she would not attempt to halt their approach. Before the Squirtle, who had possession of the puck, could so much as cry out in surprise, he felt the puck pushed far away from him by Nimrodel’s own shot of water.

I had been following the two aggressors closely, and I seized the opportunity in the momentary confusion. The puck was mine for the time being. I sped towards Evenstar, who waited at the rival goal. By the look on her face, I could tell that she had assessed the Swinub’s strengths, and found out that it would be difficult to get the puck by.

The Squirtle and Smoochum gave chase, and to my surprise, they were gaining. I was not in the least bit tired – not at all as much as they looked – but it seemed as if they had gained some new source of energy that drove them forward with renewed strength. Perhaps it was the fear of facing defeat. When I felt uncomfortable, I passed the puck to Evenstar, who, all the time, had been collecting rippling ethereal energy in a throbbing, deep purple ball that rested on her palm. Immediately after taking possession of the puck, Evenstar hurled her menacing orb directly in front of the Swinub, who moved aside to avoid the eruption. In that moment of weakness, Evenstar struck. We had scored our third goal.

Then things started getting tougher. The Squirtle, in anguish, released a stream of colorful bubbles that violently exploded in Evenstar’s face. She shrieked and held her face in her hands, stunned. I knew I would have to cover for her for a while, as she took time to recover. It wasn’t easily done, though. As I prepared to give chase to the Squirtle who had stolen the puck, the Smoochum decided to subject me to a blast of particularly nasty arctic wind. If I had any teeth, they would have chattered. A lot. Needless to say, I shivered uncontrollably. My mind seemed to go into a torpid state. It was difficult to think clearly, and my body, sluggish, refused to co-operate much, too. I felt as if my mind had been frozen by the wind.

This time, try though she might, Nimrodel could not ward off the offense before we got to her. As the Squirtle provided a jet of water, the Smoochum had frozen a large patch over Nimrodel’s eyes, and though Nimrodel had tried valiantly to prevent scoring, she could not see. The puck flew into our goal for the second time.

By now, Evenstar had fully recovered, and so had I. Something took over our souls, then; some vengeful spirit or other. Whatever it was, it brought us to score our fourth goal with no contest. In some kind of mad fury, Evenstar and I had dashed down the rink, seized possession of the puck, and driven it past the Swinub’s defensive efforts without so much of a challenge.

Nimrodel had removed all of the ice from her eyes, and was more than ready to guard our goal from the offense again. Evenstar and I were tailing our opponents and preparing to take the puck, but suddenly, the Squirtle and Smoochum both split into many separate entities… They approached from all sides. Nimrodel reacted wonderfully. With the gift of sight that she had received from birth, she purged the arena of all false illusions, and cleared her mind. No mirror images would fool her now. The Squirtle and Smoochum approached from opposite sides, but this time I was ready. While Evenstar restrained the Smoochum, I grabbed the skating Squirtle and wrapped around it… But the Squirtle crumbled to pieces. I was shocked. Then, I realized what happened… How could I not have seen this before? I scolded myself. Substitute, of course!

By then, Nimrodel had spotted the real Squirtle, and she blasted water at its feet from the sides so that it would dodge. She was coping very well, and it looked as if the Squirtle would not be able to shoot the puck into the goal… But suddenly, it was lifted into the air, and before we realized that the Smoochum was powering it with her mental force, the puck had flown into the goal.

The score was four to three. The Blue Team was directly behind us… and they knew it. It seemed as if they would never let us score; the same was true with us. For the next quarter of an hour, the puck had passed possession back and forth without anyone scoring at all, or even getting close to the goals. We had kept each other busy in the middle of the field, exchanging possessions of the puck countless times, each determined to get the puck, and at the same time each making sure that the other team would not get it.

Finally, Evenstar swiped at the air directly in front of the Smoochum’s face with her razor sharp claws, and the Smoochum flinched. Evenstar lunged at the puck and seized it, making her way across to the rival goal. Twice she shot, and twice the Swinub had blocked with determined effort. I kept the Squirtle and Smoochum at bay.

But the Squirtle and Smoochum were determined to get past me, and they darted irritably from side to side trying to cross. I would not allow it.

In the end, the Squirtle said something that spelled his doom. “Hey, Unown G, move! We don’t want to hurt you, you know, because that would be just cheap. We don’t like picking on weaker pokémon. Please stop blocking our way, or we might actually have to attack you!”

At that, I exploded. A wave of berserk fury swept over me; my single eye blazed with the flame of madness. Evenstar, who was still trying unsuccessfully to score on the Swinub, stopped to wait. She had seen me like this before, and she knew what would happen next. The Swinub had frozen in terror, and both the Smoochum and Squirtle had stopped to think twice about regarding me as some incompetent, handicapped pokémon. I could sense their fear. “Yes,” I roared while cackling madly, “be afraid! I possess immense power that your blind eyes could not see. Now, they will open… painfully.”

My entire body burst into a raging inferno; I was thoroughly engulfed in searing flame, and the ice beneath melted upon the thirsty licks of the tongues of fire. The air became unbearably hot; a red glow devoured the scene, and the chaotic sky looked like an oven of fire.

I laughed, and all was silent. My maniacal voice boomed like a rumble of thunder; the roar of the flames grew louder, and the fire reached out to extend the territory it had seized with its power. The pool of water grew hot. I could tell from the dark steam that rose and the discomfort on the three foolish pokémons’ faces. I gave Evenstar the signal, and she drove the puck into the rival goal for the final time… Then she bolted away, to wait with Nimrodel and comfort her. Poor Nimrodel had never seen my wrath before, and I was sorry that she, so young and innocent, had to watch… But I would not stop.

By now, a ring of scorching fire circled the three horrified pokémon. They trembled. They were trapped. Then, from the central sphere of flame that came from within me, the area erupted. The blaze of the inferno descended upon my victims, and they succumbed to the flame…

“THAT WAS UNNECESSARY!” the announcer blared, as medics rushed to bring the three pokémon to the Pokémon Center. “THE UNOWN G IS DISQUALIFIED!”

I didn’t care. All was well. I had won peace.

Nimrodel, Evenstar, and Élan (disqualified) won!
Nimrodel grew to level 9!
Evenstar grew to level 11!

[Qazqe]

Lady Vulpix, I'm back! It's me, Pokemaster Jay! I tried to get into my old account, but it failed, so I decided to make a new name. Unlike the last time I came back, all of my pokemon's stats and my items are still intact. I will post them sometime in the near future. I would also like to tell you that my pokemon can still be used at the Pocket Monster's Breeding Center for breeding.

[Lady Vulpix]

Welcome back, J! It's good to know your pokemon are safe and sound.
Well, Karin, that was a vicious match. I guess Élan will have to learn to control his rage in the future. Very nicely done! Take 5 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢

[Lady Vulpix]

<Gabi's POV>

It was one of those days when I didn't know if I was more tired of the things I had done during the last month or from the things I still had to do. It was one of those days I just didn't have the strength to get out of bed, and I kept turning my body from side to side, bringing back images of the weird dreams I'd had during the night and hoping that Lagi would feel my need for her and help me up. But Lagi was not around this time. Instead, my thoughts were disrupted by the pressure of a digitigrade's paw on my chest, at a moment in which I was lying on my back. I slowly separated my eyelids and saw Tsunami's big eyes staring at me.
"Ouch!," was the first thing I managed to get out of my mouth.
The Vaporeon got his paw off me and jumped down from my bed. I picked up the glowing stone which was on my room's desk, stilled tied to the necklace, and got up in order to put it on.
"Why did you do that?," I asked my Vaporeon friend.
"I figured it would be the best way to get you out of your bed," he replied. "Guess what. It worked!"
I sighed.
"I guess I have to thank you, then. I thought the bed would absorb me and swallow me. But next time, could you think of a way to help me that lets me breathe normally?"
"Would you rather I shot cold water at you?," he asked.
"Hmm... no, that could bring my blood pressure up to normal, but it would mess up my bed. Can't you lift my back somehow? The problem when my pressure is down is that I can't sit up on my own without getting dizzy."
"I thought that happened only in the summer."
"In the summer and when I have too many things to do," I informed him. "Contradictory, isn't it? The more things I'm supposed to do, the less energy I have to do them."
"I wouldn't underestimate your energy," Tsunami told me. "I know you, and I've seen you have a lot. I think you may be wearing yourself out. Working too much and resting too little."
"Maybe," I admitted. "But how can I change that? I have to work on my thesis without neglecting my own work, which never seems to give me a rest. Amy has been more helpful than I could have imagined, but I don't want to put too much pressure on him. And Connor already has his hands full finding out what's going on with the Dragon Games. Alex is gone, so seems to be Nolan, there are no signs of Scott yet, not to mention the others who vanished away over a year ago. And I still have to pick a subject for my next report, and now that Scott is away, I don't even know who I'll be writing it for. It's just too many things at once."
"Isn't it always like that?," Tsunami questioned, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "It seems to me that you absorb responsibilities like a sponge absorbs water, and then you complain about them. What would you do if you had more free time?"
"Write, read, spend more time with my friends, which of course include you, and maybe see a movie or a play," I answered.
"...And jump on the first opportunity to do something for the firs person who needs it," he finished.
"How do you know everyone so well?," I asked him.
"I have big eyes," he told me. "And believe me, I'm quite nervous too. I'm the one whose battle has been postponed for months, remember? But now that you've told me Connor would sort things out and make sure the games continue, I feel better. I think you should feel better too. Things are beginning to fall back in order, and you've even had some time to write lately. I've seen you. So enjoy what you have."
"Thanks, Tsunami. I'll do my best. Still, I'll jump on the first chance to get out and have some fun."
"Me too," he assured. "Moreover, I think I'll be heading to the Eevee House. See you there when you're done with today's work!"
With that, he left my room.
It had been busy days, which meant they'd been normal days. It was still winter, which was good news for me (I could drink as much tea as I wanted to and didn't have to suffer the intense heat of the summer). I had taken a one week trip to my grandmother's place in January, and I'd gone back to the place where Tsunami had evolved, where my team and I made a symbolic 2-years-late celebration. Now my last issue with Tsunami had been sorted out. I had also rested a lot, and even written some letters and part of a story, so I couldn't complain at all. I had renewed my energies as much as it was possible. But that time had passed and now I was already feeling the need to recharge my batteries again.
My pokemon tried to mantain as much activity as they could. Some frequented the Eevee House regularly, and some went to the Battle Tower to train with their friends from Amy's team. Those training sessions helped Ventura and Lagi gain a level each. But there was still the feeling of being caught in a dull routine. We all wanted to do something different. Something new. I wished the Maze would make a new appearance. That was the kind of fun I needed.

Fortunately, my wishes were heard. No, the Maze didn't come back at that moment, but something did come. And it was none other than Ryan who gave me the news. Someone had organized a winter games competition for pokemon. That sounded great. It was fun, it was new and it was a challenge. I was sure my pokemon would love the idea. Ryan told me where and when the games would be held, and I made sure to inform all the other Dragon Tamers of this event. I managed to lay my hands on a brochure and, when I read the rules, I discussed my ideas with my pokemon.
"There's a hockey competition. I think our old hockey team could come back for some more action," I suggested.
"I'm all in for it!," Caledor cheered. "I liked playing hockey the last time, and the old team was great. Besides, you can count on me for everything that can be classed as a game."
"Watch your words," Ventura warned him. "Some consider the Russian roulette a game."
"Well, almost everything, then," Caledor corrected himself.
"Girls?," I asked.
"No problem with me," Sylvan told me. "I just hope I do better than last time. I'll take my clover to bring me luck."
"I'll do it," Amber decided. "It may bring some old memories I'd rather leave behind, but I can't let that paralyze me. I want to be free, forge a good future. I guess this is the best way."
"Don't push yourself too hard," I advised her. "You may need some time to get over..."
"Volvagia. You can say it," she said. "I won't deny it, he left me and it still hurts. I feel like it will always hurt when I think of him, even if I get over him. But I'm ready for this. I may not be ready to fall in love again yet, but I can definitely play a hockey game. He won't take away my capability to have fun with my friends."
"I'm glad you're taking it so well," I praised her.
"I've been worried sick for months about him," she explained. "Not knowing where nor how he was, not even if he was alive or not, was a torment. Now I know he's alive and well and he left on his own free will. I can't change his will and I wouldn't want to, so the only thing I can do is rebuild my life without him. I don't know why, but I somehow feel calmer than before. Like facing the facts put an end to the uncertainty and put things back in order. The time for tears has already passed."
"Another proof of Amber's steel-like determination," Water Angel commented. "She didn't get her Hidden Power for nothing."
"Can I be in more than one event?," Caledor asked me. "I don't want to sound selfish or anything, but I've been training too little lately and I need some serious workout which doesn't involve Ventura."
"Always so grateful," the Venomoth laughed. "Don't worry, I'll never train you again. Get your own targets and your own way to improve your aim."
"Actually, there's a way here," I remarked. "The course includes target-shooting. The brochure isn't very clear about that event, but I'm sure it will be interesting."
"I'll be ready for anything," the Espeon assured. "So, can I take the course?"
I laughed at the sound of the phrase "take the course", but I accepted.
"Now, there's only the race left," I said. "I was thinking..."
"Then stop thinking," Hero interrupted me.
"That was rude," I told him.
"Didn't mean to, but there's nothing to thin about," he said. "If there's a race, then I'm in. I don't mind who I have to race against, even if there's cold water or anything. I want to run a race. I haven't done that for ages! And you know no one here likes races more than I do."
"Good point," I agreed. "I could give someone else the chance to teach you manners, but I'm not that kind of person. I know how much you enjoy racing and I won't deny you that pleasure."
"That's great!," Hero exclaimed. "Thank you, Pix! You rock! Better now?"
"Pix?," Pidgeot repeated. "I hadn't heard anyone call her that since... the Tower of Hoeth, I think."
"I don't know, it just came out," the Ninetales laughed. "Was my compliment ok, Gabi?"
I shook my head, laughing.
"A compliment is ok as long as you don't explain it's a compliment or say it only to please someone, but without feeling it."
"Oh, gosh, girls are hard to please," Hero commented.
"Just be yourself," Lagi advised him. "That's the best thing you can do."
"But when I'm myself they think I only think about myself," Hero complained.
"Hey, hold on," Tsunami interrupted them. "Are we talking about Gabi now, or about...?"
Hero's burning look made Tsunami shut his mouth.
"...someone else? I was just asking," the Vaporeon smiled sheepishly.
"I was speaking in general," Hero shrugged.
I could tell what he was thinking. Tsunami was his best friend, but sometimes his comments could be really annoying.

So, it was all set. I waited eagerly for the day to come while I continued doing my job. Strangely, it felt lighter now. Things were falling in place.
On the day of the Winter Games, my pokemon and I got out earlier than usual and headed to the lodge where the competition would be held. There weren't many people around, but that was probably because we were early, and some wouldn't get out of their homes until the weather was a bit warmer. The lodge was nice and welcoming. After registering, we went to the dining room to have a cup of tea and biscuits. It didn't take long until more trainers arrived. There weren't many I knew, though, and hardly any I could talk to. It was strange, there were no signs of Ryan. I hoped his occupations didn't cause him to miss the games.
The deadline came and I hadn't seen Ryan yet. He could be somewhere else, there were many people now and not everyone was on the same place. I decided to walk around and look for him, but I couldn't find him. Ventura and Lagi confirmed his absence. Right what I needed... the least. Well, I wouldn't worry about him being swallowed by a black hole yet. We hadn't arranged a meeting point or anything. If he didn't show up during the games, then I would call him. For now, I had to help my pokemon get ready.

<Hero's POV>

Why Gabi was so tense was something that escaped my comprehension. People tended to disappear and then show up, and so far nothing really bad had happened to any of them. Some were even presumed dead, and turned out to be alive and well. I was even more puzzle when, after sharing my thoughts with her, she told me that she didn't believe anything bad had happened to Ryan. Was she hard to understand sometimes! But well, there were many times when she didn't understand me either. Those things usually happened, and they didn't impair our pokemon-trainer relationship, so I decided not to give it another thought and, instead, to focus on the upcoming challenge.
I got to watch a pair of races before my time came, while getting used to having ice-skates on my paws. I didn't have the best viewpoint, but at least I could appreciate some of the moves. The participating pokemon knew a few tricks and were not afraid to show them, so the sight was quite amusing. However, none of them seemed too fast. I hoped I got a good challenger, a pokemon that required some effort to beat. Maybe a Rapidash...
"Lady Vulpix's Hero and Midnight Angel's Seaward, please report on the ice track," the loudspeaker called out.
Seaward, eh? It sounded like the name of a Water pokemon. I couldn't think of any that was fast enough on ground, but I could have some problems if my opponent decided to make up for its lack of speed by using water attacks on me. I'd have to be careful. Just the way I liked it.
I walked to the ice ring, my skates proving to be quite an annoyance. I reckoned I should have trained more on them earlier. If they were uncomfortable for walking, what would running on them be like? Gabi had given me some instructions, but we hadn't had the chance to practise on ice for more than an hour, and even then I had run on the ice on my bare paws, not with these annoying blades. I wasn't quite comfortable with letting myself slide yet. Well, I would make the best of the little experience I had.
My opponent soon came in, sliding on his belly. He wasn't wearing ice-skates. Of course, what kind of skates could fit the shape of a Lapras? If anyone ever thought of any way of fitting metallic blades under a Lapras's body, they would only hinder the aquatic pokemon. Just as they were hindering me. Was it too late to take them off? If Seaward could race without the skates, I should be allowed to do the same.
"Are you nervous?," the male Lapras asked me.
"Nah, not nervous. Just a bit uncomfortable, that's all. But I will fix that."
"I didn't expect to run against a fire pokemon. Doesn't the cold bother you?"
"It's not that cold, I've been in much colder places than this. And I have enough fire inside to keep myself warm."
"So you can stand the heat and the cold. What does bother you?"
I thought for a moment before answering.
"Many things, but I think being unable to run would bother me the most," I finally replied. "It happened once; I got hit by a bullet and I was healed, but I had to refrain from running for three weeks for my leg to heal completely. The worst three weeks of my life."
"Oh, sorry to hear that. I guess I'm up for a challenge, then, since you like running so much. Would it be ok with you if I used an attack or two?"
"Do what you must, just don't let me win. That would be the worst thing you could do. I like a good challenge and I won't go easy on you. I want to win this by my own merit."
"You're quite a character!," Seaward exclaimed. "I guess water pokemon don't intimidate you."
"If they had, I wouldn't have won the first Griffon Games," I said, proudly. "I've also battled a Lapras before. A female named Morning Mist. She was a nice opponent; she knew how to put up a challenge."
"Really? Who won?"
"I did."
"It sounds to me like you love to brag," he commented.
"Well, I can't say I don't," I chuckled. "But I don't lie. What about you, have you ever been up against a Ninetales before?"
"Yes, once. I won too. But it was not a race, just a battle."
"Then this will be interesting," I coucluded.
We could have kept on talking, but the voice on the loudspeaker caught our attention, indicating it was time for the race to start. I turned to the starting line and readied myself to run or slide, whatever came easier.

Level 64 Ninetales vs. Level 50 Lapras

A small explosion marked the beginning of the race. I shot out with the impulse of the sound, gaining the advantage. Seaward needed some time to propel himself and gain speed. I lost him on the first turn. This was too easy. Even with the skates on, I was much faster than the Lapras. The first lap was a piece of cake. I used it to get more comfortable with sliding short distances, being careful to stop on the curves and take them running instead of sliding.
After running about 150 meters, I could already see my opponent taking the next turn. I would pass him and gain a whole lap of advantage over him... or so I thought. With my eyes fixed on the Lapras, I made the big mistake to stop looking at the floor and I slipped on a puddle of water which hadn't been there the first time I'd passed. I landed on my tails, and it took me so long to get out of the puddle and back on all fours that Seaward got the chance to reach me and pass me. Tricky Lapras! Well, I couldn't complain. After all, I'd been looking for a challenge, and having a tricky opponent would give me the chance to display some of my own tactics too.
I got up and did my best to regain the lost distance without falling into another trap. Seaward had spread water on different spots all over the track. The water helped him slide faster, while it slowed me down in the best case and made me fall in the worst case. I was still faster than him, but it was becoming hard to keep up. I passed him by the end of the second lap, but he reached me again in the fifth one. And everything made me believe that things would only get harder if I didn't do something. I decided to play a wild card. It would take time and was bound to cost me a lap, but it might work.
I slowed down and let Seaward pass me, without completely stopping in order to give him the idea that I was still trying to catch up. When he took a curve and disappeared from sight, I turned around and began to summon a Confuse Ray. I stood there, charging up a blast of mixed energies and confusing emotions, and released the ghostly attack as soon as my opponent showed up in front of me, without allowing him the time to question why I was facing the wrong direction.
"I wish Tracker was watching this," I thought to myself as the Lapras absorbed the full charge and his course was altered, making him hit the side wall; but I dismissed the thought quickly and turned around, getting back on the race.
I did my best not to slip again. The track was filled with puddles, but I managed to avoid them. I wish I could do something to freeze them or dry them out, but it was impossible. Fire attacks would have only made things worse, and nothing else I could have done would have changed anything. With some effort, I finished my 6th lap. I was in the middle of the 7th when I saw Seaward again. He had advanced, but was still bumping against the walls. I had an idea that would help me take advantage of his confused state. I stood where I was, and cast a hologram on the other side of the track.
I was getting better at creating fake images of myself. I could now make one appear on any spot and make it move at my will. More were harder to handle; I could hardly make more than two move in different ways or remain coherent beyond a short distance. 6 would have had to remain still, and I'd never been able to cast 7 or more, but one was quite easy to handle. I made this image run on the opposite direction and pass by Seaward's side. The confused Lapras thought I was passing him and turned around, following the hologram. He chased my image past me without noticing my real body against the white snow, giving me the chance to gain a decent advantage.
I moved on, avoiding the water and keeping up the hologram which, I must admit, slowed me down a little, but kept Seaward distracted. When the fake Ninetales and I crossed paths, making sure the Lapras was out of sight, I let the image fade away. I took the first curve of the 8th lap and regained some speed. Less than a fifth or the race was ahead of me, I couldn't mess up. But then, coming from the other side, I saw Seaward charging fast in my direction. The confusion seemed to have worn out from the look in his eyes, or maybe he had used Mist. I didn't have time to summon a new Confuse Ray. Instead, my legs took the full blow of an ice beam. Seaward made sure ice had formed around my skates before turning around and resuming the race.
I was in trouble. I couldn't move as I was, and if I used a fire attack to melt the ice around my legs, I would also melt the ice of the track, creating a pool which would be too hard for me to pass. I had to think of something different, and fast.
I tried to pull up my legs to no avail. Then I tried hitting my back legs with my tails. I reached them, which was good news. I made my tails harder; hard enough to break the ice. It worked. My hind legs were freed by my Iron Tail attacks, and I managed not to hurt myself much in the process. The front ones were another story. There was no way I could reach them with my tails. I tried using my teeth, but I felt like it would take forever. Seaward passed me in the meantime, making me lose the advantage I had achieved. I reckoned I'd have to make a small sacrifice in order to get out of this situation. I used a small Ember, trying to focus it as much as possible around my legs. I did form a new puddle, but at least it was a small one.
I got out carefully and began to run again, trying to make up for the lost time. I reached Seaward and passed him in the middle of the 9th lap. But he was gaining speed, aided by the water on the track. I'd have to do something. There was no time for a new attack on either side. I had to let him gain a little advantage while I occupied my teeth and legs on the task of getting rid of my biggest hindrance on this race: my skates. Once I was free from them, I proceeded to run as fast as I could. I suddenly felt like a gust of wind, moving forward without anything to stop it. It was so much easier to avoid the puddles now! Most of them were small enough to jump over them! And gaining speed was not a problem anymore. I hadn't realized how much trouble the skates were causing. If I had known, I would have got rid of them much earlier! But it had been an interesting challenge, being on them.
The 10th lap had begun. It was the last chance... for both of us. When Seaward saw me coming, he launched a Bubblebeam to stop me. I evaded as many bubbles as I could and, while I couldn't elude all of them, I didn't let them slow me down. The end was coming, and I had to come out first. I used a Quick Attack to launch myself forward, just like I had done back in the first Eevee House race, a long time ago. I passed the Lapras without turning round to look at him. I kept my ears alert in case he tried anything, but my eyes were focused on the finish line... and keeping a look at the floor every now and then to make sure I didn't slip again. When Seaward came closer, I dashed faster. I heard his voice emitting an acute "Laaa..."; it sounded like he was going to release another Ice Beam. I got out of range before he could do anything. One more dash and... I made it! I crossed the finish line!

I grew to level 65!

It only took 2 or 3 seconds for Seaward to reach me after shooting his Ice Beam at the center wall. Attacking me would have been useless once I had already won. He took a deep breath.
"Congratulations!," he said. "This was a great race."
"Indeed," I agreed. "You came up with more tricks than I thought you would; you almost had me there. Had you moved a little faster, the result would have been different."
"I see you've had more training than me," Seaward remarked. "Maybe we can run again some other time; things may be different then."
"It will be a pleasure," I assured.
"Now, can I ask you something?"
"As long as the question doesn't refer to my seven tails, go ahead."
"Oh. Nevermind."
I shrugged.
"Okay, okay!, what's wrong with the world?!," I exclaimed. "Ok, it's not your fault, it's just that pokemon ask that everywhere I go. I got only one extra tail when I evolved, that's all. As you can see, I'm as competitive as any other Ninetales, if not more."
"Calm down, I was just curious, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything! I believe you meant that you were competent, which you are, that's clear. And believe me, no one in the world will ever doubt your competitiveness."
I burst into laughter.
"You're right, I meant competent. I can't get competition off my head, can I?"
"Well, you're really good at it, if that helps," Seaward laughed with me. "Oh! My trainer is coming. Would you like to meet her?"
"Sure, but maybe at the lodge. My trainer's calling for me now, I don't want to miss the hockey game. 3 of my friends are in."
"Oh, I'm in too!," Seaward told me. "I'll be the goalkeeper of my team. You can watch my match."
"Sure. I'll cheer for you as long as you're not up against my friends," I said.
So I went back to fetch my skates in order to return them, and then each of us went to the encounter of his respective trainer and prepared for the next event.

[Charizard04621]

I need more time to figure out what I want to do for the third and final event, but I thought I'd post something before I left to ski for a week. ^_^; Anyway, I was bored. Here goes.

My POV:

Evenstar was sullen when she walked back into the lodge. She was holding Nimrodel's pokéball. From what I had seen from inside, I knew that Nimrodel had been frightened out of her wits. Perhaps she would avoid Élan for a while.

Élan was silent, but I knew he felt relieved of his anger... for the time being. He was sorry for Nimrodel, but once he flew out of control like that, he wouldn't stop for anything or anyone. Élan had an extremely short fuse; it didn't take much to light it. The only thing that triggered his fury was any implication that he was weak only because he was an Unown. He wouldn't mind if he was simply told that he needed more training, or that he needed to refine his battling style; in fact, he'd appreciate that kind of criticism and work seriously to fix whatever needed to be fixed. It was when someone looked down upon the Unown species that Élan became passionately furious.

You know that if I had not vented, I would have collapsed under my own anger, Élan commented. I had to do it.

"Yes, I can fully understand that, Élan." I sighed. "My only concern is that if your future opponents find out about this, they could exploit it as a weakness. They could provoke you into your uncontrollable state, then take full advantage of it. Strategically, this is not a good thing at all."

Good point. Élan didn't say anything for a while. He was thinking. Hard. Finally, he seemed to have come to a decision. I'll need some time alone to train myself against these outbursts. If I can convert my rage into a driving force for winning rather than just a total eruption, it will be a great strength rather than a weakness.

I nodded and recalled him. He wouldn't want to be disturbed for a while. Élan would come back when he was ready. Considering how much he had to do for himself, that would probably be a long time.

Evenstar noticed that Switchblade was being rather quiet. He was still shaken from our recent experience. Come to mention it, I didn't look too well, either. My face was deathly pale.

What did the pokémon thief do this time? Evenstar asked. How did he get in here without being spotted by the authorities? The entire lodge is swarming with police.

I sighed and sat down on a nearby sofa. It would take a lot of energy to recount the whole story. I started by telling Evenstar about how Switchblade and I had gone to the hot chocolate stand, only to find that nobody was there. She smirked as she imagined our frustration. Switchblade and I loved hot chocolate, and could not do without it for long. It was addictive.

My voice changed from a weary tone to one of fearful excitement as I began to talk about how Fat Mike had shoved me into the nearby corridor, and how Switchblade had been powerless this time against the nasty Porygon2's freak technological upgrades. Evenstar became worried at the mention of the unnatural speed and the energy prison, but she urged me to go on.

Then I told her about Mike - the cool Mike - and how Czarnina had so obviously trounced that souped-up Porygon2 and sent it whimpering to its master. Evenstar was impressed, but confused.

What was this guy doing chasing after the pokémon thief? From what I can tell, he certainly wasn't a police officer.

"I asked that same question," I told Evenstar. "Apparently, he's some really awesome trainer whose mission is to stamp out serious instances of crime wherever he can. Like a bounty hunter, but with good purposes. He only goes after criminals that are too artful and dangerous for the police to handle, I think."

That's amazing... Evenstar paused to think. I knew that some Dragon Tamers were powerful, but I've never heard of anyone taking such risks before... Especially if they are not obliged to. This Mike chose to pursue all these dangerous criminals, right?

"Yes," I replied. "But that's the thing, Evenstar. Mike isn't even a Dragon Tamer. I don't know where he's from, or anything else about him at all. He disappeared before I could thank him again for all his trouble."

Strange, Evenstar commented. He probably went off to chase the pokémon thief. Whoever he is, he's very good at tracing down his targeted criminals.

"Well, I'm glad we have someone like that around," I said. "It makes me feel safer, to say the least. The way Fat Mike ran, I could tell he was really afraid. He took one horrified look at Mike, seemed to recognize him, and bolted immediately away."

Switchblade had calmed down by now. He, too, had been deeply relieved when Mike had showed up. Switchblade was a great judge of character, and even more so than everyone else I knew. If I needed reassurance, I could trust his feelings toward the matter. Switchblade had felt very comfortable when we met Mike for the first time, and had acted as if all our problems with Fat Mike were resolved. It was a good feeling - to be reassured and feel safe.

"Switchblade, let's register you for the final event of this year's Winter Games," I called, making my way to the registration booth. "I doubt we'll see Fat Mike again for a while."

[Lady Vulpix]

And there go another 4! You're advancing fast, Karin! ¢¢¢¢

[Pidgeot]

This is an official announcement.

The official finals for the Dragon Games will be posted on Saturday, 8th of March, 2003. It will include the prize list, information on the new R/S Pokemon, and deadlines for entries, plus alot more. Thank you.

[AntiAsh Superstar]

Phew, finished! I can only apologise for the first half of this story being a trifle out of date when it comes to recent events - I'd written it a few weeks ago before any announcements about the Dragon Games had been made and I thought some of it was too cool to axe anyways. ^_^;;

-----

Once upon a time life had been simple, but those days seemed like a far off memory to me. Whenever I tried to remember the earlier part of my life in Ulthuan, the exact details escaped me. I could remember spending a lot of time wandering from place to place. I could remember always seeming to walk straight into the trouble spots, so that, at least, had been a constant in my life. But beyond that? Nothing. It was as if the only reason I had found my identity in the first place was due to my association with the friends I had made in the period of time during and after the Pegasus Games, the tournament that had been responsible for a great deal of growing up on the parts of all involved. And even that seemed like a hazy memory to me. There had been a lot of dark days. There had been a lot of torment, a lot of times when the simple act of existing had seemed like too much of a bother. A lot of times where only the company of my pokémon had kept me from descending into insanity. Yes, those had been troubled times, but even they seemed like simply something I had read about in a story, as if they hadn't actually happened to me. In short, I had changed. And I could no longer even begin to recall how I had felt before. Which could well have been for the best. To recall exactly how depressed I had been at times... well, that would have been enough to start the whole vicious cycle off again. And that was something I certainly didn't much want to happen. Because, for some unfathomable reason, this confirmed cynic seemed to have finally found his niche in life, finally learnt to be happy with his lot. And it was a feeling that I had no intention of letting go of.

Of course, not everybody was as contented as I was feeling. My team were by nature a restless bunch. And even the change of scenery that came with a second move in as many years did little to quell the need for some action. The new house, it had to be said, was quite an impressive affair, more than large enough to comfortably accommodate the pokémon already resident in the house, plus more should the team's size ever increase further. Certainly Tsuyoi had been planning ahead with this one! It was a two-story, detached house with a more than generously sized garden that held enough space for a large pond and as many of the team who wished to go outside. Tsuyoi's sister, Amai, had agreed to come over sporadically to tend to the garden, which was just as well seeing as none of us were gifted with green fingers. In fact I had always loathed gardening, and I probably always would, so her help was more than welcome. Yes, this was a far more welcoming place than the old apartment had been, but even so, the novelty was beginning to wear off for some pokémon. Or maybe they simply had other things on their mind.
"What the...?" Pearl was the first to notice the cacophony outside the house. It wasn't really all that much, certainly not enough to wake anybody else up, but Pearl had always been a light sleeper. So she was the only one who really noticed it. A reasonably loud, persistent knocking coming from the garden. To her sharp ears it sounded like somebody was chopping wood, but logic dictated that this couldn't be the case. We had no need to chop wood in this age of central heating, and besides, who in their right mind would commence such duties at a time not long after midnight? No, there was quite definitely something wrong here. Sitting up in the well worn basket that had served as her bed for as long as she could remember, Pearl's eyes scanned the large room that called itself the pokémon bedroom. Everything seemed to be in order. She could quite clearly make out the slumbering forms of her teammates. Well, most of them, anyway. The spaces that were used by some of them were curiously empty. To be precise, there seemed to be no sign of Katnip, Milliardo, Pandora or Adreena anywhere. In many cases Pearl wasn't all that surprised. Adreena's bed was usually empty at night, the Vaporeon using the time to conduct her twilight liaisons with her enigmatic lover, Tamotsu. And Milliardo and Pandora seemed to not need that much sleep, a few hours between four and nine am seemed to serve them well enough. Dark types seemed to thrive in the night, anyway. But that still didn't explain Katnip's absence. In fact, the more Pearl thought about it, the more things seemed to make sense. The noise outside would probably be the Raticate, practising his moves on logs as he had a tendency to do now that he had the garden to exercise in. But why so late? And in such cold conditions? The winter nights were harsher than usual this year, and it wasn't like Katnip to do anything that would prove counterproductive to his usually healthy regime. Something about the whole situation didn't quite sit right with Pearl. And when that happened, the Ninetales didn't just sit back and watch. Silently she slipped out of bed, pushing the door open with her nose and heading speedily out towards the garden. Whatever was going on here, Pearl was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Hi Pearl." The sight that greeted the Ninetales was more bizarre than she had been expecting. Indeed, Katnip was training on logs, but this was more than simple practise. The Raticate was assaulting the wood with such fury, such venom, that despite the tired look on his face that was easy enough to notice even through the fire in his eyes, despite the fact that he looked as if he was about to drop, it was as if the Raticate had been possessed. This wasn't the Raticate Pearl knew. "I hope you don't think you're gonna get any sense out of him. He's been like this for hours." For the first time Pearl became aware of Milliardo sat by her side. Truth be told he looked quite shocking as well, the mood of this cold place having broken through even his walls. "I only came out to see what all the noise was about, but you know, I was kind of loath to leave him like this."
"What's up with him?" Pearl was still shell shocked. It cut her up more than she cared to admit to see Katnip, normally so strong, reduced to this. "Has he said anything?"
"Not a word. He's totally lost it if you ask me." Milliardo sighed deeply, his own frustration with the scenario bubbling to the surface. "Stupid ****er, I don't even know why I'm freezing my butt off for him when there's a nice warm Fire type indoors that I could be cuddling up to. I think I've an idea of what's bugging him though. It doesn't take a genius to realise what's been eating at him for the past month or two. The words ‘Dragon Games' mean anything to you?" Pearl didn't respond, she just carried on watching the exhausted Raticate push himself beyond his limits. Milliardo was right, of course. It was easy to figure out what was making Katnip so angry. He had every right to be. His first tournament, his first chance to really prove himself, and the instant the news came through that he had progressed to the finals the entire thing seemed to have been dropped without a word. No explanations, no nothing. Not even so much as an apology. Of course he was feeling disappointed, of course he was feeling the rage that was being expressed in the only way the Raticate knew how. In fact it was a tribute to Katnip's normal composure that it had taken him this long to snap. But as understandable as his frustration was, there was no way Pearl could leave him in this state! She had to do something!
"Katnip, what's wrong with you?" Best to start softly, Pearl decided. And if reasoning didn't work she could always move on to more drastic measures. "Okay, it's good to get things out of your system and all but don't you think you're pushing things just a LITTLE too far?" It was as if the words hadn't even registered. The Raticate was still just attacking the wood. It was as if his mind had switched off to everything other than the brutal therapy he was forcing himself into. "Katnip, I refuse to believe that you, who's always been so level-headed, would act like this! Can't you see enough is enough? I know you're frustrated and all, but... but..." For once the Ninetales found herself at a loss for words. She would have expected this kind of thing off anyone but Katnip! "You're scaring me, Katnip." Pearl's normally confident voice sounded very small all of a sudden, and those beautiful ruby eyes looked almost as if they were going to burst into tears. "Whatever happened to the cheerful Raticate I once knew? I hate to see you like this. Please, Katnip, just talk to me would you?"
"Sorry." Suddenly the Ninetales became aware that Katnip had ceased his stress relief, and was now looking directly at her. She had become so wrapped up in her own confusion that she hadn't even noticed that the Raticate had been paying attention! In fact that wasn't the only change, somewhere along the line Milliardo had decided to return to the warm comforts of the house. Which just left the two of them, and maybe in some ways that was for the best. "Guess even MY patience has its limits. I was just gettin' a bit pissed off, yanno?" The pokémon offered a weak smile in a futile attempt to ease Pearl's mind. It wasn't really working too well. When even Katnip got like this the problems were clearly more than could be got over in a few moments.
"That's ‘a bit pissed off', is it?" Pearl quickly blinked away the tears. "I wouldn't like to see you get really angry!"
"Well maybe I was a bit. Sorry ta worry ya, Pearl. I just needed ta work out some of my anger, guess I just got carried away." Katnip paused for a minute, turning something over in his mind. "Hey, mind if I ask ya somethin' now yer here? Seriously this time. I know whenever I ask ya questions they're normally crap attempts at chat-up lines an' all, but this time I actually DO have a question." Katnip moved over and sat down besides Pearl, visibly glad to be off his feet for a while. "I'm sure ya know what's been buggin' me, don't take a genius ta work that one out! So, anyways, ya were in the Pegasus Games weren't ya? Tell me, what would ya have done if this kinda thing had happened ta ya?"
"Hmm..." That WAS quite a good question! "It probably would have been quite disappointing, but I'd have just shrugged and got on with it I suppose. There'll always be other tournaments. Then again, I don't live for competition like you do. And I never made it to the finals either. I just scraped a second place in the consolation rounds. I can understand you being annoyed."
"It ain't that." Katnip shook his head. "I just wanted ta actually HAVE that last battle, if the whole thing screwed up after the fight I wouldn't care. I was really lookin' forward ta that fight. Think about it, any opponent yer gonna face in the finals of a tournament like that's gonna be one of the biggest challenges ya could possibly take on! Ya know how much of a sucker I am fer a tough battle, an' I dunno if a chance like that's gonna come round again fer me any time soon."
"You really are a strange one, you know that?" Pearl let a slow smile cross her face. "Anybody else would be annoyed they'd lost the chance to prove themselves, but you couldn't care less, could you?"
"Nope." Katnip shook his head vigorously. "I don't care about winnin', or showin' off ta anybody, I just want the fight itself, everythin' else is just the icin' on the cake ta me." Katnip yawned suddenly, his exhaustion finally catching up with him. "But as ya say, there's gonna be other opponents I guess. Now fer the next set of questions." The Raticate turned to his companion with a glint in his eye that came as something of a relief for Pearl. "Number one, I never had a chance ta find out, are yer paws still as ticklish as they used ta be in yer old body? Number two, what would ya do if I pounced on ya right now? An' number three, any ideas how a guy can kiss a girl when he's got these bloody annoyin' incisors gettin' in the way?"
"Well, let's see. First off, unfortunately for me, yes. Secondly, I'd dodge with ease because there's no way you're going to convince me you're in top shape at the minute. Thirdly, I have no idea, but I'm sure if anyone can find a way around that one it'll be you." Pearl laughed suddenly, an at-ease laugh that was quite at odds from her earlier mood. "I look forward to being the inevitable target once you've come up with a solution to that one, though!"
"Ya mean that?" Katnip seemed more that a little surprised. It was little wonder, really. Pearl seriously doubted that the Raticate had even thought that his flirting had started getting though to her.
"Hmm, let me think..." Pearl paused for a second, deliberately stringing the moment out. This was how things should be! No more worrying bouts of frenzy, just lighthearted conversation. And maybe just a little bit of attraction in there as well. "Yeah, I think so. You've spent so long coming on to me, now I'm single one of these days I might just turn around and tell you to put your money where your mouth is!"
"I hope ya mean that, coz I will if ya give me the slightest bit of encouragement!" Katnip grinned winsomely, his earlier mood now well and truly forgotten. After all, there would be other chances to test his limits in battle. And there was more to life than just fighting and competition. That was something that even the Raticate could understand!

Things in the household had improved considerably by morning, both in mood and in temperature, although nobody was particularly willing to explain the large quantity of broken logs in the back garden. To be honest I really didn't think I wanted to hear the answers anyway. Not for the first time I had been woken up far earlier than I would have liked, this time by a loud and heated argument between Scratchy and Milliardo. Apparently Milliardo had yet again engaged his mouth before his brain - although at times you had to wonder where carelessness ended and deliberate antagonism began with the Umbreon - and said something that the Paras had taken exception to. And of course, the instant Milliardo realised he had caused offence he took great delight in repeating what he had done, only louder. It had taken the best efforts of the rest of the team to stop the two from coming to blows. Even now, breakfast well out of the way and the morning nearly over, the two pokémon were still sulking with each other. Or at least Scratchy was sulking. Milliardo seemed to have forgotten the incident had ever happened, busy as he was nosying at the daily newspaper and offering a brand of social commentary whose philosophy seemed to be that power either corrupts or turns a person into an instant imbecile. The scary thing being that in some ways I felt he may well have had a point, notable counterexamples to his theory being few and far between.
"Hey!" Most of us had long since given up on listening to the Umbreon's comments - given an audience Milliardo could have quite happily kept up his sarcastic, vitriolic comedy act for days - but there was something in his tone that caught my curiosity. A strange mixture of surprise and bemusement. Which probably meant that he had found something good. "Look at this, they've resurrected the good old pokémon ice hockey! You'd have thought they might have learnt their lesson after last year's chaos, wouldn't you?"
"Which you directly contributed to, may I remind you. Let me see that." Leaning over from my position in a rather comfortable armchair that I was more than reluctant to move from, I grabbed the paper and took a look. It was a large, prominent advertisement promoting this weekend's major attraction. Pokémon Winter Olympics. Ice hockey was just one of the many events on offer. From a spectator's point of view it would have made a fine day out. But from a competitor's... well, it was an irresistible prospect. We needed something to do, and these games were open to any trainer who wished to compete. "Looks interesting. Anyone fancy giving it a go?"
"But of course!" Milliardo grinned. "You all know I'm the finest hockey player the world has ever seen, I say that event's in the bag already, especially if we field the same team as last time!" The last time we had been engaged in an ice hockey match it had been Milliardo, Sindel and Katnip who were competing. But that was unlikely to be allowed this time. These events were organised into skill groups, and by now Katnip was far too strong to be allowed to compete in that particular team. But that didn't mean we didn't stand a chance. Far from it. It would just mean a little thought being put into who competed in which event.
"I'm not sure if I could take being put through all that again!" Sindel shuddered abruptly, evidently none too thrilled at the prospect of another hockey match. "If I remember rightly I suffered a minor heart attack once every ten seconds because of you two."
"Ya sayin' we didn't make a good team?" Katnip tried his best to sound offended but he wasn't fooling anyone. All of the negative emotions that had plagued him so much earlier now seemed to have deserted the Raticate completely. So much so that the only ones who knew anything about the whole escapade were the ones who had witnessed it for themselves. "We won, didn't we?"
"Yes, but it's a hollow victory when you've got to put up with the teammates from hell!"
"C'mon, Thingy, I'd have thought you'd have been used to having the teammates from hell by now!" Milliardo cackled, his usual sneer oddly comforting in its own perverse way. "Hands up here who actually thinks for one second we're the most well-behaved team on the planet?"
"You've succeeded in not killing each other for now, I think I might rank that as quite an achievement." A familiar voice rang from the hallway, a tone so supremely confident, so commanding, that it could only belong to one creature. "Dare I say that you lot do make quite a good team even if none of you will admit it? Whether you're good roommates or not, however, is a different matter entirely." Sure enough, the wolflike face of Tsuyoi, the mutated Ninetales who had been responsible for our current state perhaps more than anybody else, peered critically from the door of the lounge, those dark eyes, sinister yet curiously friendly, surveying the state of the room before him. "I'm glad to see that you CAN go for a day without me without getting into some sort of trouble. I was a little worried about leaving you. On past form I was expecting to find the house completely destroyed." Tsuyoi had indeed been gone for a good 24 hours, and nobody had even thought to question where he had been. The creature was a law unto himself, and if he wanted to vanish for a while that was up to him. "So, care to fill me in on what I've missed?"
"Can't I just fill you in on what you're missing out on?" Kasumi grinned broadly, evidently pleased to see Tsuyoi again. It was no secret that the Growlithe harboured quite the crush on the powerful pokémon, which no doubt spelled trouble. For one, or the other, or both. "I thought you could absorb the contents of people's minds just by looking at them, anyway."
"True, but it's so much more friendly to let everyone talk as opposed to raiding their memories, don't you think?" Tsuyoi offered a bemused smirk, the usual expression that was upon his canine face whenever his eyes alighted upon Kasumi. "And as for your other point, I'll just have to imagine it, at least until you do a little more growing up."
"I could evolve now if..."
"Oh no." Tsuyoi cut Kasumi off short in an instant. "I seem to remember going through this with you before, I refuse to let your planet-sized libido ruin your chances of becoming as strong as you could be if you just waited for a while. Even if you seem quite happy to allow that to happen, I'm not, and I think we've all learned by now that my word is final, hm?"
"Yes, sir." Kasumi's ears drooped slightly, as if the admonishment had actually gotten through to the small part of her mind that wasn't totally warped and she finally realised the truth in Tsuyoi's words.
"Good girl." Tsuyoi patted the Growlithe on her head before returning his attention to the rest of the assembled group. "So now that's sorted out I repeat my request for an update on what's going on. If, of course, you can all stop arguing long enough to manage that."
"You're asking too much there, Tsuyoi!" I chuckled, inwardly quite glad to see the seemingly demonic creature. For all the huge fangs and sharp claws, for all the immense physical and psychic strength, Tsuyoi was still an ultimately benevolent creature. At least to those he considered worthy of his guidance. "We like bickering too much. But as to what's happened, I guess ‘**** all' sums it up best." Suddenly I remembered something, a quick spark of inspiration lighting up my usually airheaded mind. "Oh, apart from this. Here, take a look." I tossed the newspaper over to Tsuyoi, who caught it easily and began scanning the pages with quite remarkable speed.
"Oh, you bought a newspaper, well done," Tsuyoi chuckled. "I apologise, that was far too Milliardo-esque of me. It looks as if they've done it again and organised some little game for you to play at the exact time you needed it. Remarkable how things like that are always happening, isn't it?"
"Totally. If I didn't know better I'd think there was some external force at work when it comes to the timing of these things."
"Ade! Are you accusing me of subtly manipulating people's minds in order to provide the stimulation you and your unholy rabble need every so often?" Tsuyoi looked offended, but I wasn't buying any of it. I had known him for far too long now. And the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like the exact sort of thing Tsuyoi would do. "I'm totally offended, I would never do such a thing."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
"Well, not often, anyway," Tsuyoi finally conceded, confirming my suspicions in an instant. "Admit it, you need the change of routine every now and then. It's all to your benefit that I plant the occasional idea into people's heads."
"Oh, so seeing as this sounds like it was all your idea you wouldn't fancy giving us a few pointers would you?" Milliardo asked lazily. "Forewarned is forearmed, et cetera et cetera."
"Not a chance, you should know better than to expect me to do anything more than the bare minimum to keep you all going. You don't want all the fun taking out of it, do you?" Tsuyoi yawned rather deliberately, as if to add a casual air to his whole demeanour. "Besides which, it isn't my idea, I just gently suggested the timing of the whole affair. They were going to hold this a little later before I persuaded them otherwise. The best part is they don't even realise I intervened. To all intents and purposes the change of dates is entirely the idea of those organising it. Psychic powers can be so handy sometimes, can't they?"
"Fine, but can't we have just a LITTLE idea of what to expect?"
"No. If you're that desperate to find out, go and take a look for yourself." And that, it seemed, was all Tsuyoi had to say on the matter, the powerful pokémon turning his attentions to more important matters, such as browsing through my CD collection to find something he wanted to hear. Of course, I had to admit that he had a point. Tsuyoi wasn't the sort to guide anyone through life in such direct manners. I had learnt from painful experience that his philosophy was to allow us to learn from our own mistakes. So asking him for hints was a waste of time. But checking out the whole situation ourselves... now that sounded like my kind of plan! After all, it couldn't hurt to turn up a little earlier, could it?

It turned out that the games were a remarkably well-organised affair. As one entered the location where they were to be held, you could see all kinds of stalls and attractions to keep the attention of the spectators in between events, ranging from tacky souvenir stalls to the obligatory refreshment vans. Everywhere you looked, people were milling about the stands, setting up their own stalls or checking out what others had to offer. And as to the event arena itself... well, that was quite the impressive sight, a large expanse of ice, water and snow expertly arranged so that it could have been home to any one of a number of events with only the most minor of alterations. The fact that the weather was nowhere near snowing only seemed to add to the effect, and it did make you wonder how those in charge of this event had manage to acquire so much snow. Then again, pokémon were strange creatures, and some could even influence the weather over a limited area. Maybe there was a logical explanation for all the snow after all.
"Okay, so what are we supposed to do now?" Sindel looked about her surroundings rather diffidently. "We're here to compete, aren't we?" This last comment was aimed at Kirei more than anyone else, the Espeon's attention clearly more focussed on a stall selling Pokédolls than it was on the matter at hand.
"Yeah, I know. I'd guess we'd have to sign up somewhere or other in order to compete..." My eyes scanned the stalls, hoping to find some kind of registration booth. But so far, nothing. Then again, my eyesight wasn't exactly at its best. Maybe one of my pokémon would have better luck. "Anyone spot anything that looks like it might be where we have to head for?"
"Not at all." Pearl shook her head. "Although I wouldn't be that surprised if wherever it is was a little closer to the event field itself."
"You know, that is quite a good point. Maybe we should take a quick walk over there. It wouldn't hurt to get a closer look at where you guys will be playing, anyway." That was a course of action I had learnt off Katnip. The more familiar you were with your surroundings, the better your chances of victory were. Maybe I could even get my pokémon a little time on the ice to help them regain familiarity with the terrain. And hell, maybe we'd actually find that registration booth after all.

"There you go, sir. Just fill this in and you'll be able to compete." The registration booth was tucked away in the most awkward corner of the events grounds possible, but in the end we had managed to locate it, due largely to Kirei's navigational skills and Sindel accidentally chancing upon the thoughts of the petite girl manning the stall. But having located the stand had opened up a whole new problem. Largely the fact that the registration form required us to choose which pokémon would compete in which event, and that was something I hadn't given much thought to until now.
"Thanks." I gave the brown-haired woman a thin smile of gratitude, before turning to consult my team. After all, they were the ones who would be competing, it was only fair to see what they had to say on the matter! "Okay, guys, we're allowed to register for three events. Any preferences?"
"Hockey, of course." Milliardo grinned broadly. "I am the hockey master, after all."
"Okay, but we've got to use a team of three of similar experience, AND no two pokémon of the same type are allowed." I sighed deeply. "Which screws up my original thoughts on the matter, I was thinking a team of Pandora, Kasumi and Kirei would be quite fun to watch."
"You mean me and Kirei, don't you?" Pandora giggled. "Miss clumsy over there on ice would be a total liability!"
"Are you saying I've no balance whatsoever?" Kasumi tried to look hurt, but really to the Growlithe it was all water off a duck's back. She knew her shortcomings, and to be honest she couldn't have cared less about them. She was a Growlithe, not a Persian, grace wasn't supposed to be one of her strong points!
"I think she's saying you have a hard enough time moving about on normal ground, ice and you doesn't work in the slightest." Milliardo stuck his tongue out at the Growlithe. "Anyway, I demand to compete in that event, so rethink your plans, Ade."
"Alright already." I ticked off the box to compete in the ice hockey. "But we can't field the same team as last time. Katnip's too strong for you now." I eyed my pokémon up, trying to evaluate which were of a similar strength - of a similar ‘level', if you wished to consider things in such simplistic terms - to my Umbreon. It basically came down to Sindel, Lucky or Scratchy, which narrowed things down even further. Scratchy was too slow to be of any use in a hockey match. And it was probably best not to field a team where two members were sulking with each other anyway. "Sindel, Lucky, do you guys mind making up the numbers?"
"Sure!" Lucky sounded more than eager. "It'll make a nice change to compete in something other than a battle for once."
"And as for me..." Sindel sighed, rolling her eyes in despair, "...I guess I just have to resign myself to my fate, I don't think I'm ever going to escape fighting alongside mouth almighty over there, so I might as well just get it over with."
"Heh, anyone'd think you didn't like having me as a teammate, Thingy."
"I don't think ‘not like' does it justice..."
"Hold it." I held up my hand before another argument could develop. Although Sindel and Milliardo were pretty good friends really, things between them could frequently get very heated. Best to nip this one in the bud. "We've still two more events to sign up for. I think a straightforward race wouldn't be a bad idea, and I'm sure one of you would like the cross country event seeing as it involves an actual battle. Question is, who wants to play?"
"Stupid question, dude." Katnip grinned broadly. "Tho I might just surprise ya an' tell ya ta sign me up fer the race. I think I fancy a bit of a change from all the fightin', it'll be real interestin' ta compete in a straightforward race fer once."
"Fine, but aren't you asking a bit much for anything to be straightforward around here?"
"All the better!" Katnip had that gleam in his eyes again that meant he had his heart set upon this and wasn't ever going to be persuaded otherwise. I was glad. It had been a long time since I had last seen my Raticate this cheerful, in fact I had been starting to worry about him. But apparently he had finally exorcised his inner demons, and the cheerful creature I had once known was now back with us. "Okay then. And as for the cross country... that's running, fighting plus target practise."
"Oh! Cool!" Kirei suddenly piped up, her attention finally diverted from the myriad of attractions and wonders around her. "Mind if I give that one a go?"
"Do you have any projectile attacks?"
"Well... I do have a little something I was working on..." The Espeon smiled sheepishly. "Although I can't say I'm the most accurate creature on the planet. I still wanna give it a go though! Please?" When Kirei wanted something she almost always got it. The Espeon was quite simply the master of coupling an endearing expression with a charming persistence. "Pretty please with a cherry and lashings of cream on top?"
"Kirei, you are such a manipulative bugger, you know that?" I had to laugh. Kirei could always do that to me. Her particular brand of lunacy was far less forced that Beckham's could be at times, and was all the more amusing for it. "Alright, you win. Again." I filled in Kirei's name and species next to the cross country option, followed quickly by my own details in the relevant places. Well, that wasn't so hard. Maybe I was finally learning how to make decisions after all! "So how about we hand this in and go sightseeing until the first event? Which, according to the schedule that came with this form, should be the race."
"Good, ya know I hate havin' ta wait about." Clearly Katnip was more than happy with the prospect of being the first up. Then again, patience pre-competition had never been something the Raticate had been that good at wielding. I recalled battles where he had been virtually climbing the walls waiting to get out there and into the action. Such was Katnip's way. "An' a bite ta eat before the race wouldn't hurt either."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Swiftly I returned my completed form to the woman I had obtained it from, and then focussed my attentions upon my pokémon. Sure, as far as challenges went this one was one of the more unconventional competitions we had come across, but that was alright with us. We were an unconventional team anyway, weren't we?

It had only been an hour that we had been away. Only an hour, enough time to grab something to fill our stomachs and maybe indulge the sillier members of the team in their passion for gimmicky souvenirs. But in that single hour what had been a plain field of snow and ice had been transformed. Now there stood immense tiers of seating, surrounding a large oval track of ice created by cleverly barricading off sections of the ice field that no doubt also served as home to the ice hockey as well. Yet again I found myself rendered speechless by the sheer organisation of the people of Ulthuan. I hadn't even noticed one little bit of construction taking place! But then again, as Milliardo or Tsuyoi would have all too gleefully pointed out, I had never been one for paying attention to my surroundings. Maybe it had been erected whilst I had been waiting for our burgers. Or maybe not. Whatever the case, the grounds for the skating race were now ready, and that meant that it wouldn't be too long before the races were to be held.
"Are you ready for this?" The question was stupid, or course. Katnip was always ready for competition of any sort. But I felt I should at least take an interest in his pre-match routines, even if most of it meant absolutely nothing to me. The Raticate was the resident expert on battle. Not me. I just was the goofy guy who paid for the meals and offered the occasional word of support when it was needed.
"Course I am." Katnip's reply was short and to the point, as ever. He knew what he was doing, and we both knew it. This race, admittedly, was going to be a little different from the others. They were supposed to be held with competitors wearing skates, a quite ridiculous notion I had thought, but Katnip being noticeably larger than the average Raticate put paid to that one when it was discovered not a pair they had would actually fit him comfortably. So it had been agreed on after a great deal of arguing that this one would be a more conventional race. And judging by the sudden change of heart the officials had, the chances were Katnip was only allowed to go skateless thanks to the psychic intervention of certain powerful pokémon. Still, a race was a race to Katnip, held on ice or not. "Any idea what I'm up against?"
"No idea." Well, it was true, I hadn't! The races were to be held one-on-one, the pokémon competing in the event having been paired up in terms of skill levels. And maybe they had announced who was paired up with whom, but if they had we had somehow missed the announcements. Whatever Katnip's opponent was, though, it was going to be a pokémon that was at least theoretically his equal. Then again, was there a single pokémon on the planet who was Katnip's equal in every respect? The Raticate was one of a kind, and I for one was eternally grateful that a creature with his abilities had decided to join the team. Would we be half the team we were without his guidance? Certainly I could have never cut it as a regular trainer. I didn't know the first thing about battle. In fact my whole training career had been littered with lucky breaks and fluke accidents. No, without at least one real warrior amidst our group we would have been only half the creatures we were now. At least when it came to battling.
"Suits me fine." Clearly Katnip wasn't all too bothered by the lack of information. To him the unknown factor just made the challenge ahead all the more interesting. "Hope it ain't somethin' too slow though."
"They've matched these races up so that they'll be close calls, at least so I've heard. And don't forget it's not all about speed, Katnip, attacks can be used in this race as well."
"I know. An' it's more about endurance than anythin' else, especially over 1000 metres." The phrase ‘1000 metres' didn't really mean much to me other than it was a fair distance, raised as I was in a family who still used the imperial measurements of feet and inches. Despite spending my entire life being taught in metric measurements in school, they still meant very little to me when it came to visualising things. At least Katnip seemed to know what he was on about! "Anyway, sounds like our race is about ta start, Ade." The Raticate turned and fixed me with a rather odd look, sensing that I was miles away again. "There ya go again, so busy daydreamin' yer missin' all the fun!"
"Eh?" I snapped myself out of it quickly. My mind was frequently elsewhere these days, maybe more so than ever. A thousand different thoughts and influences were constantly fighting for attention within my mind, and not every one of them could be given the required amount or consideration. Frequently it seemed to be the events right in front of my nose that lost out in the end. "Sorry. You know me, I'm an airhead, and an inattentive one at that. What were you saying?"
"I was sayin' that the PA's just said somethin' like ‘will Ade B an' his Raticate get down ta the skatin' arena pronto coz their race is up in a few minutes'. Honestly, Ade, yer useless. An' what's with the ‘Ade B' thing anyway, ya haven't called yerself that in years!" Katnip sounded somewhat exasperated, and to be honest I couldn't blame him. Sometimes even I managed to lose my patience with myself, and such a feat took some doing!
"So I got nostalgic, so sue me." I shrugged. To be honest even I wasn't sure why I had reverted to that one. Maybe I was just a little wary of giving out my full name. I liked to cling onto my anonymity, something that was getting rather hard since Katnip's successes at the Dragon Games. Even so, a simple ‘Ade' would have sufficed. Or I could have chosen one of many weird pseudonyms I had established over the years. I wouldn't have been the first. Maybe it was just simply one of those brainless, spur of the moment things I was infamous for. "Okay, good buddy, you go out there and knock their socks off. I'll be rooting for you."
"Thanks dude." The Raticate made his way to the competitor's entrance, where he would enter the ice in front of a crowd that, judging from the odds the bookmakers had placed upon his victory, were firmly in his favour. It was a good omen. "I'll make ya all proud." Katnip turned back to me for one last second and shot one of those cheery winks that proved without a doubt that he was now back in firm control of his destiny, before vanishing into the arena, leaving me to make my way up to the stands where the rest of my pokémon were waiting. This was going to be one worth watching! And why shouldn't it have been? If nothing else, Katnip could make for compulsive viewing when on from. And form, I felt, was something the Raticate had in abundance.

"So you've finally turned up." Although Katnip had made his way to the track to a rather generous round of applause, his attention was fixed firmly on one thing and one thing only. His opponent, already waiting for him at the starting blocks. Apparently the powers that be had decided to pit him up against a Delibird. Not the strongest of pokémon by some margin, but it was still an Ice type and would still have the advantage in a race over its home terrain. "You're late." Clearly this pokémon wasn't the most patient of creatures. He had only been late by a few minutes at most!
"Keep yer hair on, would ya? Ya make it sound as if I turned up half an hour late." Katnip tried to get some measure of his opponent. Certainly it didn't seem to be the fittest of creatures, but then looks could be deceiving. And besides, no doubt it had some tricks up its sleeve to swing the odds in its favour.
"Late is late," the pokémon snorted irritably in a fashion that reminded Katnip of Sindel when she was in one of her more uptight moods. He'd heard this kind of tirade before, off the aforementioned Kadabra of course, and it was all he could do to keep a straight face throughout it. "I'd have thought that a pokémon such as yourself would have been more than eager to reach the arena in time!"
"Well I was, but not everyone on me team could get their act tagether in time, okay?" Katnip was beginning to tire of this Delibird. He was getting the distinct impression that it was trying its best to appear superior. Maybe it thought it had a point to prove. Achieving victory against a Dragon Games finalist would have certainly been a major ego boost to any pokémon! But there was no reason at all to act so aloof.
"Sounds a little sloppy for such a supposedly good team..." It was true, alright. No denying it. This particular pokémon seemed almost envious of Katnip, and that envy was coming out in the form of an undue harshness that was beginning to irritate the Raticate. He had just gotten over his frustration over the tournament, he didn't need reminding of it every ten seconds, no matter how indirectly! "I take it you haven't been getting much practise in lately?"
"Right, I've had enough of this!" Katnip hissed directly into his opponent's face, his patience finally snapping. "If yer lookin' fer a fight ya picked the wrong pokémon. I don't mind givin' ya a race if yer up for it, that's what I'm here for, but ya seem ta want ta be beaten ta a pulp on top of everythin' else. If I was you I'd just shut up before I do somethin' we'll both regret." It was all a bluff, of course. Anybody who knew Katnip in the slightest knew that attacking out of malice or anger was the last thing the Raticate would ever do. But the Delibird didn't have the benefit of that knowledge, hence it shrank back and decided it might be a good idea to just stay quiet for a while. "Better." Katnip smirked to himself as the two pokémon took up their positions at the starting line. That was a trick he had picked up from hanging round Milliardo too long. And although Katnip was far more inclined towards direct action than the big mouthed Umbreon, there was no denying the effectiveness of a convincing threat in certain situations. Now he could finally give his full attention to the race ahead of him. It seemed a simple enough prospect. Ten laps of the circuit, and all he had to do was make sure he finished before the Delibird. That didn't seem too difficult, not compared to some of the challenges the messy Raticate had faced in his lifetime. And yet he knew better than anyone that there was no room for complacency. The pokémon trained in Ulthuan ranked amongst some of the most well-trained in the world. One false move could see him lose any chance of victory. Well, that was alright by Katnip. The thrill of competition was why he was here in the first place, wasn't it?
"On your marks..." Apparently it was time to begin, a smart suited official counting down the time until the race began. Every muscle in his body tensed to spring into action the millisecond the command to start was given, Katnip, little eyes were focussed firmly upon the track in front of him, prepared himself for what would no doubt be one hell of an interesting race. A cursory glance over at his opponent confirmed that it too was ready to give it all that it had. The concentration upon its otherwise comical face said that much. "Get set..." Swiftly Katnip returned his attention to the smooth ice in front of him. There was no way he was going to lose! All he needed was a single word, and he would be on his way. And after what seemed like hours, that word finally came. "Go!!!" The two pokémon bolted from their positions at the exact same time, both wanting to gain that crucial inch over their opponent, yet neither really succeeding. The race, it seemed, was on.

[Lady Vulpix]

Well done, Ade! Take 6 stamps for that great intro! Though I think Tsuyoi may be messing up a little too much. Your team is so much fun to read about! ¢¢¢¢¢¢

By the way, 1 Kilometer (1,000 meters) = 0.6214 Miles = 3281 Feet, at least according to this site.

[Sheik]

Hey, Gabi! I've tapped back into my old account by logging in from my aunt's computer that I haven't used since the last time I was here, so everything is back to normal. I do have a few questions though.

When I was here last, there was a club that Connah made up called the Hoenn Gym Leaders. I still have that in my sig, but I don't know if the club is still up and running. I was just wanting to know if I should go ahead and delete that information.

To make this not spam, I'm going to post my battle in a few hours. As soon as I find the scenario.

[Lady Vulpix]

Welcome back to your old account!
There's ALWAYS a link to the current scenario on the first post of this topic. Whenever the scenario changes, the link is updated.
As for the club, you can ask Connah. He may have forgotten about it.

[Sheik]

I’m going to battle in scenario version # 3. I’m going to use Ieal, my Stantler, that was hatched from Lady Vulpix’s Stantler, Iael, and Nala’s Ditto (Gabi, you will finally be able to witness Iael’s son’s battle techniques! Bout time, huh?)

(Jay’s POV)

I woke up before the alarm went off, something that seldom happens. It was 6:55. I didn’t bother going back to bed, for I’d be woken up in five minutes either by my buzzing alarm, or my howling Growlithe and Houndour. I pushed the covers up, and crept my room.

I sneaked into my closet, and scrambled through some clothing. I finally unearthed my favorite pair of jeans from the seemingly mountainous pile of clothing. I slipped the jeans on, which sagged down to my hips, which usually happened with all my pants, since I have no waist.

I then located my leather belt, and slipped it on, it’s ebony color faintly glimmering off the light of the sun. I then came across a t-shirt, which I usually wore under my sweater. It was snowing outside, so this was my casual dress for this type of weather. I found my hooded sweatshirt, and then my alarm went off.

I sauntered over to my nightstand, and turned the alarm off. I tiptoed out of my room, and downstairs, trying as hard as I could not to stir anyone from bed. I didn’t make a sound, walking through the dining room and into the kitchen. I then had to figure out what in the hell I was going to eat.

If you lived in a family like mine, then you were on your own for the majority of the time, especially for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. My parents were workaholics, my dad researching the newer Pokemon that were said to be found in the newly discovered land of Hoenn; my mom working as a highly important executive for Silph Co. My mom usually was never home, only coming home on some of the weekends. She was relatively far from Blackthorn.

I got out a pan, and the box of Bisquick, and began to make pancakes. I mixed the concoction together, and put it in the pan to cook. It seemed I had disturbed my Pokemons’ peaceful slumber when Cinder crept into the kitchen. He glared at me with his dark eyes. It wasn’t necessarily a bad glare, but I had the feeling that he was still tired. He staggered under the little table near the wall of the kitchen, curled up, and began to sleep.

After a few moments of cooking, Ebony and Blazer stumbled in. They looked up at me, with starvation in their eyes. Since I had just begun making my final pancake, and it would be awhile since it would be finished, I got out the PokeIams, the Pokemon version of Iams dog food. I poured it into a couple of bowls and they began to eat. I waited until my final pancake was finished, and sat at the table.

I poured syrup and butter onto the flapjacks, and began to eat. I watched my two dog Pokemon, gorging themselves with food. They were obviously famished. I guess I didn’t give them enough to eat the night before, though I thought their meal might have been sufficient.

I finished breakfast, and gathered my Pokemon into their Pokeballs. I attached them to the sides of my pant legs, the usual cooltrainer style. I walked outside, and almost felt overwhelmed from the icy air that swept into my lungs. I exhaled, and my breath was clearly visible. I locked the door behind me, before setting off onto my training expedition.

I strutted down the rocky road, my pokeballs jingling at my every step. Many vehicles zoomed past, the usual Monday morning rush hour. There was no school today, since a massive heap of snow landed on Blackthorn overnight. The snow more or less came up to the midsection of my lower leg, which made it harder for me to travel expeditiously. I wondered if any of my friends would be out and about, training their Pokemon. None could be found within my path of vision, so I continued onward. There needed to be a perfect spot to train.

Ieal was going to be my steadfast and ambitious companion for today. He has been waiting forever to be trained. He doesn’t mind, for patience is one of his virtues. I marched downtown, where a commotion had begun.

There was a car crash, due to the ice on the roads. Blisseys and Nurse Joys were everywhere, helping the victims of this fatal wreck. Officer Jenny was also on the scene, getting information on how the accident was caused, and such stuff like that. I didn’t pay one bit of attention to her as she was bossing my around, telling me, a little child as she call me, to get out of the way and go home where I belong. I never took much of a liking to Officer Jenny, but I was cheered up by the kindness of Nurse Joy.

“Jay, how are you doing?” Nurse Joy asked me, holding a first aid kit that had been used on one of the victims a minute ago. Blood was covered on a damp rag.

“I’m fine, thank you, but how did this mess happen?” I asked, trying to gain information. I was a nosy person when it came to town matters. I always wanted to know what was going on.

“Well, it seems to me that one of the cars swerved on some ice while trying to dodge another car that almost rammed it. The driver lost control of the vehicle, and then an oncoming car collided with it,” she told me, scratching her arm.

“Are the drivers all right?” I asked, hoping for the best.

“Well, only one was critically hurt, but it isn’t extremely severe. It will take a few days for her to heal, but the other driver is completely fine, save a few scrapes and scratches. Oh! Sorry to leave like this, Jay, but it’s an emergency, they just pulled a second passenger from the vehicle. Boy, what a morning. See ya!” She hollered.

“Bye, Joy,” I called back, continuing on my way. I thoughts suddenly shifted from the accident to my duty as a trainer. After traveling through town, taking twists and turns within my route, I finally came to my destination… The Pond.

The Pond was my secret training spot, one that only I knew about. It was situated on the outskirts of Blackthorn, to the northeast. It a very nice spot to train. A pond was in the center of circle of grass, which was surrounded by many trees. Almost ever kind of Pokemon could be found here, from Caterpies to Sentrets. I sat down near the pond after brushing the snow and ice off of the log. Sitting on it made my butt cold, but I could bear it. I released Ieal, and waited for a Pokemon to show itself. None came for some time, but I had a feeling that soon, very soon, in fact, that a Pokemon was coming. I spotted a Sentret, and sent Ieal to attack. Sentret evaded, and escaped.

After a few more moments of waiting, a Phanpy revealed itself from the brush. Ieal went after it, trying a Headbutt, but Phanpy dodged and ran away. I could tell that this wasn’t going to be an easy hunt. Suddenly, a Squirtle emerged from the watery depths of the pond.

Ieal, Stantler, lv 5 VS Squirtle, lv 10

This Squirtle looked insanely tough. It raced toward Ieal, trying a Tackle, but Ieal leaped aside. Squirtle may have been tougher, but Ieal had a good attribute to back him up… Cleverness, a trait I have a feeling he got from his mother. Squirtle turned, and confronted Ieal with a low snarl. Ieal kept his ground, in anticipation of another assault. Squirtle let down its head, planning for a Skull Bash. Ieal waited, not moving a muscle, making sure all of his senses were to the max.

Squirtle was tired of hanging around, so it let the Skull Bash fly. Ieal anticipated the attack, and swerved out of the way, letting Squirtle pass through the air. When Squirtle came across Ieal’s path, he let loose with a Headbutt, sending Squirtle soaring across the vicinity of snow. Squirtle beamed at Ieal, annoyance in its evil eyes.

Squirtle ascended to its feet, and sent a hurling Ice Beam toward Ieal. Ieal wasn’t ready for this attack, and got hit across the face. Ieal shook the icy blast from his face, ignoring his fault, not letting it get to him.

Squirtle reared to attack again with a Tackle. Ieal was ready this time. You’d think that the Squirtle would have gotten the clue by now not to attack Ieal physically, for he would counter it. Ieal again swerved out of the way, and let Squirtle have it with a Headbutt.

Ieal caught Squirtle by astonishment, and launched it en route to the earth. Ieal pursued his quarry, attacking it from behind with a Tackle. Squirtle’s HP was dwindling slowly. It kicked Ieal in the face, making Ieal stagger backward. Squirtle rose quickly, and whirled in Ieal’s direction, smacking him across the face with a Rapid Spin.

Ieal was getting worn out, but I knew he would in no way give up. Squirtle reared to attack again, but Ieal jumped aside, smacking it with another Headbutt. Squirtle just didn’t get it, no matter which way it tried to attack Ieal with physical strength, it just couldn’t happen. Squirtle’s HP was getting close to nothing now, as told by my Pokedex.

Ieal was in hot persuit, attacking Squirtle vehemently with an additional Headbutt. Critical Hit! My Pokedex noted. Squirtle ascended, using Ice Beam. Ieal was ready for one this time, and ducked. The Ice Beam caught the tip of Ieal’s antlers, but it did minimal damage.

Ieal charged forth, delivering the final blow. Squirtle attempted to rise, but Ieal kept it down with another Headbutt, with a Tackle followed up.

Ieal grew to level 6!]

[Lady Vulpix]

Well, J, that story was properly written, but I can't accept it as a valid battle. It didn't fit the current scenario, and not even the 2 previous ones. So I'm afraid you'll have to keep Ieal's level at 5 for now and write something for the current scenario, which is on page 5 of this topic. Sorry.

[Sheik]

Was it not properly written for the Scenario number 3, in which I am surrounded by snow, ice, freezing water, and I must battle a level 10 squirtle?

[Aipom Of Doom]

Originally posted by PokeMaster Jay
Was it not properly written for the Scenario number 3, in which I am surrounded by snow, ice, freezing water, and I must battle a level 10 squirtle?

Yeah, but the scenerio is to have a race, not a battle =/

[Sheik]

Ok... I'll just rewrite the battle scene.

[AntiAsh Superstar]

Tsuyoi messing up too much? Heh, I guess even he has his flaws, tho don't tell him I said that! Anyways, here's the rest of the story that I didn't quite get the time to post before having to run off for the weekend. ^_^

-----

GO!!! L27 Raticate v L30 Delibird!

Initially Katnip found the icy surface somewhat disorientating. He wasn’t used to running at high speeds over such slippery terrain, and in some respects it was as much as he could do to keep from skidding into the walls surrounding the track. He didn’t, of course, he was too much of a professional to allow that to happen, but it was more to do with a great deal of self control than it was to do with his skills over ice. For its part, the Delibird was a lot slower, but far more steady in its progress. It had, after all, spent most of its life in icy terrain, it was perfectly adapted to deal with such a race. Unlike Katnip, whose fleshy hindpaws might have been perfectly suited to the kind of impressive acrobatics he was fast gaining a reputation for in battle but offered precious little traction upon the frozen floor.
“Damn it!” The first lap had hardly taken any time at all, but by the time the starting grid came into view again it was obvious that the Delibird actually seemed to be in the lead. Not that Katnip had any intention of letting things remain that way. By now he was slowly beginning to get a hang of travelling upon the ice. He was now making allowances for the lack of traction, and had dropped his earlier hurtling velocity for a pace that allowed for the optimum balance of speed and control. It was still a lot faster than his opponent could manage, and soon Katnip found himself catching up with the Delibird. By the time the two pokémon were halfway around the second lap, they were practically neck and neck.
“You’re not bad!” The Delibird afforded a glance over in Katnip’s direction, the strain showing in its eyes as it desperately attempted to keep that one step ahead of the Raticate. Something that both pokémon knew couldn’t be kept up for long enough to secure its victory, especially if Katnip grew any more used to racing over ice than he was already. “Especially for a creature not designed to do this sort of thing.” A crafty gleam appeared in the Delibird’s eye. Time for it to resort to a little insurance policy it had prepared just in case this sort of thing occurred. “Let me give you a little something for your efforts!” For his part, Katnip was too busy concentrating on keeping up with his opponent and on not stumbling at the crucial moment to pay much attention to what was going on outside his own little world. A mistake, in hindsight, that cost him dearly. If he had been paying more attention to what his opponent was actually doing, he would have noticed the Delibird reach a stubby, arm-like wing into the parcel that all members of its species carried and throw something from it directly into his path. The attack Present was a very unpredictable move at the best of times, but in this case it had exactly the desired effect. The object - and Katnip was going too fast to really pay much attention to exactly what it was, although judging from the pain the impact between it and his sliding toe caused, it was some sort of metal - flew directly into the Raticate’s path. The results were spectacular. One second Katnip was speeding across the ice at quite impressive speeds, the next the entire world was doing cartwheels around his field of vision, and wouldn’t stop until speed and lack of friction caused him to collide painfully with the wooden barriers surrounding the track. Fortunate for him that they weren’t made of something more durable! As it was, the only things really damaged by the trip were the barrier itself - now rather worryingly dented - and Katnip’s chances of winning. The collision had taken time; recovering from the aftermath even longer. And now his opponent was now a good half a lap ahead.
“Clever.” Katnip didn’t even give himself a chance to recover from the incident. The instant the world stopped spinning he was up on his feet again and speeding round the track. It would take more than that to put him out of action! Even if he was probably going to feel quite sore once the adrenaline of the competition had died down. Not even Katnip could smash into a wooden barrier without paying some kind of price! In fact, the toe that had originally collided with the obstacle was already feeling decidedly less than normal. But there was time to worry about damage later. He could still move, and to the Raticate that was reason enough on its own to continue with the race. “Clever, but bloody underhanded!” So that wasn’t strictly fair. The rules stated quite clearly that attacks could be used during the race. Still, it was annoying. The Delibird hadn’t made the best of impressions upon Katnip with its earlier conduct, and this last trick was only lowering it further in his eyes. Well, he could still catch up. There were still a few laps to go. And when he did, he was going to give the pokémon a taste of its own medicine. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, wasn’t that how it went? It might not have been the most constructive of philosophies, but it was one of the more satisfying. And even Katnip had his flaws. He had his pride, and it was a pride that wouldn’t be satisfied until he had exacted his revenge against his opponent. An opponent who, even now, was drawing ever closer into Katnip’s field of vision. He was certainly glad he had the speed advantage! That, coupled with a level of stamina that would have dwarfed that of even the most resilient of pokémon, made it child’s play to make up the lost ground within the space of a single circuit of the course. Soon enough the two pokémon were drawing level again, and with a good four or five laps to go as well.
“Credit where credit’s due, I can see why you got so far in the tournament.” The words were complimentary, but the Delibird’s eyes told a different story once the two pokémon finally drew level again. They were filled with annoyance, if not just a little disgust. This pokémon simply didn’t like Katnip. Which was fine with the Raticate. He didn’t like the Delibird much, either.
“An’ I have ta admit ya sure know how ta take a guy by surprise!” Katnip shot his opponent a grim smile. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to take the lead right now. But no, that wasn’t how he intended to play this one at all. For a start, it would mean letting the Delibird out of his sight, which he had no intention of doing. Not now he knew of its tactics. And there was still the matter of getting revenge for the blow to his pride earlier. It would be a petty satisfaction, but it would be a satisfaction nonetheless. “Not gonna happen again, I’ll tell ya that now!”
“Really. We’ll just see about that.” The Delibird sounded less than certain of Katnip’s proclamation. Already he could see it reaching into the parcel. Good! He had correctly judged the pokémon’s mentality. It had risen to the bait admirably. And now it left itself wide open to attack.
“Yeah. If ya can manage ta get me before I get ya, that is!” What Katnip had in mind was risky on ice, especially when trying to win a race at the same time. It took a special kind of pokémon to jump up in mid-race, spin about, then hit their opponent with an Iron Tail attack before landing and carrying on with the race as if nothing had happened, but since when had Katnip ever been anything other than extraordinary? He managed to pull the stunt off with spectacular success, sending the Delibird skidding backwards across the ice with only three laps left to make up for lost ground. Not that Katnip was the type of creature who would take anything for granted, of course. That still left three laps for some surprise assault. But even so, suddenly his prospects seemed a lot rosier.
“Damn you!” It hadn’t taken long for Katnip’s opponent to recover from the attack. Already, just mere seconds after a manoeuver that had left the crowd gasping with admiration, the Delibird was trying its best to regain lost ground in the only way it knew how. By impeding Katnip’s progress as best it could. Not that the Raticate had any intention of allowing such a thing to happen. For every projectile thrown in his direction, the Raticate nimbly dodged, by now having found his equilibrium upon the slippery ice to such an extent it was as good as racing on a more conventional surface. How he always managed to know when something was being thrown at him, Katnip didn’t really know, and didn’t really care. I had always theorised that all pokémon possessed a degree of psychic power that aided with communication and the learning of new attacks. And if that was true, and if that was aiding his perception now, Katnip was certainly glad he was a pokémon! By now he had all but fled the range of his opponent’s attacks. Now he was in the lead he intended on widening the gap as much as he could! And this race was almost over anyway. Only another 150 metres lay between him and victory. And despite the projectiles that rained around him, each one seemingly falling short of its target, Katnip could sense that the race was his, provided he didn’t make any major slip-ups. No, no bothersome Delibird was going to stand between him and victory. Even one as admittedly intriguing as the one he was currently facing. “I’ll make you pay!” Katnip’s opponent seemed to be growing more frustrated by the second, at least from the sounds of the threats and curses that echoed behind him. The Raticate wasn’t overly concerned with these furious outbursts. The more infuriated the Delibird became, the more careless it grew. And the more careless it grew, the larger the gap between it and Katnip became. Until the final lap finally came around. Until Katnip passed the starting grid for the penultimate time. And by that time his victory was secured. The two pokémon were virtually on opposite sides of the track. There was no way that the Delibird could have caught up with him. But just in case, Katnip pushed himself even further. Even though his every muscle was beginning to ache, even though he had all but pushed himself to his very limits, somehow he managed to dig deep within himself and find reserves of energy that even he didn’t realise he owned. The results were spectacular. His velocity increased tremendously, and for that final stretch it was as if he was in the middle of one of his Quick Attacks, just a blur of brown and white that hurtled past the finish line, only just managing to apply the brakes before he collided with the wall for a second time. That had been close! But it had been worth it. He had finished far earlier than his opponent, who finally managed to complete the chilly course a good ten seconds after Katnip had sat down in the middle of the track for a well-earned rest. For a moment Katnip wondered if the Delibird was going to go over and say something to him, as he had been expecting. But no, it wasn’t that good a loser. It simply slipped away without a word. Well, that was okay by Katnip. He didn’t have much to say to the plump pokémon anyway. All he wanted right now was to rest. And it was a rest well-earned.

Katnip wins!
Katnip grew to L28!

The next event took place in the mid-afternoon, and by that time the weather was taking a turn for the worse, a chilly wind requiring all but those most resistant to cold to take some form of shelter. It was almost as if it had decided to develop a more appropriate temperature for the current surroundings. Much to my annoyance. I had never been too thrilled with the cold. I had no tolerance for any extreme of temperature at all, and this wind was beginning to make my face decidedly numb. Why didn’t I think to bring a coat with some sort of hood? Ah well, too late to think of such things now. Right now the only thing that mattered was making sure the pokémon chosen for the ice hockey were ready to compete, securely tucked away in a makeshift dressing room that amounted to little more than a sparsely-furnished caravan. But at least it was reasonably warm inside, and we could devote our attentions to the task at hand instead of how to combat the ravaging cold of the outside world. Inside this cramped little room of sorts it was just Milliardo, Lucky, Sindel and myself. The rest of my pokémon had elected to go exploring, safe in the knowledge that by now each carried some form of identification. And by now were becoming more than a little notorious anyway. What Espeon could outperform Kirei when it came to that peculiar brand of agreeable hyperness that she had so claimed as her own? Which Wartortle other than Beckham would instinctively seek out the most likely source of partying? And as for Katnip, he was distinctive on sight, the natural untidiness in his image outdoing even mine. The half-chewed ear - a scar from an altercation in his days as a wild pokémon that not even evolution had managed to fix - and the slightly crooked whiskers gave HIM away before his unique way of talking did. No, there was no danger of my pokémon being mistaken for anything other than mine. Which was probably the reason I felt so secure in allowing them their freedoms.
“So do you guys actually have any kind of plan in mind?” I could spend all day ruminating upon my methods as a trainer, leaning casually against the inner wall of the caravan as I currently was, but now simply wasn’t the time. The day was nowhere near over, and there were still challenges to be overcome.
“You tell us! Aren’t you supposed to be the trainer here?” Milliardo cackled, finding my tendency to turn the responsibilities of tactics and battle over to my pokémon rather funny. It certainly wasn’t the way most trainers behaved! “Nah, I say we go out and take it as it comes. That’s your kind of strategy, isn’t it? And as much as it pains me to say it, you prove that it works pretty admirably.” The Umbreon regarded me with a mixture of bemusement and respect. What must I have looked like to others? A rather messy, dark-clothed creature with long, uncontrollable hair, battered glasses and an image that never seemed to quite make its mind up as to whether it wanted to swing towards goth or punk. How in the world could such a person as myself command anything other than contempt from a vitriolic creature such as Milliardo? Somehow I had managed to win his friendship, though, and for all his cruel humour, for all the notoriously awkward facets of his personality, the Umbreon was amongst the loyalest of creatures once you finally managed to earn his friendship. This was a creature who would undoubtedly risk everything for those he cared about, and it was a creature I was proud to call a friend. “Although it would help to know who we’re up against, but no, somebody couldn’t be bothered to pay attention could they?”
“That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?” Lucky admonished his Umbreon friend. For some reason that nobody could quite understand, Lucky was alone in being spared Milliardo’s harsh tongue. Even Pandora fell victim to his scathing humour at times. But Lucky? No, Milliardo was actually nice to Lucky. It meant that the Meowth could actually get away with reprimanding the Umbreon at times. “Nobody’s perfect.”
“And I’m more flawed than most, huh?” I laughed out loud, flattered by Lucky’s instant defence. “Don’t worry about it. The time where I’d have taken offence at that’s long gone now, and we all know it.” I petted the Meowth reassuringly before returning my attention to the self-appointed team captain fro this event. And why shouldn’t he have been? There was some foundation to his earlier boasting after all! “What’s wrong, Milliardo, don’t you like surprises or something?”
“Of course. I just like to plan ahead a bit. Unlike some people I could mention.” This kind of verbal jousting was becoming all too common these days. Neither of us could offend the other now. And we both knew it. Maybe the two most insecure creatures on the planet were finally coming to terms with their own fallibility after all! “Actually, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, we’re going to win anyway.”
“You shouldn’t get so cocky, you know.” Sindel rolled her eyes. Sometimes she felt as if she were the only truly sane one on the team! Which, as far as having less hang-ups than her companions went, was probably true. “Who knows WHAT we’ll be up against?”
“Well you could always put that nosy part of you to good use for once and find out for us. Had that thought never occurred to you, Thingy?” Milliardo turned to me. “Honestly, Ade, I don’t know what you see in her at all. What use is a Kadabra who can’t even think of the blindingly obvious? I mean, I always thought they were supposed to be smart creatures. Trust us to get lumbered with the slowest of the species.”
“Can’t you give the poor girl a break for once, Milliardo?” I sighed. Sometimes the Umbreon forgot where the line was between teasing and being offensive, and it was quite clear from the fire in Sindel’s eyes that he was on the wrong side of that line. Then again, it happened with such alarming frequency that you had to wonder if he simply just enjoyed offending everyone he met. “As good an idea as it is, not many would have thought of it. It’s not blindingly obvious.”
“Yes it is! What’s the point in having a busybody on the team if they can’t even think to find out the things we actually could do with knowing?” Eventually the frosty silence in the room began to detract from the Umbreon’s conversation, and even he was forced to concede that maybe he was being too harsh on Sindel. “Yeah, okay, maybe that sort of sneaky idea’s the kind of thing that pops only into my head. Can’t I at least have some credit for coming up with a good plan?”
“Only if you apologise,” Sindel huffed, quite clearly not in the best of moods with her antagonistic teammate. Her eyes were still glaring daggers at Milliardo, who was seemingly unperturbed by her murderous stare.
“I never apologise, deal with it,” came the casual response, delivered in such an offhand way it was as if nothing had happened at all.
“So I noticed.” Sindel finally decided she had far better things to waste her emotions on than Milliardo, and turned her attention back to the rest of the group. “Mind you, it is quite a good idea even if it did come from a total jerk. Give me a minute or two, I’ll try and find out what we’re going to be up against.” Silence descended upon the room, nobody daring to so much as breathe lest it disturb the Kadabra as she tried to focus her energies upon finding the required information amongst the bustle of all of the thoughts and psychic emissions that came from the surrounding area. It was hard work, that was for sure. It required immense concentration and an even greater awareness to pinpoint a likely source of information amongst so many living beings. Most would have stood no chance at all. But then again, this was Sindel, and psychic eavesdropping was her speciality. And sure enough, within minutes the Kadabra had opened her eyes again, wearing an expression of triumph. “Okay, I’ve got it. It took a while, but I managed to pinpoint the thoughts of the person in charge of organising the individual competitions.”
“Great! So what are we up against?” Lucky was impressed. Sindel’s powers never failed to amaze him, being as they were so much more direct and powerful than the subtle, almost spooky way Kirei’s psychic abilities manifested themselves. Telepathy and teleportation were far easier to understand than otherworldly unions and psychically-enhanced luck, after all!
“Well, if I heard correctly - and I might not have done, I don’t think even an Alakazam could have blocked out all the interference that’s out there - the team against us will be a Totodile, a Seadra and a Poliwag.”
“A SEADRA???” Milliardo couldn’t help himself. He almost collapsed on the spot from laughing. “Oh my God. I gotta see this. How the hell do you get a pokémon that’s only any good in water to do anything on an ice rink?”
“I’m not too sure.” Sindel shrugged, her tone calm. Apparently she had forgiven Milliardo for his earlier cruelty. “Seems a little weird to me as well. Maybe they’ll put it in goal and carve out a pool for it in front of the goal. It’s not the oddest thing they’re going to have to deal with, though. From what I gathered just then there’s a fair few Water types competing in events that would have difficulty moving outside of water.”
“Interesting.” I mused things over. If this had been a battle we would have won easily. Milliardo’s Hidden Power and Lucky’s Thunderbolt would have seen to that on their own. But this wasn’t a battle, and taking your opponent out of the game was frowned upon. Still, I was certain that we could win this one. It was all about brains, all about cunning. And that, fortunately, was something this little group of pokémon had in abundance.

Eventually the clock finally ticked round to match time. By which time, anxious not to turn up late to two events in a row, we were already at the rink. It was the same place as last time, but the barriers had been rearranged and markings applied to the ice. And, sure enough, a small pool had been cut into the ice in front of one of the goals. Apparently Sindel’s guess had been spot on. Nobody would have ever guessed that it had been a racetrack mere hours ago. My pokémon were already out upon the ice, adjusting themselves to the ice. Lucky and Milliardo seemed to be having quite a good time sliding about, although Sindel looked less than happy, levitating inches above the floor near the goal. From my position in the front row, the rest of my team now surrounding me, I could just about make out the source of the Kadabra’s grievances, because as ever she was being very vocal about the subject. Apparently her feet offered very little protection against the freezing floor, and her discomfort was only enhanced by Milliardo finding the whole situation really funny. Poor Sindel. She never seemed to get a break at all.
“Ignore the moron, Sindel!” Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had overheard the problems my Kadabra was having, because sure enough Pandora was yelling her own brand of encouragement over to the team. “If he makes fun of you one more time just freeze his legs up with that Hidden Power of yours! See how he likes it! It’s alright, I know Ember, I can thaw him out again!” The reaction her comments received was mixed. Sindel and Lucky just burst out laughing, whereas Milliardo make as obscene a gesture as an Umbreon could make in the direction of his girlfriend. Not a smart move by any stretch of the imagination. Not when delivered to Pandora, whose mood swings were the stuff of legend. All of a sudden all bonhomie disappeared from the Houndour’s tone. “YOU DO THAT AGAIN YOU BASTARD AND I’M NOT EVEN GOING TO WAIT UNTIL YOU’RE FROZEN BEFORE I ROAST YOU!!!” Pandora practically screamed the words out, before turning around sharply and storming off, Pearl following soon after to try and calm her down. Sometimes, I felt, Milliardo did seem to forget just how easy it was to offend the Houndour. Especially for him. She loved him. And every little slip up, every time he lost his temper or simply said the wrong thing, her insecurities would blow the problem out of all proportion. She would take it all as a personal attack. The worrying thing was that I couldn’t see this situation changing without a great deal of time and effort. It required Milliardo to learn tact, and Pandora to stop being so sensitive. Neither of which were ever really liable to happen. All I could do now was hope that Pearl could cheer Pandora up in the meantime, and watch the match about to happen unfold.

“What the hell did I do?” Milliardo was confused. He had all but forgotten about the match he was supposed to be playing now. He hadn’t even noticed that their opponents were already making their way onto the ice. His thoughts were on Pandora, and Pandora alone. The two had clashed far more bitterly than that before today, and the Houndour hadn’t reacted quite so violently. It didn’t make sense, any of it.
“Well, Milliardo, call it a hunch but when you as good as flip the creature who loves you off, of course they’re going to take offence.” Sindel sighed. She knew full well that Dark types were supposed to beyond the comprehension of psychics like herself. They were supposed to overcome them with confusion and trickery. But these two gave her a headache without even trying! Was being an insecure head case a prerequisite for that group of pokémon? “Anyway, mind on the job, you can worry about making amends AFTER we’ve won this match. You and Lucky go out and score, I’ll defend the goal here.”
“Sure.” Normally Milliardo would have engaged Sindel in a three hour argument about her being bossy. He wasn’t the type who took orders - or indeed simple instructions - very well at all. But he was distracted, and simply obeyed without question or argument, taking up a position near the front where Lucky had already been greeting their opponents.
“Oh, hi!” The Meowth greeted Milliardo as he approached, but soon the chirpiness disappeared. He cocked his head to one side gently, and looked at Milliardo with empathic eyes. “Are you alright?” Lucky asked with some concern. “You look terrible.”
“Me? Of course I am!” The Umbreon shook his head as if to clear away the cobwebs. “Just a bit of a headache. It’ll pass. Pain’s all relative anyway. It doesn’t bother me much at all.”
“Right.” Lucky sounded disbelieving, but he knew better than to push the subject. They had bonded surprisingly well, for reasons both understood deep inside yet to this day remained unspoken, but he was no Pearl. He didn’t even dare try penetrate Milliardo’s defences. Especially not in public. “Oh, yeah, these are our opponents. Carla and Sheol. Guys, this is Milliardo.”
“It’s a pleasure.” The Totodile, Sheol, nodded his head politely. But Milliardo was in no mood for pleasantries. His back was up as it was, and suddenly every little thing was beginning to irk him. The coldness of the ice seeping through even the padding on his paws. The fact that his every move was being witness by a crowd of hundreds. Even the detached manners of the Totodile in front of him were rubbing the Umbreon up the wrong way. It was a simple enough equation. Pandora was in a bad mood. So Milliardo was also in a bad mood. And Milliardo in a bad mood would look for any excuse to pick a fight.
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” The Umbreon snorted, taking a step back. “I don’t see why we even have to do this introduction thing. We’ll never see each other again in our lives, and you can bet your last dollar I’ll have forgotten all about you by the time I leave this rink. Let’s just cut the talk and get on with it. My headache’s getting worse by the minute, and I really need a lie down or to throw either myself or somebody else off a cliff, one or the other.”
“Milliardo, are you sure you’re up to this?” Lucky was concerned. He hadn’t seen Milliardo in this foul a mood for a long time! “We can always get Scratchy in if you’re not feeling well.”
“Absolutely not! I’d rather drop right here than have Mr. ‘Sleep, sleep and shun everybody else’ take my place!” Milliardo was getting angry now, and the Meowth decided to drop the subject. He gave an apologetic shrug to his opponents, before returning his attention to the Umbreon behind him.
“Alright, have it your way. Just try and be nice during this match, please?”
“I’m an Umbreon. I don’t do ‘nice’.” Milliardo looked all but ready to pounce. The look in his eyes was so intense it was scary. “Now are you going to get this match started or do I have to? Bear in mind I’m very short sighted and get pucks and pokémon very easily mixed up...”
“Alright. You win.” Lucky shuddered. This was not exactly his kind of situation. He hated conflict. And Milliardo seemed determined to make a simple game of hockey into an all-out war. No, Lucky would have rather been anywhere other than in this rink at this time, but what could he do? He was here now, and the only option was to play on, and hope that the Umbreon didn’t become TOO out of control. Milliardo was a smart creature, certainly. But why did Lucky have this horrible feeling that everything was going to go horribly, horribly wrong here?

GAME ON!!! L18 Kadabra, L17 Meowth & L14 Umbreon v L20 Totodile, L20 Poliwag & L20 Seadra!

It was up to Lucky to make the opening shot. He, the Totodile and Sindel were all equipped with hockey sticks. Whereas Milliardo, the Poliwag and the Seadra had to use their powers to hit the puck, unable as they were to grasp such an implement. However, at least Lucky could give the puck a satisfying smack with his stick, sending it skidding across the ice and letting the game commence. All pokémon began to race towards the speeding disc, apart from Lucky who had the foresight to get into a position where he could receive the puck again. He just hoped that Milliardo wasn’t distracted enough to forget to get into a position where he could intercept the puck. Fortunately the Umbreon, as annoyed, as confused and as distracted as he was, was no slouch. He knew when to get his mind on the job, and was already speeding towards the puck. He had outpaced the Totodile in no time, although the Poliwag was a sprightlier opponent and beating her to the puck was going to be hard. Not that Milliardo had any intention whatsoever of allowing a mere Poliwag to best him. The instant he realised that she was going to reach the puck before him he called upon his natural powers to do his work for him, his shadow suddenly extending towards the puck at an incredible speed and knocking it well away from her reach. Straight, as it happened, to where Lucky was waiting expectantly, giving the speeding puck a hefty blow that sent it spinning towards the goal. But things were never quite as simple as they first appeared, and quite why a Seadra had been placed in goal was now apparent. The water pokémon simply spat out a Water Gun attack that hit the incoming missile head on and knocked it deftly away from its intended target. Lucky could only stare in disbelief at the spectacle he had just witnessed. It was one thing to be able to strike a target as small as a hockey puck with such skill, but totally another to strike it when it was moving at an immense speed. These pokémon were clearly much better than he had been expecting. And it filled his heard with dread. Did such a disjointed assembly of characters as the team he was proud to call his really stand any sort of a chance against pokémon capable of pulling off such impressive feats of skill?
“Hey, moron, you’re letting them get control!” It took a less than friendly nudge from Milliardo to return Lucky’s attention back to the match at hand, drifting as it was to concentrate fully on the spectacle of the manoeuver he had just witnessed. But apparently the Umbreon had no intention of letting Lucky’s attention wander for too long. His attention was upon the match at hand, and it was a match in which the only thing stopping an early goal for the opponents was Sindel’s defensive abilities. Milliardo hoped that the Kadabra had enough wits about her to be able to block the shot that now must inevitably be coming, the Totodile called Sheol now having a clear shot at goal. And what a shot it was! No pokémon relying on physical means to block it would have stood a chance. It was just as well that Sindel didn’t have to rely upon physical means. She had her psychic powers, and they were more than enough to handle the job. The speeding puck ground to a halt just inches away from the goal boundaries, and was flung backwards at twice the speed. What had been a simple hockey puck just seconds ago was now transformed into a deadly metallic missile that went screaming past the heads of all the pokémon involved in the match. Not a one of them was insane enough to try and halt its progress. The results of such actions would have been painful to say the least. Even the skilled Seadra in goal realised the best course of action would be to reluctantly concede the goal, and it ducked into its pool just seconds before the puck slammed hard into the goal, smashing past the boundaries and lodging itself into the far wall with a loud crack that drew gasps of awe from the crowd assembled to witness this spectacle. “Not bad, Thingy!” Reasoning that it was going to take a few moments to dislodge the puck from its new resting place, Milliardo skated over to his teammate. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you actually had some degree of power in that malfunctioning little brain of yours.”
“I think that could be the most backhanded compliment you’ve delivered to me yet, Milliardo.” Sindel rolled her eyes. “And I didn’t even think it was possible to improve on your previous efforts.”
“Well I’m just full of surprises, aren’t I?”
“That’s one way of putting it.” A nagging thought began to pull at Sindel’s attention, and she had grown too familiar with her own abilities not to heed such warnings. Abruptly she returned her gaze to the icy field of competition. “You’d best get back, they’ve recovered the puck now.”
“I don’t need telling twice!” The Umbreon bolted back to his position, preparing for whatever tricks the opposition had up their sleeves. No doubt by formulating tricks twice as ingenious and a hundred times more effective. Sindel shook her head in bemusement. For all his annoying habits, the Umbreon was a very useful creature to have on the team. If you could put up with him for long enough to appreciate his more endearing traits, that is.

Elsewhere, outside the ice rink, other pokémon were having to deal with the results of Milliardo’s less endearing characteristics. It wasn’t exactly a job Pearl relished, racing round all of the likely hiding places in the area - of which there were many - trying to locate an errant Houndour. It was cold, and she was tired, and even more annoyingly she was missing the opportunity to watch her friends in action. But to go back now would mean leaving a distraught Pandora alone. Something that the Ninetales had no intention of doing. Yes, it wasn’t the most welcoming of jobs, but Pearl wasn’t too annoyed with either pokémon. She had long since realised that Pandora had never been fully in control of her emotions. And as for Milliardo, all he was guilty of was forgetting that little fact. Which was typical Milliardo. Act first, think later. For such a cunning creature he could certainly be tactless at times!
“Damn it, where are you?” Pearl muttered, the biting cold beginning to get to her. Some Fire types had enough inner heat to withstand all kinds of extreme temperatures, but Pearl’s acclimatisation to heat just meant that she felt the cold all the more. Even her thick coat wasn’t helping that much. And as for her paws, she could hardly feel them anymore. Not that she really noticed. Her first thoughts were for her friend. A friend who she would have almost ran past had it not been for the faint sound of sniffling emanating from underneath a particularly tall, circus-style caravan decked in black and red. “Pandora?” Pearl ducked her head underneath, and sure enough found her own ruby eyes meeting a pair that were as pitiful as it was possible to get.
“I know. That was pathetic even for me, wasn’t it?” The Houndour moved over to allow Pearl to come and sit with her. To be honest she was glad of the company. Any longer on her own and who knows what she would have done? “I should know by now that he doesn’t really mean it, right? But it still hurts. Maybe one day I’ll teach myself to stop getting into these situations, but you know what a masochist I am.”
“Never mind that, what you need to do is stop letting him get to you. Like you say, you know very well he doesn’t mean any of it. In his own stupid little way he loves you, you should hold on to that thought.” Pearl wrapped Pandora in her tails, partly as a means of comfort, partly as security against the Houndour trying any of the stunts that had given those close to her so much worry. When Pandora got depressed, she turned to pain as a release from her worries. And right now Pearl was looking at one very depressed Houndour indeed. Even now the tears were silently trickling down her cheeks. “If it’s any consolation it really looks like he’s regretting his actions.” Pearl studied Pandora’s face for a moment. If the eyes were the windows to the soul, then Pandora’s were the most transparent pieces of glass the world had ever known. She found it impossible to hide anything. Because if her volatile personality didn’t give the game away, those expressive eyes certainly did. “But that’s not all that’s bothering you, is it? Tell me what’s wrong. It’ll do you good to let it out.”
“Every time I try and let it out somebody either yells at me or starts looking at me as if I need committing.” Pandora shot Pearl a weak smile, as if trying to cover up the hurt, but in the end it simply became too much. All of those emotions, they couldn’t be contained any longer, and the Houndour suddenly buried herself in Pearl’s soft fur and wept. For what seemed like an eternity the two pokémon stayed there, Pandora releasing all of the tensions and sorrows that the world had deemed fit to throw at her, and Pearl simply staying silent amidst the shadows of their hiding place, content to keep quiet until her friend had finished unloading her emotions. Sometimes there was nothing like a good cry to release your inner demons. But eventually Pandora stopped her sobbing, and looked up at Pearl with tear-stained eyes. “Okay, confession time, I guess.”
“Go ahead.” Pearl nodded soberly. What kind of tale was she liable to hear?
“I try not to let it get to me when Milliardo starts, but it’s so hard. It seems to me like every time I get close to anyone they either die or end up hating me. You don’t have any idea what that’s like, do you? Watching everyone you love desert you like that.” For a second it looked as if Pandora was going to start crying again, but with a supreme effort she managed to control it. “Sometimes I’m just worried that Milliardo really will start to hate me. God knows I deserve it.”
“Stop being ridiculous! Things can’t be that bad, surely!”
“Maybe not, but it just upsets me to think about it. It’s true, though, if I get attached to things fate likes to use them to slap me in the face. Maybe it’s just getting revenge for all the times I’ve defied it. Did I ever tell you about my father?”
“Didn’t he run off to join Team Rocket? I think I remember running into him at some point.”
“I’ll bet he really laid on the sorrowful, haunted creature act for you, didn’t he?” Pandora laughed, but it was a hollow, bitter laugh. “I used to adore him when I was little. He always seemed so wise and knowledgeable. He’d always talk all this wonderful bull**** about dreams, and me being the good little girl I swallowed it all. Then something came over him one day. It was as he changed overnight. Up until that day he’d been quite the kind creature. He’d always taken good care of our little family. But then he stopped. Said he had to travel away, that his dreams had told him that he had to go, that he would have to spend some time in the services of evil. He said it was necessary. That it’d all work out in the end. Of course none of us wanted him to leave, but he wasn’t having any of it. He upped and left without a single thought for what we thought.” There was a real malice in Pandora’s tone, a real anger. And the more Pearl heard of this tale the more she found that anger justified. “My mother was a lot like me, you know, very emotional. She’d turn into a complete wreck at times. I think I’m turning into her, and that worries me, but that’s another story. When dad left she just withered away. She broke completely. Wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t sleep. And rather unsurprisingly she died. He killed her! If it wasn’t for his bloody stupid dreams and his even stupider obsession with them she’d still be alive, damn it!” The tears were flowing again, and it took a few moments before Pandora composed herself enough to carry on. “That was a year ago to this day. So it’s not really Milliardo or anything. It’s just that time of year I have to get upset.” The Houndour sniffed hard, trying her best to stay strong, refusing for once to let her tears get the better of her. “I’m a jerk, aren’t I? If Milliardo really did hate me I can’t say I’d blame him. Who in their right mind would want an unpredictable, emotional wreck like me?”
“Clearly Milliardo does,” Pearl commented, still trying to get her head around what she had been told. No wonder Pandora frequently fought so hard against her visions! She had only ever known prophecy to bring misery. “But please, you’ve nothing to beat yourself up over. I can understand you being upset, but you shouldn’t direct your sorrows inwardly. I’ve seen far too much of the consequences of that in my life, and I’m not going to let you go trough it all any longer. Look. You’ve got friends who love you. Things are going right now. Just let the past go. And I’m not saying that’s going to be easy, but I’m sure it’s the best thing you can do.”
“You’re right. It isn’t going to be easy. Not one little bit.” Pandora stared off into space for a second, as if she was considering the wisdom of Pearl’s advice. “We should get back,” the Houndour said finally. “Knowing Milliardo I’ve probably really put him off his game by storming out like that. Not that I really care, he could use a lesson in humility, but...” The pokémon really didn’t need to say any more. Yet again the eyes said more than the words could ever hope to do.
“That sounds like a plan to me.” Pearl nodded, somewhat relieved that events had been resolved so quickly. Sometimes Pandora could prove to be a very complicated character to deal with. Yet other times, such as this one, she was almost surprisingly open. It all went with the whole paradox of her personality as a whole. At least she seemed calmer now, and wasn’t that what Pearl had come to accomplish? “Come on, let’s get back. If we’re really lucky we might still turn up in time to catch the end of the match. What do you say? Want to see Milliardo bring us another victory?” The Ninetales cocked her head pleasantly at her companion, her body language displaying the very perfection of friendliness. How could Pandora, always grateful to anyone who would offer their support for more than ten seconds, refuse such an invitation?
“Sounds good to me,” came the eventual reply.

[AntiAsh Superstar]

The two pokémon were indeed in time to catch the end of what had proven to be an exceptionally gruelling, drawn out match. The two teams were practically equals in terms of skill. For every inspired trick that Milliardo could pull with his mastery of the shadows, his Totodile opponent would match it with his superior abilities on ice. For every feat of agility Lucky pulled out of the bag, the Poliwag would use a quite alarming combination of speed and accuracy to counter. And as for the pokémon at either side of the rink, well, they were pretty much impossible to get past. The Seadra’s accuracy and Sindel’s formidable psychic powers meant that very few shots were allowed to enter the goal area, and those that did were the result of fluke luck more than anything else. So it had been quite a spectacular, albeit occasionally frustrating, match. And now, after what seemed like hours, the score was tied at four goals each. The next goal would decide the entire match.
“Dammit!” Milliardo had never been known for his patience, and right now it was being tested to its limits. Only his natural desire to stifle any excess of emotion was stopping him from assaulting his opponents on the spot. How much easier it would have been if he could have just hurtled the puck into the goal riding upon the largest Shadow Ball he could muster! But no, he was stuck playing this stupid game, facing stupid opponents alongside the stupidest teammates he could think of this side of Scratchy. To his eyes they never managed to do anything right. Every slip could have been avoided with just a little thought. Or so it seemed to the Umbreon. In reality, most of the mistakes the team had made - and to their credit there had been very few - were due largely to the fact that Milliardo was playing with one eye on the stands, constantly watching should Pandora return. “Right. That does it. Last chance. Think you can actually manage to intercept a really sneaky pass, Lucky?”
“What do you mean, ‘a really sneaky pass’?”
“You’ll see soon enough, I’ve got one last trick up my sleeves. But it means no more mistakes.” Lucky bit his lip. The temptation to comment on how it had in fact been the Umbreon who was making the mistakes was immense. But that would have caused unnecessary friction. Instead Lucky concluded he would have to accept being the scapegoat if it meant keeping the peace. “And...” Milliardo trailed off, his eyes elsewhere. For a moment Lucky wasn’t sure what was going on. Then he cast his gaze in the direction his friend was staring in, and suddenly it all became clear. Pandora was sat amongst the audience once again. She still seemed slightly sad, but she was there. And maybe her presence would make all the difference. “And we’re going to win this. No doubts about it. You get the puck, you pass it to me and leave the rest to me. I’ll take care of the entire opposition in seconds. You just have to tap the thing into the net at the end. Simple, huh?”
“It’d be simpler if you told me EXACTLY what you were planning!”
“Now, now, Lucky, where would be the fun in that?” Milliardo grinned, that grin that was in turns comforting yet deeply disturbing. “We’ve no time. They’re coming. You’re the best at intercepting them, you get me that puck, you hear? I’ll be waiting!” Lucky really didn’t have any time to argue. Already the opposing Poliwag was racing towards their goal, batting the puck ahead of her with her tail. Well, it was now or never! Mustering all of the speed that his body could muster, Lucky shot forward, and in one smooth motion knocked the puck away from his opponent, sending it speeding in the direction that Milliardo was already heading for. For his part, Milliardo kept possession of the puck with admirable competence. He wasn’t going to screw this up, not in front of Pandora! He was going to win this one with style. A petty form of atonement, maybe, but it was the best plan he could think of right now. And nothing was going to stand in his way. “Out of my way!” Every time one of the opposing team attempted to regain possession they found themselves slipped past, or simply bowled straight over by the Umbreon’s impassioned charge. So he was being rough. He didn’t care if it meant victory! “Okay Lucky, let’s give this a go!” The trick was simple enough in concept, although it required a great deal of effort on the Umbreon’s part. He could merge with the shadows easily enough. This was simply the reverse of that ability. Take the shadow cast by the puck, give it substance, and throw THAT at the goal. In the meantime the actual puck would be passed over to Lucky, who would score the winning goal whilst the Seadra was busy fending off the fake target. It was risky, of course, and it hinged upon every piece of the jigsaw slotting perfectly into place. Risky, but possible. And right now Milliardo was fresh out of inspiration. This was the only plan he had left. Concentrating hard, the Umbreon succeeded in separating puck from shadow. And with this most gruelling part of the plan out of the way it was childs play to put the rest of it into action. In fact, it ended up working better than Milliardo could have hoped. Lucky had been watching with interest and was soon wise to his strategy. So the timing was executed with almost flawless precision. As soon as the Seadra was preparing to swat the shadowed puck out of the way, the real one was speeding towards the goal at a speed close to impossible to stop. There was no way the water pokémon could have altered its target, no matter how skilled it may have been in using its attacks. All it could do was watch as the puck smashed into the net, and its chances of victory vanished in an instant.
“Alright guys! Way to go!” It was as much as I could do to stop myself from leaping the barrier and hugging my pokémon where they stood on the ice. I had been impressed by their performance to say the least. But my opinion was of little relevance. Especially to Milliardo, who only really sought approval from one creature in particular.
“Well?” The Umbreon made his way towards Pandora cautiously, as if afraid that any sudden movements would cause her to run off again. “Did we do well or what?”
“You did well.” Pandora tried her best to remain composed, but it was hard. In her mind the earlier incident had been entirely her fault. So it was a struggle not to be overcome with regret. “Milliardo, I...”
“Forget it.” Milliardo shook his head. “What’s done is done and all that crap. I’m just glad you’re alright now, that’s all. Don’t go running off on me again, okay? You worry me.”
“You mean you’re capable of... oh, sorry. Habit.” The Houndour offered a weak smile. “You’re too good a target.”
“So are you, but for totally different things. If you don’t mind me slipping into Kasumi mode. Which you should do if you had any sense. Kasumi mode is frightening.” Suddenly Milliardo felt more comfortable all of a sudden, almost enough to forget his earlier bad mood entirely. Then again, that was what Pandora did to him, wasn’t it? Volatile she may well have been, but he could forgive her faults. He loved her. What else really mattered?

We win!
Sindel grew to L19!
Lucky grew to L18!
Milliardo grew to L15!

“Right! So let’s get this straight.” Once again we were in the changing rooms waiting for the course to be prepared for the day’s final event. Well, actually, it was Kirei, Lucky, Adreena and myself. Getting ready for the final challenge awaiting us. Or awaiting Kirei, at least. It was just a shame that it sounded so ambiguous. “A kilometre of snow and cold water, five targets, 500 metres of ice and one battle? Umm, call me stupid but it’s not really very clear on what you’re actually supposed to do here, is it?” Kirei frowned. She liked a good challenge almost as much as Katnip did, but she also liked to know what she was getting herself into. Which the promotional flyer for the event didn’t seem all too keep on explaining. It was a good job, then, that I had been asking around earlier, and for once actually knew roughly what was going on. No doubt Milliardo would have had a mockingly astonished response for that one, but fortunately he wasn’t here. The Umbreon had taken his leave to talk things over with Pandora, leaving me with just the more agreeable members of my team to deal with. Which was nice. There was a lot to be said for friendly conversation, even if heated debates did have their moments of entertainment.
“I think this is how it works. You race over the snow and water, knock down any targets that present themselves, then you hit the ice, swiftly take out your opponent before the finish line and trot home to victory.” It seemed like a rather strange little event. But then again I really had little care for sports myself. Most of them seemed far too complicated for my liking at the best of times.
“Sounds fun.” Kirei grinned, finally comprehending. “So we’re not allowed to start attacking each other until we’re on the ice then? Then it’s fair game?”
“That’s the impression I got, yeah.” I returned the grin. “Kirei, did I ever tell you that sometimes you start sounding worryingly like Katnip?”
“Nonsense! I’m FAR better spoken than he is!”
“That’s a matter for debate.” Adreena chuckled quietly from her position curled up in the corner of the room. Truth be told she had only come along in the hope of meeting up with Tamotsu, but apparently her feral lover was indisposed today. At least she could still watch her little sister in action. In some ways the Vaporeon admired how well Kirei had adjusted to the life of a battling pokémon. It was a life she simply couldn’t understand, so Kirei’s successes were all the more remarkable to Adreena for that. “Nobody can understand you when you start getting hyper. Granted, your grammar is far better than Katnip’s, but...”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m more insane than he is. So what? Sanity’s overrated. Right, Lucky?”
“I’m not even letting myself get dragged into this one!” Lucky shook his head in bemusement. “Shouldn’t we be talking more about the race than about how nutty you are?”
“Yeah. Great plan. That’s why I love you, you’ve always got your mind on what really matters. I know I’d be hopeless without somebody around to remind me what I should be doing!”
“Sounds familiar!” I chipped in my contribution to this discussion of sorts, even though I knew Lucky had a point, that our focus should be elsewhere. This was the effect Kirei had on others. Her attitude was totally infectious. “So that’s why I connected with you so well!”
“Come to think of it you two are like peas in a pod at times!” Lucky giggled, finding the conversation’s rambling nature more funny than anything. Then again, he was used to it. Anybody else would have probably found it highly irritating. “Like in this getting distracted business. Remember, there’s a race to win, isn’t there?”
“Oh yeah, there is.” Kirei suddenly seemed to remember what she was here for, and her gaze hardened accordingly. “What am I fighting? A Squirtle isn’t it?”
“How should I know? They haven’t announced the lineups yet!”
“They haven’t?” Kirei looked puzzled. “But I’m sure somebody said I was up against a Squirtle somewhere along the line. Didn’t they?” The Espeon looked around the room for some confirmation of this, but found only blank stares. Which only served to perplex her even further. “They didn’t? Why the hell am I so sure I’ll be up against a Squirtle, then? Maybe these giant ears of mine overheard something they weren’t supposed to.”
“Maybe,” I nodded, squatting down to be at a better level with this pokémon who seemed a strange blend of fox and cat. Except in Kirei’s case it seemed more fox than anything. Her loud, boisterous nature saw to it that any feline traces were removed instantly! “Or maybe it’s this.” I reached over and tapped the jet black jewel protruding from the Espeon’s head, the focal point of all her powers, causing her to start slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. That just feels really weird, that’s all.” Kirei blinked several times. “Nobody’s ever actually touched that before. It was quite nice, actually. You’re probably right, though. I’ve picked the information up without even realising it. I should know by now it only ever does anything for me when I’m not actually asking it to.” The Espeon shrugged as best as she could. Clearly thinking about such matters wasn’t something she was exceptionally good at. “Anyway, we’d best be going soon, hadn’t we? The race will be on in a minute. And I’ve gotta win that thing.”
“Sounds about right to me!” I stood up again and gestured to the half-open door. “Ladies first, then.”
“That means Adreena first, I’ve never been very good at being a lady.” Kirei shot her sister a rueful glance, but then her mood picked up again in an instant. “Hey, Ade?”
“Yeah?”
“If I win, would you mind getting someone to polish my stone up a little?” The Espeon broke into her broadest smile. “Call me a hedonist if you like but I think I could get used to that!”
“Whatever you like. Just do your best, okay?” Kirei was certainly one of a kind! Then again, weren’t all of my team? We were a motley crew of characters, that was for sure! Yet somehow we had managed to survive against all the odds. We were survivors. And we were going to keep getting better. That was a certainty.

It came as something of a surprise to find that Kirei had been spot on in her guesses about her opponent. We had arrived at the track just as the PA system called us for our race, and sure enough a single Squirtle was waiting for us on the course as the crowds filed in to witness this latest attraction.
“Good luck!” I managed to call over to Kirei before she bounded over to meet her opponent without so much as a word of explanation. That was Kirei for you! Excitable to a fault. Even now she was introducing herself to the Squirtle, who seemed rather overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of this cute yet talkative creature.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a bit and start from the beginning, would you? You’re my opponent?” The pokémon seemed surprised to say the least. Not least because it knew fully well it would have something of a disadvantage competing against a fully evolved creature such as an Espeon!
“Yeah, that’s me!” Kirei beamed. “Kirei, the world’s most petite, pretty and generally wonderful Espeon!”
“Modest, too, I see.” Already that unique hyperactive brand of charm was working on the Squirtle. The stunned expression was slowly giving way to a bemused smile. “Any other skills I should know about before we begin?”
“Let me see...” Kirei gave the matter due consideration before coming up with the most ridiculous list she could manage. “I’m a great alarm clock, just ask Ade, he’ll tell you. I can out drink a speeding Wartortle, and outtalk just about anyone. Really I can do anything apart from wash the dishes. Whether I can do it well is another matter.” Suddenly her expression grew serious. Well, as serious as Kirei’s expression was ever likely to get these days. Sometimes it seemed as if her chronological and mental ages were heading in totally opposite directions. “I’m going to give this one my all, you know. Don’t think I’m going to be a pushover.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t.” The Squirtle nodded gravely. It was proficient enough in its skills to be able to tell when its opponent was likely to be a challenge. And Kirei, for all her daftness, seemed like she could pose one very tricky challenge indeed.
“Good.” And that was as far as the conversation was allowed to go, for already the officials were making it quite clear that they would like the course starting some time in the next few minutes. The two pokémon didn’t have much choice but to take up their positions at the starting line. Kirei gritted her teeth in concentration. Snow almost unnaturally white was all that she could see in all directions, broken only by the blaze of colour that made up the spectator stands located behind her swishing tails. But that really didn’t matter. All that mattered to Kirei was in setting off as quickly as possible. For whilst life was almost certainly a game to the Espeon, sometimes it paid to take your games seriously. All she really wanted, therefore, was to hear that starting whistle. And then she would show them all just what this former pet was capable of.

GO!!! L10 Espeon v L10 Squirtle!

Kirei had been concentrating so hard that she almost missed the thing she had been concentrating upon. Almost. But it didn’t take a genius to hear the piercing whistle that marked the beginning of the course, and within seconds Kirei was off, her paws pounding at the snow beneath her, her heart racing, determined to put as much ground between herself and the Squirtle as possible before the first stretch of water. Because she knew that whilst she had the advantage on dry land - her sleek form was far better adapted to running than the short legs of a Squirtle - her opponent would almost certainly gain ground in the water. She didn’t even realise how she knew this. She just did. It was just one of the many mysteries surrounding the gemstone embedded in her skull. If she needed an answer, or a reason, it would often just pluck one out of the air for her, the most bizarre thing being that its logic was always impeccable. So right now she understood the value of making as much ground as possible, even though the reasoning behind this tactic would almost certainly be forgotten before the race had even finished.
“Damn!” The first stretch of land had reached a premature end, and Kirei was now faced with a short stretch of water. This wasn’t good. She hadn’t been able to get far enough in the lead! Well, there wasn’t really much she could do about that now. She would just have to take a dive and hope the advantage the Squirtle held in the water didn’t hamper her efforts too much. “Oh my...” The first thing the Espeon realised upon hitting the water was that any form of swimming in a Winter Olympics event would be of the very cold, very difficult, and exceptionally uncomfortable variety, and no amount of squealing upon hitting the ice-cold liquid was liable to change that. She would just have to struggle along as best she could, even though the water was threatening to chill her to her very bones, even through the silky purple fur that covered her entire body. But it was hard. Even the comparatively simple act of getting started was difficult, such was the shock to the system that the sudden plunge had provided. Yet Kirei knew that she had little choice but to try and struggle onwards. Already she could just about see the Squirtle out of the corner of her eye. If she slowed down the pace any then it would surely take the lead. If it wasn’t too late to prevent that already.
“You don’t do well in water, do you?” The Squirtle zipped past with infuriating ease, making a total mockery of Kirei’s fumbling attempts at swimming. It wasn’t that she was a bad swimmer, far from it. Having a Vaporeon for an elder sister had done wonders for her on that score. But no amount of idyllic races in warm waters could help her here, where every breath was beginning to become a struggle, where cold and tiredness combined to reduce her limbs to numbness. Right now the Espeon was regretting even signing up for this course. To her mind it was more trouble than it was worth.
“I do do well, I will do well, I can’t not do well...” Kirei hissed through gritted teeth, trying to push herself just that little bit farther. And just as she thought that her body was about to give up, her paw finally touched solid ground. The end of the water. Well, at least that particular stretch of water. Kirei didn’t want to think about the possibility of there being any more of that, though! “Oh thank God!” Soaked and spluttering, Kirei pulled herself out of the icy waters, only to face just as chilling a wind. It was enough to destroy the spirits of even the most cheerful of pokémon, and the temptation to just give up now was immense. How in the world was she supposed to catch up now? The water had taken its toll, and there was no way she was in any condition to reach her earlier speeds. She would be lucky if she came within miles of the Squirtle again without some kindness from fate, which rarely deigned to allow such graces. “Dammit, Kirei, why didn’t you just try and JUMP the water, it would have been just as effective!” Reluctantly the Espeon picked up her pace again, this time a slower, more erratic version of her earlier bolting. And then she halted. Maybe there was a way to make up for lost time after all. Already she could make out two of the targets she was supposed to knock down on her route. One was just ahead, but the other was some distance away. If she could just take these down from a distance, whilst running, maybe she could make up some ground whilst her opponent was lining up his shots. It was risky, but there were very few options left. So as she made her way towards the first target, Kirei began to gather her powers, to focus them into a charge of energy that made the gem on her forehead begin to sparkle with barely-contained electrical power. And just as she reached the target she unleashed that energy in the form of a powerful Zap Cannon that struck full on and splintered the wooden circle into tiny pieces. Not that Kirei noticed. She was already busy tearing towards the next target, the pokémon equivalent of adrenaline finally kicking in and her energy seeming to increase appropriately. The second target was swiftly dealt with in the exact same manner, only this time she managed to dispatch it with slightly more speed. And then a third appeared. And was destroyed in the same manner. If Kirei had known more about pokémon attacks she would have been puzzled by what was going on here. Certainly all the spectators were left speechless. Zap Cannon was known for being an unwieldy manoeuver, yet here she was racing around effortlessly hitting targets first time without so much as pausing to line up her shots! In actual fact, yet again she had her unusual powers to thank for this. Psychic powers can be very subtle at times. Even one’s luck can be determined by the individual’s psychic abilities. And Kirei was merely demonstrating just how easily the odds can be defied with the right kind of talents. Of course she didn’t know that. She was just glad that it worked! Even now she could just about make out the figure of the Squirtle in the distance. And - joy of joys - there was the beginning of the ice section of the course. As a fifth and final target was smashed, Kirei began to think that she actually stood a chance again. “Hey!”
“What the...?” Kirei’s sudden call distracted the Squirtle. It had almost given up on seeing the Espeon again, and to see her bolting towards it as if she had never been in difficulty, with only sodden fur to show for her earlier troubles, was a distraction it could have done without. It had been hoping to get across the ice without having to battle, but now the chances of that happening seemed more and more remote by the minute. Still, it pressed on regardless. Maybe it could reach the finish line before Kirei could reach it, before she could try using any attacks, before... “Aah!” The Squirtle screamed in fright as a large sphere of crackling energy shot past just inches to its left. Apparently its opponent was onto the ice herself, and she wasn’t playing around. A direct hit by an attack of that calibre would have taken it out of the match completely.
“Oh, I’ve finally got your attention now, have I?” Kirei was starting to enjoy herself despite the circumstances, and despite the fact that the chilling conditions were beginning to make her feel a trifle unwell. She had found that she could make just as much progress upon ice by sitting down and propelling herself with her front paws as she could in a straightforward run. Which required considerably less effort and gave her hind paws a much needed break. “I told you I was going to give this my all!” By now the two pokémon were practically level again. This one was going to be close!
“So you did! Well I’m not giving up just yet!” Well, if Kirei could use attacks, so could the Squirtle! Still sliding over the ice, it took in a deep breath, preparing to use its Water Gun attack. Kirei, however, had other ideas, spinning round as she moved and hitting the Squirtle several times with her tails, an improvised and highly effective multiple hit version of Tail Whip that served admirably in its purpose to knock the water pokémon out of its attack. Disorientated as her opponent now was, the chances were that Kirei could have seized the opportunity to take the lead there and then, but by this point she was in no mood to take any more chances. In the Espeon’s mind she had already used up all the luck she was ever going to get today. She didn’t dare leave the Squirtle with a chance to reclaim victory at the last minute. Which was why she finished off this already impressive trick with one of those logic-defying moves that only a creature whose powers worked in the way hers did could even stand a chance of pulling off. For a second Kirei just let herself carry on spinning. And then, out of the blue, she pounced, hitting the Squirtle hard in the chest with a Tackle that knocked it onto its back - and hence made it next to impossible for the pokémon to upright itself - whilst simultaneously using its body as a springboard to launch herself at the finish line with quite remarkable speed. It wasn’t quite enough to provide her with the spectacular finish she had been hoping for, of course. Even Kirei’s seemingly impossible luck had its limits, and those limits had been sorely tested by her earlier actions. So instead of flying nimbly across the finish line the Espeon instead crashed back to earth just feet away, and was left to make that final distance by sliding across the ice nose first, simply too exhausted now to really care about making a dignified return. Victory was hers, apparently. But to be honest the Espeon was too drained to even notice. It was as much as she could do to acknowledge her teammates as they ran over to congratulate her.
“Kirei, you’re soaked!” I had to pick the Espeon up in order to get her to move, she had become so weakened in the course of her match. She felt absolutely frozen to the touch, and would almost certainly need some treatment to prevent any serious illnesses setting in as a result of her ridiculously low temperature. To see her in this state made me feel guilty for allowing her to compete. She had really overdone it this time!
“You have to realise these things are relative, Ade.” Milliardo, as was his nature, tried to dismiss the situation, but even he seemed slightly concerned. “Compared to, say, a Magikarp that’s still in the water, she’s positively dry. Although call it a hunch, but I don’t think Espeons are supposed to be quite this wet, not in the middle of winter when it’s freezing cold at the best of times.” The Umbreon did have a point!
“Yeah, you’re right there. Come on, Kirei, let’s get you someplace warm. You look like you need a good rest, and I don’t think Lucky or your sister would ever forgive me if I kept you out here longer than I had to.”
“Thanks, Ade.” Kirei responded finally to the warmth of my body against hers. The contact made her feel a little better in some ways. “I wouldn’t forgive you if you kept me out here either. I’ve just decided. I really, really hate winter. It’s too cold for the likes of me.” And with this, the Espeon all but fell asleep leaning into my shoulder. She was right, of course. We simply didn’t need to be here any longer. Our point had been proven. We had accomplished what we had set out to do. And now it was time to return. For whilst there was a lot to be said about these kind of events, they really couldn’t beat a warm fire, good conversation and the comforts of home, could they?

Kirei wins!
Kirei grew to L11!

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks, Ade! Always so thoughtful. Now I have some good material to read on my way to university!

I'[ve barely even started my Hockey match. I need to get my stories done fast so I can dedicate myself to the Dragon Games. Otherwise, Tsunami would never forgive me!

[Lady Vulpix]

Yet another excellent story, Ade! I've only read up to the hockey match so far and I'll give you 17 stamps for that! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢
I'll try to read the course as soon as possible, and write my own story.
By the way, trust Hero and Katnip to finish off with a Quick Attack, right?

[Lady Vulpix]

<Tsunami's POV>

Somewhere after lunch, while we were waiting for the race track to be taken away and replaced by the hockey rink, and still hearing our Ninetales friend boast about being the fastest pokemon alive or something like that, Gabi's gear-phone rang. I tried to make out the conversation, and I didn't do so badly. From her "hello? Oh, it's you I was just... Oh, I see. It's ok, I understand. Yes, I know. Well, I... Yes, yes, it's ok. Then I'll see you when your things have calmed down. Good luck with everything! Thanks, on you too. So do I *big smile here*. I hope so too. Take care. I'll be thinking of you. Do your best, things will come out right. Ok, see you. You too. You know, the hockey game is about to start now, so I'd better go now. Yes, it would be great... maybe some other time. Bye, take care," I made out that Ryan was too busy to come. Am I a genius or what?
We got to watch some exciting matches before my friends' turn came. One was particularly vicious, and ended with the whole rink melted down and a member of the winning team being disqualified: an Unown with an extremely hot temper. I'd never witnessed anything like that before. After that, they called for all pokemon who could use freezing moves to help rebuild the rink quickly so that the games could continue. I couldn't help with that, as my only ice move (Aurora Beam) wasn't cold enough to freeze the water (as some pokemon had embarrassingly proved during the last swimming race at the Eevee House), but Lagi and Water Angel were very helpful. Many pokemon cooperated to re-freeze the site; apparently everyone wanted to resume the game as fast as possible.
When the ice was thick enough, the same pokemon who had built the rink tested its resistance. Once they were sure it wouldn't break, they left and we waited for the next teams to be called in. To my surprise, one of them turned out to be ours.
"Alright!," Caledor exclaimed. "Ready or not, here we go! Whoever our opponents are, they'd better be prepared. The Fantasy Team is on the way!"
"Fantasy team?," questioned Amber.
"Err... Dream Team was taken," Caledor grinned.
"I'd never thought of giving us a name before, but I think that's a nice one," Sylvan commented.
"Why not?," Amber smiled, almost letting a giggle come out.
"Thanks for your support, girls," Caledor said. "Then, I repeat, here we go!"
"Will the ice be firm enough to hold my weight?," wondered Sylvan.
"It has just been tested by all those pokemon, even Lagi," Amber reassured. "Everything will be fine."
"As long as no one decides to melt the rink again," I pointed out.
"I don't think anyone would do that," Amber told me. "After what happened, the whole team could be disqualified if anyone tried that again."
"Your opponents are already on the rink, Fantasy Team," Gabi warned my friends. "Get down before you get disqualified for being late."

We all directed a look at the Blastoise, Sneasel and Feraligatr who were standing on the rink.
"They look intimidating," Sylvan admitted, walking the first step.
"So do we," Amber reminded her.
"I don't, but I like it that way," Caledor said. "I like having the surprise element."
"And the confidence to match," Sylvan remarked.
"Hey, if you have no confidence, you've lost the match before it starts!," Caledor pointed out.
The kid was right. Surprisingly, even he could be mature when the situation required it. Maybe I was giving him too little credit. Being cheerful and optimistic 99.9% of the time didn't necessarily make him immature. It was a wrong assumption driven by the unfortunate fact that most creatures lose their ability to laugh and enjoy themselves as they get older. Now that I thought of it, maybe Caledor's attitude was the wisest. Though not taken to the limit, as he usually did; you have to be serious once in a while!

The team went down and met their opponents on the rink. Against our team's tradition, no words were exchanged. Just some looks between both teams. Sylvan took her position at the goal, and so did the Blastoise on the opposite side. The puck was placed in the center of the rink and the remaining players stood on each side of it. Each team was assigned a color: green for my friends and blue for their opponents. Then, a voice on the loudspeaker announced the beginning of the match.

Lv. 43 Espeon & Lv. 44 Charizard & Lv. 44 Venusaur vs. Lv. 50 Feraligatr & Lv.50 Sneasel & Lv.50 Blastoise

The Sneasel was the first one to get the puck, and pushed it so fast that Sylvan barely managed to react in time and stretch out her vines in order to stop it from entering the goal.
"That's cheating!," The Sneasel shouted.
"No, it's not," Amber told him. "There are no rules against that. But I heard there are rules against having 2 pokemon of the same type in a team."
"They had to make an exception with us because all the pokemon in our team were water or ice type," the Sneasel explained, while using the distraction to take control of the puck again. Sylvan was caught off-guard this time, and the Sneasel scored.

[1-0]

"Oh, no, not again!," Sylvan shouted. "You might want to consider getting a different goalkeeper next time."
"We won with you last time," Amber reminded her. "You're good, hold up your head."
"Should I do something about that Sneasel?," Caledor asked Amber.
"Not yet," the Charizard said. "Attacks are allowed, but let's not be the first ones to use them."
"We won't need any attacks to defeat you," the Sneasel assured, having heard Amber's words. "It's your turn, will you hit the puck or what?"
"Patience is a virtue, my friend," Amber said, hitting the puck hard.
The disc went past the Sneasel, but the Feraligatr caught it and gained control. Neither Amber not Caledor could stop him. He evaded them with ease. Sylvan got her vines ready, but the blue reptile hit the puck with an effect, making it take off and fly above the Venusaur's vines. She tried to adjust and managed to touch the disc, but couldn't stop it from entering the goal. The blue team had scored again.

[2-0]

"We need to make some adjustments," Amber reckoned. "We need a better strategy."
"We need Ventura," Sylvan sighed.
"I thought you were already independent," Caledor said.
"No one is ever completely independent," Sylvan replied.
Amber hit the puck again, this time taking care not to send it too far from herself. Caledor ran by her side. The Sneasel tried to intercept them, but they managed to make 2 passes at the right time and avoid him. The Feraligatr waited in the center of the blue field. Seeing the compact barrier Amber and Caledor had built, he decided to break it with a Water Gun. The water didn't hurt my friends, but it succeeded in taking the puck away from them. The Sneasel caught it, but before he could score again he was pushed back by Sylvan's own water attack: Hidden Power.
"Hearts have been broken," Sylvan announced making an analogy of the card game.
"There's no holding back now," Caledor decided. "Aside from the bounds of reason; this is still a game, after all."
The Sneasel disappeared from sight. My friends looked around, searching for any shadows that might be hiding him.
"Watch the puck!!," Pidgeot shouted from the stalls.
Then it all happened at the same time. Caledor turned towards the puck and released a Thunder Wave, right when the Sneasel reappeared and tried to hit it. That gave Amber the chance to take control of the puck once more. I heard the Sneasel mutter something, but I couldn't make it out. I take it that it wasn't nice, since Caledor responded with a "hey, we're playing the same game!"
"How did you do that?!," shouted the Feraligatr.
"I could show you, but you wouldn't like it," Caledor replied, gracefully dodging the subject.
This may sound weird, or at least it looked weird to me, being more than used to the kid's abilities, but Caledor's attack caused a distraction among the other team which allowed Amber to finally score her first goal.

[2-1]

In mere seconds, the situation had turned in favour of the green team (or should I say Fantasy Team?), and now it was their opponents who had to regroup and adjust. Apparently the Sneasel was their main hitter and now that he was paralyzed someone would have to take his place. Most precisely the Feraligatr; not like there were many choices.
Everyone returned to the center of the rink and the Feraligatr hit the puck towards Sylvan's goal with all his strength. But this time the Venusaur was prepared and she sent it bouncing to the other side with her vine. No one could stop it, except for the Blastiose, who sent it off with another Water Gun. This was amazing! The puck crossed the rink from side to side twice in a matter of seconds. Sylvan managed to stop it again, and decided to pause for a moment before launching it to the other side once more.
"What's taking you so long?!," the Feraligatr shouted.
"Be patient," Sylvan replied. "I'm trying to find the best way to..."
Without finishing the phrase, or as a way to finish it, she hit the puck back into the rink.
"Amber!," she called out right before the Feraligatr could get the puck.
The Charizard reacted fast and got her stick between the water pokemon and the disc, and both pokemon struggled for a few seconds, neither gaining control of the puck.
By then the Sneasel was having problems trying to reach his teammate and his fiery opponent. Caledor stood behind Amber in case the Feraligatr managed to take the puck away from her. The goalkeepers observed every move carefully.
The struggle was brought to an end when Amber was sent rolling across the rink by a powerful aquatic blast. A wave, nonetheless! Now I was furious. That had been totally uncalled for. Not only had the Feraligatr brought disgrace to the name of the Surf attack by using it in such a dirty way, but also he'd just hurt a good friend of mine. Even when she did get back up, I could tell she had taken a bad blow by the look on her face and the steam coming from the tip of her tail. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran down the stalls and jumped into the rink.
I don't remember the exact words I shouted at the Feraligatr, but one thing I do remember clearly: they weren't pretty.
"Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?!," the Feraligatr yelled at me. "You're interfering with our game!"
"Oh, you don't watch TV. Ok, I'm not offended by that. Actually, who I am doesn't matter right now, but what you have just done goes against the spirit of healthy competition. She's just playing, she's not your enemy! What were you thinking, attacking her like that? You could have... I don't even want to think of what you could have done!"
"Attacks are allowed."
"Yes, but not such vicious attacks! What's the difference between you and the pokemon who got disqualified for melting the rink?"
"The difference is that the Unown was taken care of by the judges, not some crazy member of the audience!"
"Enough is enough!," someone shouted behind me.
Before I could recognize the voice, I knew who it was by the electric discharge I received. It was aimed to the Feraligatr, but the ice conducted some of it towards me too. I'd lost count of the times my little friend had zapped me. I turned around and scolded him.
"How come I always end up being on the receiving end of your attacks?!"
"Not always, but... I'm sorry. I was just trying to help," he apologized.
Needless to say, the game was interrupted. Two men came in, I was taken out of the rink and the Feraligatr was warned. I just hoped his incident wouldn't affect my opportunities at the Dragon Games, whenever they were finally resumed.
Caledor stared at me with a concerned look as I returned to Gabi's side. Believe me, few things can be scarier than Caledor being concerned. From the stalls, I shouted "I'll be fine, kid!," and then I finally got to see his old smile. I could relax now.

<Caledor's POV>

I'd never expected Tsunami to do something like that. He must have been really mad! I had to make sure no one got hurt again. But how? The blue team regrouped to discuss a new strategy, and so did we.
"We're all fully evolved now, this should be easier than the previous game, not harder," Amber sighed.
"If they touch you again, I'll make them pay," threatened Sylvan.
It was strange, everyone was acting in an unusual way. Tsunami crashing a game, Sylvan making a threat... and me getting worried, that was the scariest thing!
"Can your psychic powers help us?," Amber asked me.
I shrugged.
"I can use them to attack or to defend us, but that's all I can promise. For an Espeon, my ESP leaves a lot to be desired. Sometimes I wonder if I really am an Espeon."
"Well, you certainly look like one, and you evolved from Eevee using a Day Stone," Sylvan pointed out. "I don't know if there are any other requirements to be an Espeon, but what else could you be?"
"I don't know. But hey!, why are we talking about this? We have a game to play. Games are supposed to be fun! So let's find away to enjoy the game or leave it and play something else, because there's no way I'll be letting a game bring me down!"
"Ok, I guess we can still try and have fun if our opponents calm down," Amber said.
"I'll see to it," I assured. "And I have another idea. My psychic powers may not be too useful now, but my experience playing games may come in handy."
"Ok, we trust you," Sylvan told me.
Amber nodded in agreement. I turned around to face the blue team.
"New rule!," I shouted. "From now on offensive attacks can be used only on the puck!"
"Who are you to change the rules?," the Blastoise confronted me.
"I just thought it would make the game less dangerous and more fun. Games are supposed to be fun, aren't they?"
"You were the one who attacked me!," the Sneasel cried.
"And your friend there attacked my friend. We're even now. So why don't we play a clean game now?"
"It doesn't sound so bad," the Blastoise accepted.
"We'll see," the Feraligatr said.
"If you attack anyone again, I will attack you," I warned him. "We'll make it fair. If you play clean, I'll play clean too. You'll see it gets much more interesting that way."
"As I said, we'll see."
Saying this, the Feraligatr hit the puck without a warning. Amber managed to stop it and sent it over to me. I caught it and pushed it in zigzag waiting for Amber to catch up. That almost cost me the puck, as the Feraligatr and the Sneasel surrounded me and closed in on me. I had to use a Water Gun to make the puck slide away from them. Amber took off not to touch the water and hit the puck from the air. It was a dangerous maneuver, but the Blastoise was distracted looking at me glow blue and shoot water from my mouth. And that distraction allowed Amber to score.

[2-2]

"What are you?!," the Blastoise asked. Not that question again!
"I'm Caledor," I told him. "I'm one of a kind."
The Blastoise laughed. I realized I had lost the surprise factor and presented myself as the wild card of my team, but at least that should stop them from getting at Amber. We returned to the center and prepared for another shot, and it came... with an Icy Wind courtesy of the Sneasel. I had to jump to the side to avoid the chilling wind, knowing the effects it could have on anyone it touched, but that meant letting the puck slide by me. Now it was too late to stop it.
Amber tried to fly back and get it, but the Feraligatr used a Water Gun to push it even further away. It was up to Sylvan to stop it. She used her Hidden Power, but the Feraligatr's water current was stronger than hers. There wasn't time to get her vines to the puck, it was going to pass right under her body. I thought there was nothing she could do to stop it, but I was wrong.
"Oww!! It's cold!," was the first thing I heard.
When all of the water had either evaporated or frozen, I saw Sylvan stand up and get the puck from below her with one of her front legs. She was still making gestures of pain.
"What did you do?!," I asked her.
"I stopped the puck..." she said. "With my stomach, but I almost froze in the process! Oww!"
"You have guts!," The Blastoise praised her.
"At least I did have them. They may be frozen now," she cried.
Amber requested a time-out and carefully helped Sylvan warm up.
"This game is taking forever!," complained the Feraligatr. "We need to go home someday, and there's still another event after this one."
"You can go home whenever you want," I told him. "No one's stopping you."
"I'm not quitting the game!"
"Then stay until it ends. It's your decision."
"You're an irritating little brat! You should learn to shut your mouth."
"If you think I talk too much, you definitely don't know my friends!"
"Hey!," two voices shouted in unison from the stalls. They were Hero and Tsunami. I grinned. I knew they'd know I was talking about them.
"Besides," I continued. "I'm much smaller in size than you, but I don't think I could be called little."
Sylvan burst into laughter.
"What's up?," I asked her. "Is Amber tickling you?"
"No, it's just that... you didn't mind being called a brat, you complained about all the rest."
"Bah," I laughed.
"Ok, I'm ready!," Sylvan announced.
We all gathered in the center of the rink to receive the puck, which she hit with her left vine, sending it diagonally to the front and to the right. Amber, who was on that side, caught it, but it didn't take long before the Feraligatr took it away. He skidded to my side and I shot a Water Gun at the disc, but this time he was prepared and blocked the water with his stick. Amber came by and tried to take the puck again and the pair got stuck once more.
"I have to do something to unlock them," I thought. But it was the Sneasel who did something. He released a Blizzard that caused both Amber and the Feraligatr to move away from the puck, and sent the puck sliding to the side of the rink. I moved faster than anyone else and was able to get hold of it. I pushed the puck forward, but the Feraligatr soon came to my encounter. I had to hit the disc strongly and send it to the side to stop him from taking it. Luckily, Amber was ready to pick it. But unluckily, the Sneasel was ready to pick her.
The dark pokemon held Amber's tail tight, keeping his claws at a prudential distance from her flame. He'd ended up to be stronger than he looked. His grip was so firm that Amber couldn't free herself, nor even pull forward. She was forced to hit the puck from where she was, and the Blastoise caught it easily.
"Let go of me!," Amber shouted.
"Years of training have given their fruits," the Sneasel ignored her. "Now we're even."
"I can burn you," Amber warned him. "I could hurt you a lot."
"But you won't. This is just a game and you don't strike me as the kind of Charizard who plays dirty."
"Isn't what you're doing dirty play?," she questioned him.
"I'm not hurting you," he replied. "I'm just holding you in one place."
By then, the Blastoise had already released the puck into the game, and the Feraligatr had caught it. I had to rush in order to stop him from reaching the goal again. I knew that Sylvan wasn't going to let her belly touch the ice once more. The Feraligetr was too far ahead to reach him, so I shot a Thunderbolt at the puck to send it off-course. It worked. Now I only had to get to were it was, but the Feraligatr was closer than me. I'd have to try something new... isn't it great when an idea comes to your mind right when you need it?
I came up with a new use for Reflect. Don't ask how. I formed an invisible barrier around me, making it as wide and as strong as possible; two things that weren't wholly compatible, but I managed to get a decent result. I then ran as fast as I could towards the puck. The Feraligatr must have been wondering what the purple light around me was, but in any case he found out when I came close to him and his movement was suddenly slowed down. I couldn't stop him completely, but at least my Reflect made him slow enough inside its action radius to let me get to the puck before he did.
In the meantime, Amber kept shaking her tail from side to side and finally managed to get rid of the Sneasel's grasp. His paralysis didn't help him get her back, so she was finally free. I passed the puck to her and she pushed it towards the goal. I ran by her side, about 3 meters away from her. The Feraligatr couldn't reach us. The Blastoise prepared himself to make a catch, but I had another idea. I was inspired at that moment!
"Amber, pass it to me!," I told her.
She made a pass and the Blastoise turned, preparing to receive the puck from my side. But before the disc reached me, when it was right in front of the goal, I sent a Water Gun at it, getting it in.

[3-2]

"Yay, we're finally ahead!," I cheered, proud of the results of the trick I was unlikely to be able to repeat.
Amber patted my back and congratulated me. She almost seemed like Gabi!
"Two more goals and we'll get this over with," she said.
"What? Aren't you having fun?," I asked her.
"Hmm... Not too much. But don't worry, I'll keep doing my best."
I felt sorry for Amber. I had only just realized how hard the whole game had been for her so far. This wasn't like the game which had resulted in her final evolution. A half of her wasn't even here now, it was struggling against emotions I'd never known; and the other half had been receiving the attacks of the Feraligatr and the Sneasel.
"Don't worry, I've got you covered," I told her.
I wasn't really sure of what I meant by that, but I hoped it would make her feel more confident.
We went back to the center of the rink. I tried to get by Amber's side and look for ideas with her, but our opponents didn't give us the time. Now it was the Sneasel who hit the puck, not only with his stick, but also with an Icy Wind. Amber and I had to move aside once more, but we wouldn't let him get away with it this time. I sent a Thunderbolt at the puck, pushing it away from the wind. It worked, but not as well as I hoped. The Feraligatr had anticipated my move and was already on the other side of the rink getting the puck. He pushed it towards Sylvan's goal and Amber went right behind him. She intercepted him before he could score, but he just pushed her aside with one of his strong arms. This caused Sylvan to direct her attention at Amber for a moment, and the Feraligatr used that chance to score.

[3-3]

"That wasn't fair!," Sylvan complained, but the Feraligatr ignored her.
"Ok, let's make it even," I decided. "Amber, we must move fast this time. Are you ready?"
Amber nodded. That was my cue to go back to the center and hit the puck with all my strength before the others could react. They tried to get it, of course, but I didn't let them. I sent a Thunderbolt following the course of the puck, about half a meter above the disc. No one could have stood in front of it without getting zapped. As for the sides, Amber was guarding them fiercely. The Feraligatr tried to get the puck from the opposite side to where Amber was, but she gave the puck an extra impulse before he could reach it. I walked slowly behind the puck, keeping the Thunderbolt at full strength above it. When the disc reached the goal, there was nothing the Blastoise could do to send it away without getting shocked, so this time it was easy to pass by him and score.

[4-3]

"That was great!," Sylvan cheered from her goal. "Do you think you can do that again?"
"I don't know, powering up a Thunderbolt for such a long time is tiring, but I can try."
"Don't drain yourself," Amber advised me. "You must save some of your energy for the Course."
I agreed, but I didn't know how to do that and score again at the same time. I thought it would be great to end the game 5-3 just like before. It could be... our lucky score or something. Well, it would be lucky because it would mean that we won.
I didn't get the time to keep thinking of that because the Sneasel sent an Icy Wind again. We had to do something to stop the blue team from reaching our goal for the third time with that strategy! But what?
"Fire!," Amber shouted out, as if replying to my thoughts.
She accompanied her words with a Flamethrower aimed straight at the puck. I didn't know what she was trying to do, but I contributed with a Flamethrower of my own. The Feraligatr added in some water trying to put out the fire and the result was a huge whirlpool of steam that forced everyone to get away from the puck. When the clouds finally cleared out, the puck stood alone, waiting for someone to get it. Of course, then came a race to the puck in which all of us tried to take possession of it first. And the winner was... me!
Seeing that I had the puck, Amber walked a few steps back to receive a pass. I tried to grant it, but both the Seasel and the Feraligatr were blocking me. It wouldn't be easy, especially now that they'd seen all the types of attacks I could use. I finally decided to do the one thing I hadn't tried yet: bluff.
I gave my opponents a serious look and began to glow purple. Then I changed the color to red. Then blue. Then gold. I could tell they were getting confused. Who wouldn't? Anyone who didn't know me could have thought I was going to release some multi-type super attack or something. I made the glow more intense (my golden glow was excellent for that) and when they stepped back and braced themselves for whatever was coming... I made the pass for Amber.
I would have burst into laughter at how well the trick had worked if it hadn't been for the rage on the Feraligatr's face. That guy had no sports spirit at all. I felt a tickle in my forehead as he approached me and a huge Blizzard came my way - or that was what I thought. I blinked and saw there was no Blizzard; only a furious Feraligatr taking a very deep breath. I decided to think about what had happened later and jumped as far to the side as possible before the attack could be released. That way I saved myself from a real Blizzard. I could tell it was authentic by the way the air got colder all around. Now as I ran away from the raging Feraligatr I had the chance to go through the facts and understand what had just happened. My conclusion was that maybe I was an Espeon after all.
Amber was getting to the goal, and the paralyzed Sneasel couldn't stop her. I ran right behind her. It looked like we were about to score, but the Blastoise didn't seem to agree with that. He was getting ready for something. I just wished my psychic powers would help me again, but it wasn't that easy. They weren't the kind of powers that would come whenever I called for them. Anyway, I was grateful for them; they'd just saved me from a very cold experience and from losing my chance at the Course.
"Caledor, watch out!"
Amber's cry brought me back to the present... just in time to avoid a Bubble Beam from the Blastiose!
The bubbles passed right by me. It was strange, you'd think at least one of them would hit me, but they didn't. They just formed a speeding wall of watery film between me and Amber. Then I realized the attack hadn't been aimed at me. It had all been a tactic to neutralize me by keeping me away from the puck. And it had worked. After that, the Blastoise shot another Bubble Beam, this time at the puck. Amber was forced to take off to avoid the bubbles, leaving the puck free to be picked by the Feraligatr, who was just about to catch up with her... about to take away our precious chance to score the last goal. I couldn't let that happen, could I?
I decided to fight fire with fire, or in this case water with water. I aimed my own Bubble Beam between Amber and the Feraligatr to slow the latter down, and in the meantime ran to Amber's side, getting in my opponent's way. The Feraligatr passed through the bubbles, but not fast enough to stop me. Now I was right in the middle of the two Water pokemon. I knew one of them would have to attack to break the barrier my body and Amber's were forming. And while the Feraligatr was the most likely to play dirty, it was the Blastoise who had a clean shot at the puck. An attack by the Feraligatr could have sent the puck straight into the Blastoise's goal and of course he wouldn't want that. (See? I can make deductions. ) So the Blastoise was going to attack. And for once I knew just how to avoid him.
When I began to glow blue, the Blastoise hurried to release a Bubble Beam. He was no fool, so I bet he knew I was going to use a Water attack, but he had no way to know which one. He aimed the shot right at the puck, but by the time it reached the spot where it had been, the disc was already soaring above its beam, resting on my stick held firmly by an Espeon who was floating on top of a beautiful wave - that would be me. The Bubble Beam impacted on the wave, making in break but that only threw me forward into the goal. I fell on the Blastoise's head and the puck fell right behind me. Ok, it wasn't the most elegant goal, but it won us the match!
...And then the boards showed the score I loved so much!

[5-3]

The Green Team won!

I grew to level 44 while Sylvan and Amber reached level 45.

"Go, Fantasy Team!," I cheered, still stuck on the Blastoise's head.
The big turtle helped me down and I helped him with a typical 'heh' smile. He then offered me his hand and I shook it with my paw, for which I had to stand on my hind legs - the Blastoise was much taller than me. Then Amber and Sylvan came by and shook his hand too.
"Good game," the Sneasel said. "Now get me to a Pokemon Center. I could really use the help."
The only one who didn't show any signs of courtesy was the Feraligatr. It figured, he probably hadn't enjoyed the game in the least, being as busy as he had been trying to win at all costs. That served me as a reminder to keep having fun as my main priority whenever I had the chance to play.
"I could use some help too," Amber said. "I've been giving my best, but I really don't feel so well. That Feraligatr hit me hard."
"Please forgive our teammate. He has no manners," the Blastoise tried to excuse him. "He's great at battling, but he sometimes tends to forget that not everything in life is a battle."
The Feraligatr growled, looking at the Blastoise through the corner of his eye. His only spoken reply was "let's go now."
We all left the rink and met the rest of our team. Tsunami congratulated us, but not without making a joke about me being ungrateful and ending the game by copying him after he had risked his reputation by crashing the game for us. I then reminded him that Surf was an official Pokemon League attack, and not the Vaporeon's copyright. And so on, we had another of our friendly comeback fights. Gabi said some words to Amber which I was too busy to listen to, but their conversation ended up with a big hug. We missed the following match, as we headed off to the healing stand (some kind of Pokemon Center built specifically for this event and which would probably be gone the following day) to heal Amber. But we did get to see the last match, and it was quite good.
Finally, after all the hockey games were over, we went back into the lodge to have a snack -though Gabi wouldn't let me take in anything heavy, so I only got some orange juice and a cereal bar while my teammates filled their stomachs-, and then we waited for the final event to start. I was really looking forward to finding out what the Course was all about.

[Lady Vulpix]

Oh, and Ade, sorry for the delay. I read the rest of your story days ago, but for some reason or another I could never post here when I tried to. Either TPM went down or I got a sudden and urgent phone call... These days were crazy!
Well, I want to tell you that what you wrote was great and for that I'm giving you 10 stamps for the Course! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[Sheik]

I'm going to repost my previous battle with Ieal. I'm going to include Ieal in the race, that will lead to the battle with the squirtle. It will be up in a few minutes.

[Sheik]

I’m going to battle in scenario version # 3. I’m going to use Ieal, my Stantler, that was hatched from Lady Vulpix’s Stantler, Iael, and Nala’s Ditto (Gabi, you will finally be able to witness Iael’s son’s battle techniques! Bout time, huh?)

(Jay’s POV)

I woke up before the alarm went off, something that seldom happens. It was 6:55. I didn’t bother going back to bed, for I’d be woken up in five minutes either by my buzzing alarm, or my howling Growlithe and Houndour. I pushed the covers up, and crept my room.

I sneaked into my closet, and scrambled through some clothing. I finally unearthed my favorite pair of jeans from the seemingly mountainous pile of clothing. I slipped the jeans on, which sagged down to my hips, which usually happened with all my pants, since I have no waist.

I then located my leather belt, and slipped it on, it’s ebony color faintly glimmering off the light of the sun. I then came across a t-shirt, which I usually wore under my sweater. It was snowing outside, so this was my casual dress for this type of weather. I found my hooded sweatshirt, and then my alarm went off.

I sauntered over to my nightstand, and turned the alarm off. I tiptoed out of my room, and downstairs, trying as hard as I could not to stir anyone from bed. I didn’t make a sound, walking through the dining room and into the kitchen. I then had to figure out what in the hell I was going to eat.

If you lived in a family like mine, then you were on your own for the majority of the time, especially for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. My parents were workaholics, my dad researching the newer Pokemon that were said to be found in the newly discovered land of Hoenn; my mom working as a highly important executive for Silph Co. My mom usually was never home; only coming home on some of the weekends. She was relatively far from Blackthorn.

I got out a pan, and the box of Bisquick, and began to make pancakes. I mixed the concoction together, and put it in the pan to cook. It seemed I had disturbed my Pokemons’ peaceful slumber when Cinder crept into the kitchen. He glared at me with his dark eyes. It wasn’t necessarily a bad glare, but I had the feeling that he was still tired. He staggered under the little table near the wall of the kitchen, curled up, and began to sleep.

After a few moments of cooking, Ebony and Blazer stumbled in. They looked up at me, with starvation in their eyes. Since I had just begun making my final pancake, and it would be awhile since it would be finished, I got out the PokeIams, the Pokemon version of Iams dog food. I poured it into a couple of bowls and they began to eat. I waited until my final pancake was finished, and sat at the table.

I poured syrup and butter onto the flapjacks, and began to eat. I watched my two dog Pokemon, gorging themselves with food. They were obviously famished. I guess I didn’t give them enough to eat the night before, though I thought their meal might have been sufficient.

I finished breakfast, and gathered my Pokemon into their Pokeballs. I attached them to the sides of my pant legs, the usual Cooltrainer style. I walked outside, and almost felt overwhelmed from the icy air that swept into my lungs. I exhaled, and my breath was clearly visible. I locked the door behind me, before setting off onto my training expedition.

I strutted down the rocky road, my Pokeballs jingling at my every step. Many vehicles zoomed past, the usual Monday morning rush hour. There was no school today, since a massive heap of snow landed on Blackthorn overnight. The snow more or less came up to the midsection of my lower leg, which made it harder for me to travel expeditiously. I wondered if any of my friends would be out and about, training their Pokemon. None could be found within my path of vision, so I continued onward. There needed to be a perfect spot to train.

Ieal was going to be my steadfast and ambitious companion for today. He has been waiting forever to be trained. He doesn’t mind, for patience is one of his virtues. I marched downtown, where a commotion had begun.

There was a car crash, due to the ice on the roads. Blisseys and Nurse Joys were everywhere, helping the victims of this fatal wreck. Officer Jenny was also on the scene, getting information on how the accident was caused, and such stuff like that. I didn’t pay one bit of attention to her as she was bossing my around, telling me, a little child as she call me, to get out of the way and go home where I belong. I never took much of a liking to Officer Jenny, but I was cheered up by the kindness of Nurse Joy.

“Jay, how are you doing?” Nurse Joy asked me, holding a first aid kit that had been used on one of the victims a minute ago. Blood was covered on a damp rag.

“I’m fine, thank you, but how did this mess happen?” I asked, trying to gain information. I was a nosy person when it came to town matters. I always wanted to know what was going on.

“Well, it seems to me that one of the cars swerved on some ice while trying to dodge another car that almost rammed it. The driver lost control of the vehicle, and then an oncoming car collided with it,” she told me, scratching her arm.

“Are the drivers all right?” I asked, hoping for the best.

“Well, only one was critically hurt, but it isn’t extremely severe. It will take a few days for her to heal, but the other driver is completely fine, save a few scrapes and scratches. Oh! Sorry to leave like this, Jay, but it’s an emergency, they just pulled a second passenger from the vehicle. Boy, what a morning. See ya!” She hollered.

“Bye, Joy,” I called back, continuing on my way. I thoughts suddenly shifted from the accident to my duty as a trainer. After traveling through town, taking twists and turns within my route, I finally came to my destination… The River.

Today, there were racing going on at The River. I knew Ieal could do it, so I signed him up to race. He looked somewhat worried, but I had full confidence in him. A trainer came up to me, with a smirk on his face. He was a heavy-set man, with barely any neck, and massive hands. He chuckled as his gaze centered to my Stantler.

“Give up, kid. There’s no way that your Stantler could beat my Squirtle in a race. I’ll bet your Stantler isn’t even experienced in the water. That thing would probably drown after taking five steps!”

“Bring it on,” I said. “Ieal could kill your Squirtle not only in the race, but in a battle as well. Ieal’s battle techniques are first rate!” I had realized that I had just said something I shouldn’t have. His Squirtle looked strong; at least a level 10! Ieal had never battled before, either.

“All right, son,” the man said with a devilish smile forming on his face. “Let the race begin, and afterwards, a battle.” Ieal glared at me, with the expression “now look what you got us into” all over his face. The race was about to begin, so Ieal and I took our places at the beginning of The River.

“Come on, Ieal! You can win! Pulverize that Squirtle!” I told him.

(Ieal’s POV)

“Do I have a choice?” I said, under my breath. The whistle blew, and I rushed into the water. The water was freezing; it almost made my legs go numb. I kept working though, swimming through the water. I had to go 500 meters. I hit the first target with my antlers before moving on. It wasn’t that much. So far, I was tied with the Squirtle. The water went deeper now, up to the bottom of my chest, which made me go slower. Squirtle was gaining the lead, so I kicked harder and harder, finally catching up to him. Squirtle glanced in my direction, and gave me the evil eye, then struggled to lose me.

We were at the 400-meter mark now. I hit the second target, making sure I wasn't loosing speed. Squirtle’s entire body was completely in front of me. My hooves and joints were beginning to go numb. I started using my neck to make me go further every time I took a stride my jerking my head forward. This seemed to help a little. I was now catching up to Squirtle. He turned his head, and shot a Bubble Blast toward me, making me slow down some.

“Ok,” I thought. He wanted to play that way, huh. I kept struggling to go forward, and I finally positioned myself to where I wanted to be. I was right behind the Squirtle, and I had a plan. I ducked my head underwater, and swam forward. I felt all Squirtle’s legs under my antlers. I lifted my head up with force, and sent Squirtle flying backwards into the water behind me.

I had now gained the lead as I passed the 300-meter mark. I hit the third target before moving on. I didn’t turn back, for I new that that would only slow me down. Squirtle was gaining on me. I sensed that he was right behind me. Squirtle then bit my tail, making me jump as he swam by me. I gave Squirtle a Headbutt, sending him to the side of The River. Squirtle got back on track, and tried another Bubble attack. I was ready for it, and ducked my head underwater, while swimming forward. This caused some resistance against my stride, but I wasn’t that far behind. I emerged from the water, and I was still level with Squirtle.
I reached over with my neck, and bit Squirtle on the back of the shell. Picking him up, I then sent him behind me in the same manner that I had done with my antlers.

I had passed the 200 Meter mark, meaning the race was just about over. I hit the fourth target with some difficulty, making me lose some speed. Squirtle then came up behind me again, but I moved my tail. Squirtle didn’t attack me in the tail, as I thought we would, but, instead, he sent an Ice Beam to the back of my head. The ice struck my head, sending shivers all throughout my body. I slowed down some, enough for him to gain the lead. I struggled to get caught up with him, but I was losing him due to the Ice Beam.

The 100 Meter mark now came, and I was some 6 feet behind the Squirtle. I hit the last target, and now focused all my attention to the race. I continued to jerk my head and pump my legs in order to catch up. I was now right behind the Squirtle. I used my antler technique, but Squirtle was ready for it. 50 meters were all that was left. I had to think of something, and fast. I kept swimming until I was tied with Squirtle. 10 meters were left. Squirtle kept trying to make me stop, but I kept dodging his attacks. 8 meters, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. I used Headbutt, sending Squirtle to the right, into the side of The River. The Finish Line was getting nearer, and Squirtle was just behind me. I picked up my hind legs, and flailed them at Squirtle, sending him backward as I crossed the Finish Line to win the race.

(Jay’s POV)

The man came up to me, and his face was a beet red. “That was a fluke! Your Stantler cheated!” The man told me. I laughed at him

“How did he cheat? Your Squirtle attacked my Stantler as well,” I said while smirking. I knew Stantler was going to win, I just new it.

“FINE!” The man yelled. “We shall do battle!”

“Ok,” I said, shrugging me shoulders.

I took Ieal and he took his Squirtle. We had surrounded each other in a field that was typical to your average Pokemon Stadium.

Ieal, Stantler, Lv 5 VS Squirtle, Lv 10

(Ieal’s POV)

This Squirtle looked insanely tough. It raced toward me, trying a Tackle, but l leaped aside. Squirtle may have been tougher, but I had a good attribute to back me up… Cleverness, a trait I have a feeling I got from my mother. Squirtle turned, and confronted me with a low snarl. I kept my ground, in anticipation of another assault. Squirtle let down its head, planning for a Skull Bash. I waited, not moving a muscle, making sure all of my senses were to the max.

Squirtle was tired of hanging around, so it let the Skull Bash fly. I anticipated the attack, and swerved out of the way, letting Squirtle pass through the air. When Squirtle came across my path, I let loose with a Headbutt, sending Squirtle soaring across the vicinity of snow. Squirtle beamed at me, annoyance in his evil eyes.

Squirtle ascended to its feet, and sent a hurling Ice Beam toward me. I wasn’t ready for this attack, and got hit across the face. Il shook the icy blast from my face, ignoring my fault, not letting it get to me.

Squirtle reared to attack again with a Tackle. I was ready this time. You’d think that the Squirtle would have gotten the clue by now not to attack me physically, for I would counter it. I again swerved out of the way, and let Squirtle have it with a Headbutt.

I caught Squirtle by astonishment, and launched it en route to the earth. I pursued my quarry, attacking it from behind with a Tackle. Squirtle’s HP was dwindling slowly. He kicked me in the face, forcing me to stagger backward. Squirtle rose quickly, and whirled in my direction, smacking me across the face with a Rapid Spin.

I was getting worn out, but I wasn’t going to give up so easily. Squirtle reared to attack again, but I jumped aside, smacking it with another Headbutt. Squirtle just didn’t get it, no matter which way it tried to attack me with physical strength, it just couldn’t happen. My senses told me that Squirtle’s HP were getting close to nothing now.

I was in hot pursuit, attacking Squirtle vehemently with an additional Headbutt. Critical Hit! I noted as I heard Jay’s Pokedex ring. Squirtle ascended, using Ice Beam. I was ready for one this time, and ducked. The Ice Beam caught the tip of my antlers, but it did minimal damage.

I charged forth, delivering the final blow. Squirtle attempted to rise, but I kept it down with a Tackle, followed by another Headbutt, winning the battle.

Stantler grew to level 6

I would like to note that Squirtle did hit targets, even though I did not portray that in my story. If I need to for it to be a valid battle, I will.