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

[Lady Vulpix]

<Caledor's POV>

The 3rd and final event of the day was coming close and I was really excited about it. I couldn't wait to find out what I'd be doing at the course, and who I'd be competing against. But I had to wait. They took a long time to set up the whole track. I thought of looking for some friends to talk to, but Lagi had other plans. She called me and said she wanted to talk to me. I couldn't imagine what she could possibly want to talk about, but I went with her and asked her what was up.
"I'm worried about you," she said.
Now that was something I didn't expect?
"Worried? About me? But why?, what is there to worry about? I'm perfectly fun, having a great time and looking forward to having even more fun."
"True, but I noticed you had a little mood swing at the hockey game."
"Mood swing? I don't remember, but I guess everyone has them every now and then. And you're the only one who can possibly notice mine, they never last more than 5 seconds."
"That's exactly why I'm worried."
"I don't get it. Oh, wait, are you talking about the moment when the Feraligatr hurt Amber? Of course I was worried at that moment, but then things went well, so everything was fine."
"I'm not talking about that."
"Then what? Please spare me the mystery, you're scaring me."
"The thing is you don't remember being worried about yourself at all, do you? I've noticed you've been reflective many times, like there was something inside you that scared you and you didn't want t reach in and see what it was. Then you dismissed it. You always dismissed it and then forgot it. But it keeps coming back. And denying it will only hurt you. It can even stop you from enjoying life as much as you should. Your joy can never be true and full if you achieve it by blocking away your worries."
"You know, that sounded very deep, but I don't think it applies to me. I admit it, I have lots of questions about myself, and about my past, and yes, sometimes they scare me, but there's no way I'll ever find the answers to those questions, so there's nothing I can do about it. So I do the best thing I can: face front and have fun."
Lagi kneeled down and patted my back.
"I know what it feels like to have unanswered questions," she said.
"You know what everything feels like," I pointed out.
"I mean I have some of my own. You know that. Though it's true that I've never been so much in the dark; I know it was nature that made me different, or at least I'm almost sure that was the case. As for the reasons, looking for them is like looking for the purpose of life. I realized I'd have to find my own purpose, and my own reasons to be myself."
"Ok, that's all great, but..."
"I haven't finished," she said. "In your case, we know your abilities are not a product of nature, but whoever the people who did that to you were and whatever their motives were, you don't need them. You can look for your own path too."
"It's hard when you don't know what you are," I told her.
"I've been there too. But what matters is not what you are. It's who you are. And you know that very well."
"Yes, I know who I am. Though in my scariest nightmares I wonder if even my personality was built to the liking of those scientists."
"No one is capable of doing that."
"We don't know what they're capable of. I've heard of beings with tremendous psychic abilities. They can do just about anything."
"If something like that had been done to you, you wouldn't be questioning them, would you?"
"I guess you're right. Then only my body has been tampered with. Thanks, Lagi, you've taken a huge weight off my chest."
"It was a pleasure. Tell me, is that why you're scared of your psychic abilities?"
"Scared? I'm not scared of my psychic abilities. I wish I could handle them better. I mean, I wouldn't like to mess with the minds of others, or violate their privacy, but it would be great if I could predict attacks, know when someone is close or even move objects with my mind! And using telepathy to communicate would be very nice too. I can do that with you, Gabi and Ventura because your own abilities help me, and I've done it with Tsunami too, but it's easier because we're very close. It would probably work with Hero too, but it doesn't work with the others."
"Well, you've made some good achievements. I'm sure your powers will improve if you keep working on them. But you must be certain that you want them to improve."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know. You tell me. Ever since the day you evolved I had the feeling you were afraid of your powers, but I had no way to know the reason. Not without asking you, and I didn't think you were ready to talk about that until now."
"Why now?"
"Because you opened yourself to your powers during the game."
"You know, I'm not sure if my powers are scary or not, but yours definitely are."
"I know, Hero keeps telling me that. In my defense I can only say that I don't like invading anyone's privacy either, and that I'll never hurt anyone on purpose. Actually, if I hurt anyone emotionally I get hurt too."
"Ouch; now that I think of it, it mustn't be nice to be like that."
"Sometimes it is, sometimes it is it. but it's the way my life is, so I'd better make the best of it."
"Good. So what were you saying about me being scared of my powers?"
"Oh, yes, the day you evolved, even before evolving, during the battle against the Dark Cloak, you were scared of your own powers."
"I was confused," I told her. "You never know what will happen when you're confused."
"True, but confusion only mixes up what's already inside you. So you did have those worries hidden inside. And even after the battle, when you were no longer confused, I could sense your fear. You reached for the Day Stone and evolved, and then you blocked it."
That wasn't the way I remembered my evolution, but now that I thought of it some of the things she said did ring a bell. I tried to recall what had happened after that battle, and if there had been anything that had scared me at that moment.
"There were many reasons why I wanted to evolve," I finally told her. "But yes, I think one had something to do with needing to be an Espeon in order to control my psychic abilities. After that battle, my mind suddenly opened up to a sense I wasn't used to, and there was a lot of noise inside my head. That must have been what you felt. And the reason why I'd been scared before that happened, now I remember, was because of the vision I had when I touched the glowing stone with Gabi, Sandy and Ryan. It was really horrible. All of us were scared. Gabi didn't want to touch the stone again for months, remember? I guess what happened to her happened to me too. I was afraid having psychic powers might imply having more visions like that one."
"The encounter with the Dark Cloak was a terrible experience for all of us," Lagi said in a reflective tone. "I felt everybody's fear and I was afraid too. Most of their pokemon knew nothing but hate and blood-lust, while the trainers had no feelings whatsoever. It was, indeed, horrible. But that had nothing to do with being able to foresee it or not. You would have seen them sooner or later, and had it been later we wouldn't have been prepared."
"I know. I just hope something like that never, ever happens again. If it happens a thousand years from now it will be too soon."
"I agree. So, do you feel better now?"
"I feel better before we even started to talk, but it was nice to have someone to talk to about deep stuff. We could do this once a year or so."
Lagi chuckled.
"Is that how often you're planning to be serious?"
"Give or take a day," I retorted. "I'm not the serious type."
"Just be careful not to neglect your needs. I'll always be here if you want a talk. It can be lighter too."
"Ok, acknowledged," I smiled. "Now when is the Course going to start? They're sure taking their time!"
"I'm sure we'll be called soon. Let's go back with the others."

Lagi was right. We were called soon after we rejoined the group. I was lucky. This time I was the second on the list. And the first one turned out to be another Espeon! Well, her and a Squirtle - it takes 2 to race and battle. It would be good to watch her. I could get some ideas. We sat at the beginning of the track, so we could only see a small part of the race directly, but there was a pretty TV screen that showed the whole course as the race went on. Thanks to it, I soon realized I'd have to watch out for the cold water. I hoped my opponent was not a water or ice pokemon, although I knew my chances were small: over a half of the pokemon who were around today belonged to those types.
I recognized the Espeon's trainer when the screen showed him picking her up from the finish line. She had won, but she wasn't in a good shape. And he was... Ade. I wanted to slap myself for not recognizing Kirei earlier, but I had only seen her once. I hoped she'd be fine. I was glad she had won, I didn't know her too well, but she was a friend's friend while I'd never seen the Squirtle before. And she was an Espeon; seeing an Espeon win against a Water pokemon in the course was a good precedent. I wished Ade and his team would stay, so that I could see them after the course; it would have been nice to talk to Beckham again. But they left right away. I could understand them, Kirei needed medical attention and a warm bed. I decided I'd have to be very careful in order to end the Course in a better shape and be able to keep having fun afterwards.
With those thoughts, I got on the track when my name was called. I waited for my opponent, but no one came. Now I was getting annoyed. Until I heard the announcement on the loudspeaker. Then I became intrigued.
"As one of the contestants is unable to run on land, the side track has been enabled for her. The side track consists of a stream of water of 1200 meters of length. It was made longer than the original track to compensate for the advantage its users have in the water. Both competitors will meet at the pond after reaching the end of their respective tracks."
So there was a water track. Where was it, and why hadn't I seen it? And did this mean I wasn't going to see my opponent until I'd finished running along the snow path? It would be hard to know who was ahead that way. And, for what they'd said, my opponent would have to be a water pokemon. I'd have to race through the snow as fast as possible if I wanted to stand a chance. Though the battle would probably decide the result. Too many things to think of, maybe improvising would be best. Trying to contemplate all the possibilities would only be a waste of time.

The whistle blew and I dashed forward. The view ahead of me wasn't great, just a lot of snow as far as I could see. The sound of the people cheering was comforting, but it faded away as I raced further away from them. Then came a moment when I felt as if I was alone in the middle of nothing. It was a strange feeling; not bad, just strange. But I couldn't just stand there and contemplate the whiteness and the silence. I had to push forward or else my opponent would take advantage, wherever she was (the voice on the loudspeaker had referred to my opponent as 'her'). I had to admit this was the weirdest competition I'd ever seen. And I'd seen many.
Soon, the water came into sight. There were no signs of my opponent yet. It seemed like I was ahead. Either that or my opponent had already crossed the pond, but that was unlikely. I ran faster, encouraged by the thought that I was gaining ground, and reached the pond in practically no time. I didn't know I could run so fast! Of course, Hero was a lot faster than me, but I wasn't up against him. Now came the hard part. I touched the water with my paw and proved that, yes, it was cold. I was used to swimming -I'd spent a lot of time in the pool at the Eevee House-, but it would be hard to swim in such cold water. I could try to warm it up with a Flamethrower, but that would take too long. Reflect wouldn't protect me from cold water. I reckoned I'd have to get in and just move as fast as possible to get over the cold. So there I went. I took a deep breath to give me courage, kneeled down, got my front paws in, then the rest of my body, and then I screamed.
Well, I knew I'd have to endure the cold water, but I'd never said anything about enduring it in silence. I agitated my legs as fast as possible, trying to get to the other side and at the same time generate some heat. And right at that embarrassing moment, a Kingdra appeared from the side.
"So you're my opponent," the Kingdra said.
"Yes. And you're mine," I said. "Sorry if I don't talk a lot, but I'm trying to get out of here. We can talk later."
"Ok," she said, swimming to the other border as if there was nothing to it. Of course, she had been swimming 1200 meters already. She'd had time to get used to the cold. So would I if I stayed there long enough, but I didn't intend to do that. I wanted to reach the Kingdra, do whatever I had to do next and get to the finish line.
As I swam, I saw some targets appear from under the ice and even in the water. The Kingdra brought them down with perfect accuracy, using water and ice attacks. If things stayed like that, she was going to win. They'd said each of us would have to hit 5 targets, and she'd already hit 3. When the 4th one appeared, I took a long shot and used a Hydro Pump. Too much of a long shot. I didn't hit it. I could picture Ventura scolding me for that. But the Kingdra turned around to look at me, and while she did that I shot a Bubble Beam and this time I did hit straight on.
"Oh, so you're that Espeon," The Kingdra deduced.
I didn't know where she'd heard of me, but it was clear I'd lost any chances at catching her by surprise. And with that, I'd lost the factor I was best at using in my battles. I'd have to come up with something else when the time came. For now, a new target had appeared right behind the Kingdra. I moved a little to the side and shot it down with another Bubble Beam.
"Those two targets were mine," she told me. "You have to cross the pond first before shooting."
"I never heard that," I replied. "Anyway, I'm almost there."
I reached the border and got out of the water, feeling as cold outside as I'd felt when I got in. I shook my body to get the water away from my fur and some of it did leave me. About half of it, I'd say. A new target appeared on the ice, so I decided to cope with the rest of the water until it evaporated and use fire to help that happen and bring down the targets at the same time. Flamethrower worked just fine on that one, and the one that came floating on a fancy flying machine. Now I finally had the advantage again! A new target came out of the snow on the side of the ice field and... a long-range Ice Beam flew straight into it. I jumped back when I saw it, caught by surprise. Of course, iif it had been aimed at me, it would have been to late to dodge it. I realized I'd have to keep an eye on the Kingdra and not just the targets.
"Sorry that cut you so close," the Kingdra said. "But you got two of my targets, so I have to get two of yours."
"I haven't heard anything about having different targets for each of us," I insisted.
But as I said that, another target appeared behind me. I knew that from the Water Gun the Kingdra released. I turned around as fast as I could and shot a Water Gun of my own. As I was closer to the target, both attacks hit at the same time.
"I guess it's a draw," the Kingdra said. "Time to break the tie with a battle."
"Can you tell me something first?," I asked her.
"What?"
"Where did you hear about me?"
"My teammates saw you at the Hockey game," she said. "I was in my pokeball, but they told me about an Espeon who glowed in different colors and used attacks of many types."
"Oh. Were your teammates the ones who played against my team?"
"No, they were watching. They played right after you did."
"Oh, I missed that match."
"How did you get those powers?"
"I'm a prize pokemon," I told her.
"Oh."
It was incredible how that answer seemed to satisfy almost everyone. It would never be enough for me. Saying that and saying nothing at all was just about the same. But for most, that seemed to be enough of an explanation. They never seemed to wonder where prize pokemon came from. Weird, but for me it was good; it saved me from giving a lot of explanations I didn't want to go through.
"Shall we battle now?," I asked her.
"You read my mind."
"Though there's a chance that I may be able to do that in the future, I didn't."
I faced the Kingdra and got ready to attack.

Level 44 Espeon vs. Level 50 Kingdra

Thanks to the years I'd spent living with Water Angel, I knew the strengths and weaknesses of a Kingdra. Water and Fire attacks were out of the question, which left me with two types of attacks to use: Electric, which I was most used to and comfortable with, and Psychic, which were supposed to be stronger for being of my own type. I'd probably have to use both, while the Kingdra was bound to use Water and Ice attacks just like the ones she'd used to hit the targets. I decided to start off with a Psychic attack. It was safest, since I still had some water on me and I didn't want to risk shocking myself. It was a good start.
"Oh, so you can use the attacks of a normal Espeon too," the Kingdra said.
Actually, I couldn't use all of them, but I had no reason to let her know that.
The Kingdra shot an Ice Beam at me. Now I felt even colder than before. I was glad I wasn't as sensitive to extreme temperatures as Sylvan was. But even Gabi would have shivered if she'd been in my place. I used Psychic again, and this time I was hit with a blast of icy water from the pond. I guessed it was a Surf attack, though it didn't look like others I had seen. And it felt much colder than usual.
I had to do something. If the Kingdra dumped another wave on me like that, I might freeze. I ran away from her reach to gain some time and get dry. She tried to shoot Ice Beams and Bubble Beams at me, but I was too far away. She yelled at me, said that I was cheating, but I wasn't planning to leave the battle unfinished. I only needed to warm up. I shot fire at the sky, hoping that it would help me somehow.
"I've had too much of this!," the Kingdra complained. "If you're not going to battle I'll get to the finish line."
She dived under the water. There had to be an underground tunnel that would send her past the finish line or something like that. I couldn't let her go without finishing the battle. I rushed back to the border of the pond and released a Thunder into the water. Some of it just had to hit her. I felt the electricity surge through me and get out, then flow through the whole pond. Finally, the Kingdra came back to the surface. She looked dizzy.
"Oh, ok," she said. "I like it better this way."
She took a deep breath and I instantly knew that what was coming next would be very cold. I could run, but not to far or else the Kingdra would get down again and this time she would make it into the tunnel and on to the finish line. So I had to run to the side. But which side?

LEFT.

I wouldn't turn back from a hunch when it came. I jumped to the left just in time to avoid the coldest attack of the day: a Blizzard. The strong wind headed slightly to my right and that was what saved me. Now I had to make sure not to mess up. I decided to put my mental abilities to good use while they were cooperating, and released another Psychic attack. That did the trick. The Kingdra fell on her back and floated on the surface of the water. She didn't have any strength left to attack. I turned around and ran to the finish line. When I reached it, I jumped with joy. I had won!

And I grew to level 45! Yay!

Well, I was still cold and rather agitated, but I was filled with excitement and that overly made up for all the annoyances. I looked past the finish line and saw there was a small pond a few meters away, so that proved my theory of the tunnel. Well, it didn't really prove it, but it supported it. I began to walk back to the start, but I was intercepted. I heard a voice shouting at me before I could see its owner.
"Hydro Pump?! On a shooting target? What were you thinking?!"
"Oh, hi, Ventura," I replied. "I knew you'd say that. But I won, didn't I?"
The Venomoth, who was flying behind me, came in front of me and turned to face me.
"You were lucky. If that Blizzard had hit you, you wouldn't be telling the tale."
"Yes, I was lucky, so sue me. Luck often plays an important role in battles. Doesn't Gabi always say that?"
"Well, there are always things you can't predict, but you should do your best to minimize your need for luck. You can't rely on something you can't count on. You could have used a Thunder Wave to start with, and then..."
"Can't you congratulate me for once?," I complained. "You're always so harsh. Relax and enjoy! I came here to have fun, not to take a class on battling."
"Did you have fun?"
"Yes, I did."
Ventura sighed. She had no arguments against that.
"Now that Kingdra made some interesting moves," Ventura commented, changing the subject. "Though she could have used Agility to get to the pond before you and get to hit first. She wasn't that smart at that. But what called my attention was the fact that her strategy was totally different from Water Angel's. No Smokescreen-Toxic combo. Instead she used all-out attacks. A fast finisher. I'm still wondering which of the two strategies works best for a Kingdra."
"I guess this one works best for this Kingdra and the one Water Angel uses works best for her," I opined, resuming my walk.
"It only works until all her opponents have seen her do it and are able to predict her moves. Using the same attacks again and again is not recommendable."
"I never do that."
"Hey, do you want me to teleport you back with the others?"
I paused to think. I liked walking, but it was a bit too cold for my liking, and the sooner we rejoined the team, the sooner I'd get a chance to warm up and watch the rest of the competition.
"Hmm... ok," I accepted.
Ventura took me back with the others, who gave me a warmer welcome than she had, and congratulated me and rubbed my back and put their paws on my face... well, the last part was accidental; Tsunami bumped into Hero causing him to trip and fall on me. Amber, who was fine by now, sat me on her lap and kept me warm as we watched the rest of the races. Everything was fine. Everything was fun! I could really get used to taking part in competitions. We should get out more often.

[Lady Vulpix]

That was nice, J. Take 8 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[Sheik]

Thanks, Gabi! Since you have finally written your battle for this scenario, I have a feeling that one is going to be up soon, so I would like to have an extension on this scenario if it's not too much to ask.

[Lady Vulpix]

It's not too much to ask. You can have your extension, J. It's good to know you've decided to give this scenario a chance.

[Wolfsong]

Well, its not my best, but i'm happy with it. I seem to be having a bit of writer's block lately but i think i'm getting over it. I would like a time extension though, because i doubt i will finish in time.

(Sugar's POV)

I can’t say that I wasn’t annoyed, because I was. Amy and Steve had agreed to cancel my battle with Nave, but I understood why. I paced about restlessly, working off some of my excess energy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nala’s pack. It looked slightly more full than usual. I froze, slowly turning to face the backpack as if it were an opponent. I strained my ears to see if I could hear anyone. Silence. Nala was upstairs studying or something, while the others were scattered throughout the house doing their own thing. Crouching low to the ground, I stalked my prey. Once I felt that I was close enough, I rushed in and tackled it. My prey fell over, its contents spilling out. I looked down, as memories came flooding back. The last time that I had gotten into Nala’s pack without her knowing it, was the day I evolved at the Eevee House a long time ago.

*Begin flashback*

I heard laughing. Please don’t it be him, I thought. My fears were confirmed, as I turned around. Jesse had heard me telling Nala how I felt about him. What made it was, was the fact that he was laughing as if it was the funniest thing that he had ever heard. My eyes began to water as I struggled not to let them fall. I ran over to where Jesse was and gave him a hard tail whip across the face. Then I turned tail and ran, letting the tears fall. They left two streaks down my light brown fur. I retreated to the safety of my pokeball. Later, I emerged. I heard M_K and Nala talking and they didn’t notice that I was out. Shrugging, I didn’t mind. I wanted to be left alone for a little while. The flap on Nala’s pack was open. I decided to go have a closer look. As I drew closer a glint of yellow caught my attention. Upon closer inspection, I gasped. It was a thunderstone. I jumped into the bag right as Nala discovered my empty pokeball. “Where’s Sugar?” I heard her ask. At that moment, I grabbed the thunderstone in my mouth as I felt myself being lifted. A white glow enveloped me, as I changed in Nala’s arms. My chocolate brown fur turned a lustrous golden yellow and became spiky. I felt myself growing taller. Within seconds it was all over, I had evolved. Nala chuckled as she hugged me. “What am I going to do with you?” she asked, before she placed me on the floor, letting me go play.

*End flashback*

A small tear trickled down my face as my thoughts returned to Jesse and Torrey. I missed them so much. What comforted me was the fact that I knew that they were happy, and M_K took good care of them. I took a deep breath, before wiping the tears off my face with my paw. Once more, I focused my attention on the packs contents strewn across the floor. I sighed, before focusing on cleaning up the mess I made. “Sugar, what are you doing?” a cheerful voice asked. I smiled, turning around to greet the houndour. “Hi, Yana. I was just cleaning up the mess I made when I was trying to get rid of some excess energy.” I answered as I began to put some of the items back into the pack. “Do you need any help?” she asked. “Sure,” I answered her smiling. She nodded as she got to work. I saw three small boxes, and upon closer look it was evident that they were TMs. I smiled as I carefully hid them in the pack. I knew that Nala liked to surprise us with TMs every once in a while and I had a hunch to which of us they were for. I looked to see if Yana was watching, and she wasn’t. I quickly stuffed them under a pile of plushies. With the two o us working, we had it cleaned up in no time at all. “Thanks for your help,” I told her. She grinned, “I’m just glad that I could help. I watched as she trotted off.

“Sugar, could you come here please?” I heard Nala call. I looked back, to make sure that we hadn’t missed anything, before leaving. She was smiling when I had found her. “Are you up for a battle at the battle tower?” she asked. “You bet!” I told her.

(Kiara’s POV)

Yawning, I climbed to my paws and stretched. Once I was awake and fully alert, I began to smooth out the fur in my mane. It was rather untidy with fur sticking out in every direction imaginable. I heard voices in the next room, however I waited until I was presentable before entering the room. Turns out that Amy had arranged for Sugar to have another battle.

Amy greeted me warmly. “Hey Kiara, how are you?” she asked as she rubbed my head between me ears. It was great to see her relaxed again. She had been so stressed these last few weeks. “That’s always good to hear,” she replied. After a few seconds of silence, Amy spoke again. “Kiara, do you think you could find Yana for me? I have a couple of surprises for her." I nodded yes, before leaving to search for Aiyana. It didn’t take me long to find her. She was on the back porch watching Blazer and Talut having a training session. I sat down beside her as we watched the pair. It was always interesting to watch those two. They always tried to outwit each other, most of the time not succeeding because they knew each other so well, although there were occasions where one of them would succeed. Eventually, they took a break, and I finally got a chance to talk with Yana. She smiled and greeted me with her usual cheerful self. “Nala wanted me to find you,” I said figuring it was better to get straight to the point than beating around a bush. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked. I smiled reassuringly. “No, she has a couple of surprises for you.” The houndour seemed to relax somewhat. “Ok, let’s go.” With that, we went inside.

(Nala’s POV)

Shortly after Kiara left to find Aiyana, I went into the other room to get my pack, with Sugar following me. I grabbed the pack, and fished around until I found the tm boxes and then pulled out two of them. It as at that precise moment, that Kiara and Aiyana returned. Yana looked slightly nervous, until I showed her the TM boxes. A smile crept across her muzzle as her tail started wagging ninety to nothing.

I opened the first box which had a picture of a sun carved in it. “Ok, the first TM is Sunny day.” I smiled as I sprinkled the powder over her. “I also have a hidden power TM. The powder stood out against Yana’s ebony coat, but within seconds it was gone, and she had learned a new move.

Aiyana learned Sunny Day!

Next, I picked up the other box, which contained the hidden power TM. It had a question mark carved in it. I repeated the process, exactly as I did with the sunny day TM.

(Aiyana’s POV)

When the last traces of the TM powder faded away, I wanted to test it to see what it was. The others looked curious as well. My eyes surveyed the room, and landed on a plastic Tootsie Roll bank. I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to connect and harness the new power that coursed through me. I opened my eyes, to see the bank surrounded in a pink glow and floating. When I lost my concentration it crashed to the ground. Ok, it’s either psychic or flying, I thought to myself. I gulped, before attempting to try it out on myself. If it was psychic, I had nothing to fear. However, if I was wrong and it was flying, then I’d most likely have a very nasty fall in store for me. Seconds ticked by, and when nothing happened, I sighed in relief. “Psychic,” I said. “My hidden power is psychic.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kovu enter the room. He was carrying what looked like a flyer in his mouth.

I learned Hidden Power Psychic!

(Nala’s POV)

I was about to go into the study to straighten up a bit, when Kovu entered the room. He was smiling, carrying a folded up piece of paper in his mouth. He walked over to me and I took the flyer from him and unfolded it. It was an ad for some sort of winter games. I read the introduction aloud to the members of my team that were in the room.

Winter is here. The contrast to summer. It is a time for cold, for snow and for the other side of the world to enjoy summer. But don't despair! For it is time for:

The Winter Games!

The flyer went on to describe the events. There was going to be an ice-skating race, a hockey game, and a course. “Well, this does sound interesting. Let’s round up everyone and see who wants to participate.” It didn’t take long for the word to spread among my team, and within in minutes, everyone was gathered around. Well, almost everyone. Jasmine was asleep upstairs, but I didn’t think this was the right type of even for her anyway. I read to them everything that the flyer said about each event. “I’d like to give the skating race a shot,” Yana let us know in a quiet voice. I nodded and put her name down on the paper, this way it wouldn’t take as long when we had to fill out the entry forms anyway. Kovu was the next to speak. “I’d like to give the course my best shot. It sounds like it will be fun.” I nodded and wrote his name down on the flyer. “Ok, that just leaves the hockey match.” I had to chuckle at what happened next. Like father, like son. Salem and Simba spoke at the exact same time, saying the exact same thing, “I want to do the hockey game.” “Ok,” I answered, smiling. “That means we need one more pokemon within your level range and not of the same type. Sorry Sweetie and Ayla.” Sugar stretched, before answering, ”Count me out. I doubt my battle will be finished in time anyways.” Neither Dodger nor Flame was interested, so that left Kiara and Sparky. I’d like to give it a try,” Sparky finally said. Kiara nodded, showing that she was ok with the decision. I jotted their names down. Salem grinned, “Our opponents won't be much of a match for the Triple S Threat.” Kiara chuckled, but told Salem that while having confidence was good, not to become too cocky. Once we were done, our team got ready to go to the Eevee House where we could get some practice in.

[Sheik]

I recalled Ieal to his Pokeball, and left The River Races. I walked up a hill that was covered in snow. On the other side of the hill, there were Ice Skating Races and Hockey Matches. I went over to the hockey grounds to see what was up.

Hockey Matches Today!
3 on 3 matches!
Same type of Pokemon on each team
Ex: Water, Water, Water
VS
Ground, Ground, Ground

This sounded like fun, but the only Pokemon that I would be able to use without being disqualified would be Draco, Blazer, and Ebony. That would work, but I didn’t know how I would assemble a team when none of the have ever held a hockey stick before. I released them, and gave them a little pep talk.

“Blazer, Draco, and Ebony, you three are going to compete in a hockey match against three other Pokemon. The object of the game is to actually win the hockey match, not defeat the Pokemon. Ok?” They looked at me, and seemed to understand. I looked at the sheet that said which Pokemon team they would be up against. “Ok, you guys are going to be going up against a Squirtle, Smoochum, and a Swinub. You guys can do this.”

I gave them their hockey sticks, and they all went onto the court.

(Draco’s POV)

I looked over at the other team. They were all ice types, except the Squirtle. This should be easy, but I shouldn’t underestimate the Squirtle. “Ebony, Blazer, come here” I told them. They came over to me.

“What up, Draco?” Blazer asked, wondering why I had called him. I kept glancing over at the other team, seeing where they were going to position themselves. Squirtle was the goalie, which worked for us, as well as against us.

“Blazer, I want you to be all over that Swinub, don’t let him come near our goal. Ebony, you get Smoochum, since you have a type advantage over her. Ebony, if Smoochum gets too close to the puck, let her have it with Crunch, ok? I’ll be goalie, as will Squirtle. Let’s get em!”

We took our places among the hockey ring, and got ready. Ebony was going to be playing for the tip, against the Smoochum.

(Ebony’s POV)

“All I’m going to say to you, is you better stay away from the puck. I’m going to be all over the ring with you,” I said as the puck was released. I swung my hockey stick, and took it down the ring. Blazer was on the other side, and was being followed by Swinub, but at a far distance. We were too fast for them to keep up. Squirtle was ready for me, and as I came into shooting distance, he let loose with a Bubble attack. I passed the puck to Blazer, and avoided the Bubble Blast.

I ran out of the way of the bubbles, just to see Blazer score. 1-0!

(Blazer’s POV)

I scored, this was going to be way easier than I thought it would. Squirtle passed it to Smoochum, who began to take it down the ring. Ebony stopped her, and used Crunch, and slammed her against the side of the ring. I rushed over, and got the puck from Smoochum, only to have it stolen by Swinub. I rushed after him, and bit him in the side. He lost the puck, and I passed it to Ebony. Ebony rushed in for another point, but was stopped as Squirtle let loose with a bubble attack. He lost the puck, and Squirtle passed it up to Smoochum. She took it down the side of the ring, and was close to scoring, but was stopped by Draco’s whirling tail. Draco retrieved the puck, and sent it in my direction. I rushed down the ring, closing in on Squirtle. I knew his plan, and passed the puck to Ebony just as soon as Squirtle inhaled. Ebony smacked the puck with his hockey stick for another point. 2-0

<Ebony’s POV>

This was too easy. Smoochum was afraid of me now, meaning I had the upper hand on my side of the ring. Squirtle passed it to Swinub, who passed it to Smoochum. I crept behind her, and used another Crunch attack. The puck left her grasp, and I chased after it. I smacked the puck, and sent it all the way down to Blazer, on the other side of the ring. Blazer did some quick maneuverings, confusing Squirtle, and then scored for another point. 3-0

Smoochum had the puck on the other side of the court. I chased after her, and was about to attack her with another Crunch when she passed the ball to Swinub. Swinub took it down near Draco, and scored. 3-1

Draco brought the puck out, and passed it to Blazer, who dodged past Swinub, and passed it to me. I took the puck, and scored. Unfortunately, I was hit by the Bubble attack. 4-1

Squirtle brought it out, and passed it to Smoochum. I sprinted toward Smoochum, and attacked it with Crunch, knocking it out. I took the puck, and passed it to Blazer, who made the final score. We won 5-1

Squirtle and Swinub were enraged, and rushed toward us.

Swinub & Squirtle Lv. 10 VS Ebony lv 7, Blazer lv 6, Draco lv 6

I went straight for Squirtle, since he was the toughest, and so did Blazer. We continuously bit Squirtle, but he made us back off by using Bubble. Meanwhile, Draco was busy dealing with Swinub. Draco used a Bite attack on Swinub, and kept avoiding his attacks.

Blazer and I went in for another round of biting. We hit the Squirtle hard, almost knocking him out. Draco used another Bite on Swinub, along with a Scratch. Squirtle was concentrating on Blazer, so I went in for the KO with a Crunch. Draco finished the fight with Swinub by attacking with Scratch, and two Bites.

I don’t think I did this scenario right…… please tell me how to fix it.

[Wolfsong]

Originally posted by Nala98
You can only have one of a particular type on each team.

Jay - i'm afraid you're right about it not being right. You're supposed to have only one of a type on a team and not three of the same kind. Like: psychic, grass, and fire, or normal, psychic and dark.

[Sheik]

Ok, other than that, did i do anything wrong?

[Lady Vulpix]

Nice intro, Amy! I'm sure I'll enjoy reading the rest of your stories for this scenario. And of course you can have a time extension.

I'm going to the Eevee House now, so expect something from me there in 15 minutes or so (I'm a slow writer, I need to round up every sentence before getting it down).

[Meowth_Kitten]

I've decided to write for this scenario, its been a while. [Once again, lol] So, I'm probably going to need some more time. May I have a time extension?

[Lady Vulpix]

Of course! Welcome back, M_K!

[Charizard04621]

Wow, I slowed almost completely to a stop because of my vacation. I'm forcing myself to do this now. Writer's block is evil. ^_^

Switchblade the *male* Porygon's POV:

Argh, it was freezing! If I haven't said it before(which I'm sure I have), I HATE COLD WEATHER! The creepy Squirtle that kept snickering at me wasn't helping me feel better, either. She had this really, really weird expression on her face... It looked evil and pretty scary. Of course, that might've just been the cold screwing up my circuits.

What I had to do sounded like fun, at first, and not particularly difficult: cross a kilometer of icy water, destroy five target balloons, dash over half a kilometer of ice, then beat my opponent in a battle at the end. But that was when I was inside - being out in the cold was a different story. My trainer was probably the only one who'd understand. Evenstar and Nimrodel felt fine in the cold; icy places were natural for Sneasel and Lapras, who were born to tolerate such weather. Élan always burned with inner flame; he would never let anything stand in his way, and because people ridiculed him for being an Unown, his driving force for prevailing was ever greater. But like me, my trainer also couldn't stand the cold much at all, either.

So obviously, when I had to get out here in a rather undignified manner, with the wind's frozen breath stinging at my face, I didn't really find it very enjoyable. I frowned at myself. Why was I so pessimistic these days? I used to have nothing to care about in the world. I used to be carefree and joyous. Was my mind maturing - would I grow up, like Evenstar had already done? I couldn't understand completely; but I did notice that I had changed, greatly, in every imaginable way: from the way I spoke and thought to the way I enjoyed myself. The change was very sudden. What had forced it to be that way? I had a long life, a long time still to grow. What triggered my change? Why did it seem so urgent that I did?

As if to answer my question, the image that had bothered me most for the past few months flashed before my eyes: Fat Mike, as my trainer now called him, with that ugly scar on his mocking face; and that cruel sneer; and his sour breath and yellow teeth. He was a nasty man, and his Porygon2 equally evil.

A shudder went through me as I thought about the Porygon2. What Mad Mike had done to it was inhuman, unnatural. I remembered its supernatural speed; its cold, piercing glare; its lack of life, but abundance of strength and power. I did not want to know what Mad Mike had done to alter that poor Porygon2 into its horrible state. It was true that I wanted strength myself, but not that way - never that way. The Porygon2 was once a pokémon who had feelings and a soul; but now, to tell the truth, I could not say what it was, even if I tried to pursue the answer for millenia. Now, it was a mere engine of destruction, a device of Mad Mike and his evil.

The Squirtle looked at me irritably, clearing her throat deliberately and stamping her foot on the snow. Great, I thought to myself, Now Mad Mike's face has to interrupt me when i'm doing work, too. Can't he and his freaky Porygon2 leave me alone for once?

"Sorry," I said out loud, "Just... preoccupied."

"Let's just get this over with," she replied.

Switchblade the *male* Porygon LV10 vs. female Squirtle LV10

Well, I couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. The Squirtle, who had been lingering near the water's edge for the past ten minutes while my mind had drifted off, was warmed up and ready for the intense swim. She dove right into the icy waters and sped off in an instant. Her rate of acceleration surprised me; but then I guess that's because everything else seemed to happen so slowly. The cold was getting to my head.

As for me, on the other hand, I got stuck for a terribly long time, trying to push myself forward - you know how sometimes you just don't feel like getting up because you feel so comfortable? That's exactly how I felt. Except it was because I was so uncomfortable that I really couldn't get myself to move. I felt nearly completely frozen inside-out, and that was an understatement. To put things bluntly, I felt like a big shocking magenta and ice blue popsicle. The wind had stopped blowing, which was a relief, but it didn't change the fact that it was twenty degrees below freezing temperature outside. I was just what I felt like: a poor popsicle, insignificant and forlorn, trapped in the vast expanses of an imprisoning coldddddd freezer that stretched on for an eternity into frozen, empty wastelands of white upon white. What a day.

By the time my will to move on actually kicked in, the Squirtle was more than a minute and a half away, just a tiny speck on the frozen horizon. I had no more time to lose; I had spent all my allowance already, and more. I really didn't want to give up before I even tried the course, although the evils of winter threatened to claim me at any moment. It just wasn't me. I might have changed a lot, but I was still Switchblade; and I didn't like losing battles that I did not try to fight.

With that, I moved on with an increasing sense of urgency; I had to catch up to that Squirtle. If I didn't complete all my other tasks and make it to the final battle arena in the set amount of time after my opponent arrived, I would be disqualified. I really couldn't waste even a second more.

A cold, blue glow outlined my shivering body as I concentrated as best I could, lifting myself a substantial distance above the snow. If I would not swim in the freezing waters, I would fly over them. I propelled myself forwards with magical speed, effortlessly despite the cold that had begun to seep into me. With my Psychic and Agility abilities combined, I sailed across the stretching expanse of waters like a gliding hovercraft, joyously free. I could feel bits of my old self seeping into me, like a warmth that banished the cold from my heart and made me carefree again. Then I knew what it was that I had been missing lately: simple, uncorrupted fun. At that moment - for which I praised myself later - I thought, like I always used to do, that I could not be happier; not a single thought of Mad Mike, nor any kind of worry, crossed my mind to destroy my elation.

I know that it was only a large, manmade pool, but at that cherished moment, in my imagination, I could almost taste the salty ocean spray that splashed gently across my face as I chased the fleeing waves; hear the sea birds singing their cheerful song; feel warm, golden sunlight beam down upon me; and smell the excitement in the air, the glory of adventure and conquest. There really couldn't have been a better moment, a better view of the cold, bleak world; I had conquered the winter, and it would not stand in my way of enjoying myself again.

In my endless tirade against the cold weather that I loathed, I had forgotten the simple things that I stood for and genuinely enjoyed: the freedom to explore the great outdoor world, the glory of competition, and the challenge of battle. Now that I knew it, I would not so foolishly allow the discomforts of the cold to take away my happiness.

It was as if a new day had dawned, fresh with hope; for, as I dashed continually forward, feeling not the stress of exhaustion, I caught sight of the Squirtle up ahead, reaching out to pop one of her sky blue target balloons that lay on an iceberg. My turquoise one lay nearby, to the right; but instead of going off course to get to it, I burst it with a small jolt of electricity as I shot by, purposely quick so that my opponent would not get a chance to realize what it was before we engaged in battle. In that way, I caught up to the Squirtle and overtook her with my speed.

The next three balloons were easy. I could spot the turquoise targets bobbing up and down in the water like buoys; it proved unnecessary to reveal my Thunderbolt again. As I got close to each one, I pushed it into a piece of ice nearby to pop it and swerved back onto course, never losing much speed in the process. I could hear the Squirtle behind me; the constant grinding of her shell against the ice above as she swam swiftly reminded me that I could not slow down. Her blue target balloons were similarly easy to get to, and she did not lose much time.

The last target for me was floating high in the air, but the Squirtle was right behind me, and using my Thunderbolt to destroy it would spoil my element of surprise for later. Instead, although my mind was very weary by now, I raised myself further upwards, and shot up into the air; and, releasing my grip slightly when I got there, I dove and took out the final turquoise balloon. The Squirtle, who could not do that, instead fired a stream of colorful bubbles that exploded upon her last blue balloon and burst it.

I didn't quite catch myself before I fell into the cold water, but it turned out all right in the end. I regained my grip, and I really didn't get submerged or anything as bad as that. For the final stretch of the water, I forced my mental strength to stay steady, and not waver; but I knew that it was getting worse, because I dragged along in the water, sometimes hitting blocks of floating ice. Finally, I reached the banks of the huge pool, and began to climb. The Squirtle overtook me here, but I didn't quite care; I was just relieved that my mental ordeal was over for now. I would need to save some of that power for later, if I wanted to keep advantages in the upcoming battle.

Happily enough, the 500 meters of ice before the battle arena were relaxing on my body and mind. I remained behind the Squirtle, but not very far; she was exhausted, having kept up with me for such a prolonged period of time. I took that final 500 meters easily, neither straining to catch up nor gain speed. I got a lot of rest from that crucial end. The Squirtle was obviously saving her energy, too; she knew that the final battle was up ahead.

What was nice about the track that we followed was the fact that it cut back in a clever way and led us closer and closer to the lodge area where my trainer was waiting and watching our progress on the screens inside along with the rest. The battle arena was a circular indentation in the snow not too far away, surrounded by a ring of magnificent, snow-laden pine trees. It was a strange arena - shaped like a lower hemisphere, so that it went inwards like a bowl.

For a brief instant, I went over in my head all I had gone through to get here, and it made me feel proud - I deserved to be here now, to fight the final battle and emerge the victor, or, if I didn't win, come out all the more enriched with valuable experience. The Squirtle, too, paused momentarily; but then she became impatient again, and beckoned for me to enter the arena.

"Finally, I can defeat you and go home," she said.

Not a very pleasant note, but it was the first thing that she said since she asked me to hurry up and begin the course. I chose not to respond.

After all I had done, it all boiled down to this final battle. I smiled, knowing at least that, whatever the outcome, I would be happy - whether because I had won, or because I had tried my best.

The Squirtle, eager to end, began with the most powerful Ice type attack available to her; and it was cold, and harsh; and I did not like it. The arctic winds howled in my face, and the frozen ice shards slashed whatever the lashing whip of the winds missed. It was the most terrible feeling I had had in all the time that I had lived. I really wasn't too keen on feeling it again soon.

So, I did what it was best to do: build a resistance. I think the Squirtle was very disappointed when she saw my aura of white light; for, when I was revealed again, my body was no longer what it used to be. Now, it sparkled with the dazzling radiance of the snow, and was silvery and clear, like crystal; and when light bathed my coat, it produced a glorious sheen, a pure, beautiful luster, characteristic only of ice.

I proceeded to dash at the Squirtle and crash headfirst into her before she could think of reacting; she was thrown into a pine tree at the edge of the arena, but I managed to avoid it.

"Converting will not save you," I heard her whisper, as she got up slowly, shakily to her feet. With a tremendous war cry, she charged forth, and grabbed my by the neck; and before I knew it, I was sailing high through the air, bound for the trunk of a particularly spiny pine tree.

This was where the crucial mental rest came in handy. Before I crashed, I slowed myself, with sheer will, and carefully lowered myself to the ground below. The Squirtle was not happy, to say the least.

She pouted, but before I came to attack her again, she drew herself into her shell. Not a single bit of her limbs or head showed. All I could see were the black holes into which she has retreated.

And then I thanked my better judgement, for concealing my secret weapon. I sparked with vicious intensity, but when the Squirtle noticed, it was too late; I sent the redoubled bolts directly into the gaping holes in the protective shell, watching the electricity surge inside...

The Squirtle, greatly weakened, showed herself, and attempted to run and hide; but I was too quick, and again assailed her with the brutal lightning; and this time, she fell, and did not get up. I had won.

Switchblade won!
Switchblade grew to LV11!

[Lady Vulpix]

That was great, Karin! Take 10 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

[Matt]

My POV

I walked over towards the race track. It wouldn’t be that far from the lodge that I was staying at. Surrender was at my side. He looked very happy, and I thought he was a good choice for this race. I smiled and picked up some snow and balled it up into a ball. I turned around and threw it at Surrender. Surrender laughed and picked up some snow as well and threw it. I jumped out of the way before the snow could hit me. I looked at my watch. It said: 12:00. I thought for a moment. The sign that I had seen said that the race started at 8:00 sharp. I had a lot of time to waste. I turned to Sneasel.

“Sneasel, what do you want to do with all this free-time that we have before the race?” I asked Sneasel.

Sneasel put his head down in thought. Then he raised his head up and smiled. I couldn’t really tell what he was trying to say, but I guessed.

“So, you want to play in the snow?” I asked.

Sneasel nodded his head. Then he started to tell me something else.

“And you want to train for the race?” I asked.

Sneasel nodded again. I may not know pokemon language, but I’m still pretty good at it. I smiled and laughed. Soon, Sneasel grabbed another pile of snow and threw it at me. It hit my head, and the snow matted in my hair. I laughed and picked up some snow as well. I threw it at Sneasel, but he moved out of the way.

“Ok, Sneasel, I think that’s enough of this throwing snow,” I said. “Maybe we should start to train some for that race?” I asked.

Sneasel nodded his head again and started to run off behind me. I chased after him. I wanted to know where he was taking me…

Surrender’s POV

I ran off from my master to get to a special place to train. He was pretty good at guessing what I was thinking but not well enough. I could feel him behind me, running after me. I laughed at my cunning plan and continued to run towards the distance. Soon, I had grown tired. I stopped behind a giant snow ball to rest. But, my owner had caught up to me. I sighed.

“Why did you run away,” Matt asked. “I could have lost you forever,” he continued.

I just sat down on the cold snow and listened to him. Matt looked down at me and could tell I wasn’t listening. He picked me up off the snow. He smiled at me and patted me on the head.
“It’s ok Surrender, he said, I was just really worried about you, that’s all” he continued.

I smiled at him, for I knew that he was a great trainer. He put me on his shoulder and we walked on, in the same direction that I had been running. There was this big hill that we had to get over. I didn’t know if we could, though. Matt started to walk up the hill in an angle. I started to slide off his shoulder. I yelled in fear.

“Snnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,” I said.

Matt turned around to see me hanging on to the edge of his shirt. He picked me up and held me in his arms. We continued to go up the hill. Finally, we got to the top. When we did, we could see a big giant circle. The circle had piles of snow in the middle. It looked like a place that a pokemon had made. Matt looked around to see if he could find a sign, but he didn’t find any. So that means that this place that we had found, wasn’t the official place to race.

Matt ran down the hill to get over towards the racing place. As soon as we got to it, he put me down on the ground. We walked closer to it. It was a big place to race in. I jumped up and down so Matt would notice me. He looked down at me and smiled.

“Do you want to train here,” he asked me.

I nodded. This was going to be really fun racing here. I looked around and I could see that it was a really long run around this place. Matt squatted down at me. He looked concerned.

“Who are we going to get to race you, Surrender” he asked me.

I ran up beside Matt and pushed one of the pokeballs at his side. A Stantler, by the name of Stanty, popped out onto the snow. Stanty yawned as soon as she got out of that cooped up pokeball. She looked down at me.

“Did you need something, Surrender?” She asked.

“Nah, but now that you mention it I did need to ask you something” I said.

“Well, what is it?” Stanty asked in an annoyed voice.

“Lets see… I’m starting to train for the race that is going to be held tonight, and I was wondering if you would like to help me train,” I said to Stanty.

“Well, ok I’ll help,” she said with joy.

We looked over towards Matt who was still wondering who to pick to race me. I walked over towards him and pulled on his jeans leg. I pointed over towards Stanty.

“So you want Stanty to help you train” he asked.

I nodded.

“Well let’s start training then” he said.

I smiled and motioned for Stanty to come over towards me. We listened to Matt as he explained what to do on these races.

“Ok, this is whats going to happen,” he said. “You two are going to start at the line I just made, and run around this big oval thingy about 8 times. This place isn’t as big as the real track, but its close enough to the real one” he continued. “Now, let’s start the race” he finished.

Stanty and I walked over towards where Matt was standing. We got our feet lined up with the line that we were supposed to start at, and we got ready for the race. Matt was standing at the side cheering me on. Then, Matt got out a piece of cloth and tied it on a stick that was laying near-by. He walked over to where we were and put it over us. He was going to wave the flag, which means to start to race. He moved his arm up, and waved the flag. Stanty flew off, and so did I. Matt walked back over towards the side and started to cheer me on again.

I had to somehow get in front of Stanty. She wasn’t that far away from me, but I still needed to get an early lead. I started to run faster to get in front of her. Stanty moved her head to the side and saw me coming behind her. She started to run faster, too. We came to a corner that wasn’t very noticeable. I could see Stanty turning it. Then I head a loud yell. I ran over towards the corner to see Stanty lying on the ground. She had tripped over a pile of snow. I wanted to help her, but I needed to train for this race. I passed her and frowned and continued to run. I was about mid point of the next side when Stanty came up beside me. She had gotten up off the ground and was now ready for more running. I frowned again as she passed by me. I started to run faster to catch up with her, but I couldn’t do it. Stanty passed the line that we had started at. She was now on lap two. I soon passed it as well. I saw Matt still cheering me on. These cheers seem to of given me the confidence to win this race and beat that Stantler.

I was now running at a good enough speed to maybe catch up to Stantler. She started to turn the same corner again, this time with more caution. I turned the corner as well. She hadn’t fallen over the same snow glob this time. I ran past the snow glob and started on the other side of the race track. Stantler wasn’t that far ahead of me. I started to run faster, but not to fast so I wouldn’t lose all my energy on the second lap. Stantler started to slow down a little. She was loosing energy. I saw this time perfect to get ahead. I ran faster, and finally got past her. I smiled as I past her and started to run towards the line. I passed the line meaning that I am on lap three now. I continued to run. I looked behind me to see that Stantler had passed the line now, and she looked angry. I turned around, but I ran straight into a big pile of snow. I fell on the ground with my hands by my side. I got up and looked around for Stantler. She had passed me! I needed to think of something good to get past her.

I got up off the snow and started to run again. I turned the corner, but I couldn’t see Stantler any where. She had already turned it. I kept running to see that she was almost to the line again. I didn’t know what to do. I might lose if I didn’t catch up. I started to run faster. Maybe if I run fast I can catch up to her. I got over towards the line again. As soon as I passed it, I felt pain. I was loosing a lot of energy from running this whole time. I turned the corner to see Stantler standing in one place, panting. I ran over towards her, ignoring the pain.

“Why have you stopped running?” I asked her.

“Well I can’t run the whole time non-stop can I?” She said in a smart way.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “Maybe we should rest for a few minutes to get our strength back” I continued.

“That’s a great idea” She said with joy.

We continued to rest in the middle of the track. Soon, we had got enough energy to maybe finish the race with. I wanted to win so badly that I could taste it in my mouth. I got up off the ground.

“Come on, Stanty, let’s finish this race now” I said with eager.

“Ok, let’s agree not to stop again. OK?” She said.

“Ok” I said.

Stanty got up and started to get ready for the race. I moved a little and started to jog in place. Then, we started to run again. I got ahead of Stanty easy, but then she started to get ahead of me again. I tried to stop her, but it was no use. She got ahead of me and started to run faster. I started to think of something, though. If she starts to run fast now, then she would loose all her energy before the end of the race. I laughed evilly and started to run at a pace that wouldn’t use up a lot of energy. Soon, I was at the other side of the race track. Stanty was almost behind me on the next lap. I continued to run at the same pace. I passed the line, so now I’m on lap five now. Just three more laps to go until I win this race. I continued to run at the same pace, but then Stanty passed me. When she did, I could hear her panting loudly. She was using up a lot of energy running as fast as she was. I smiled, as I knew that I had a lot of energy to spare. I passed the corner once more. I started to pick up speed a bit. I didn’t want Stanty to win!

I passed the line again, this time I’m on lap six. Stanty was on lap seven!!! I had to catch up to her. I started to run faster. I passed the corner and went onto the other long stretch. As soon as I got on this long stretch, I could see Stanty lying on the ground. She had lost all of her energy. I ran past her and passed the line once more. I’m now on the last lap. I ran down the long, narrow, side to get to the corner. I passed the corner and started on the next long stretch. I started to run as fast as I could. I could see Stantler moving a bit, meaning that she has regained some of her energy. Soon, I got past her. I was going to win!!! I passed the line, meaning I had won! I yelled in excitement, and Matt ran over towards me and picked me up off the ground. He smiled and laughed. He was really proud of me. He put me in his arms, so I could rest some, and we walked over to where Stantler was lying.

“You did great, Stanty, you can come in your pokeball now,” Matt said.

The red light engulfed Stanty, and she was recalled back into her pokeball. Matt picked me up again.

“I think you are ready for the race, Surrender,” he said.

I nodded my head. I think I’m ready for the race, too. I jumped down from him and started to run towards the lodge again. I was really tired, so I needed to rest some before this race. Matt ran up behind me and picked me up off the ground. We started to run back to the lodge to get some rest. Matt looked at his watch. I heard him mutter about the time being about 2:00. I just sat back in his arms and waited to get to the lodge.

There, I posted the second part of my sucky battle. Hope you like, Gabi. ;x. More on the way sometime...

[Lady Vulpix]

Alright, Wheat Flakes master! Take 4 stamps! Sorry for the delay. ¢¢¢¢

[PancaKe]

Hey everybody. Just wanted to post and say im still hanging around. I'm not gonna start writing for the dragon tamers tho until lyk, next scenario but its all good. Gabbi I'm still reading your story just whenever i go to post a reply my net disconnects. But i'm still reading and i really like it so far! And Ryan, if you read this check your email! I'll resend the chapter but you keep checking your email cuz i already sent it and I wanna post the next TFiBe chap!

Anyways hi everybody else

~Mist

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks, Tara!
Ok, then. I'll post the next scenario on Monday, to give people more time to finish posting for this one. Still, those who have asked for time extensions can have them.

[Wolfsong]

I apologize for this not being my best work. I’ve had writers block, so bear with me. Hopefully I will be over it by the time the next scenario is up.

(Ayla's POV)

It was amazing what even a little time spent with those you love could accomplish. Mom (Sugar) was back to her normal self again. For the past couple of months, I had seen the change come over her. She hid it well from everyone, but me. I knew her too well. I had been told that I was just like Momma when she was younger. Mom had become more withdrawn than usual, and she didn’t seem to want to do anything at all. I missed Torrey and Dad a lot as well, but the good news was that they had stopped by the Eevee House while we were there. Torrey could always make me laugh, and Dad. Well… He and Mom were two of a kind. The change in her was instantaneous. She was back to her old self. Our little family stuck together until Dad and Torrey had to go home.

(Blazer’s POV)

The Eevee House seemed to go through periods of inactivity and periods where it boomed with popularity. You could always count on seeing at least one of the regulars even when things were going at a magcargo’s pace. Currently, the place was booming with activity. There were new faces as well as familiar ones. Like usual we stayed till after everyone left. However, this time it was with the purpose of training for the Winter Games. Nala had Simba, Ayla, and Talut freeze the pool with their ice beams. Then Flame and Talut would test the ice to see if it would hold their weight. Then Nala would let Simba, Sparky and Salem practice on one half of the pool, though they pretty much goofed off. Kovu and Yana would take turns on the other have. Kovu would practice hitting clay targets with his attacks that Nala and Talut would throw. It was pretty much the only thing he could practice. Then it would be Yana’s turn. She had her work cut out for her. It was amusing to watch. When the training sessions first started, she couldn’t even stand up without falling. She gave it her all and eventually, towards the end of the training sessions she was able to go some distance without falling. Meanwhile, the “Triple S Threat” would start out being serious, then one of them would do something silly on purpose and the whole group would burst out laughing. When the sessions were over, Nala would have us (the fire pokemon on her team and Dodger) thaw the ice and then Ayla and Simba would test it. Once it was the right temperature, we would refill it if needed and then leave.

(Aiyana’s POV)

I was grateful for the late night training sessions. I made progress. If it hadn’t been for those, most likely, I would have made a fool out of myself. As it was I wasn’t the most elegant skater but at least I could move around without falling flat on my snout every second. We had the training sessions every night. I enjoyed them, though the “Triple S Threat” Probably had more fun than Kovu or I did. I could say that I made progress and I was proud of that. With each passing day, the Winter Games drew closer until it was finally time for them. Since I was in the first event, I was fairly nervous, but I knew that as long as I did my best no one would be mad at me. On the morning of the games Nala made a huge breakfast for everyone but would let the participants eat very much. Which was fine with me. I was too nervous to ea, but I did lap up some milk so I wouldn’t be participating on an empty stomach.

(Nala’s POV)

Today, for once things were going smoothly. Everyone was excited about the upcoming games. We were also hoping to see some of our old and good friends. After everyone had eaten, we met in the back yard. I recalled everyone except Flame, Talut, and Dodger. Talut knelt down allowing me to climb onto his back and we took off. The breeze felt nice, and since I had my hair up in a ponytail as usual, it didn’t get messed up either. AS we neared, the location where the event was to be held, Talut began to gradually circle lower and lower until we were safely on the ground in front of the registration booth. I spoke to the lady inside, and she gave me the paperwork to fill out. I headed over to an empty table, which by this time was scarce. Once I filled out who was going to participate in each event all I had left was their species and levels. When I was finished, I turned in the paper work and headed for the track. Flame and Dodger had already taken off after agreeing to meet at the bleachers in time to see the first match.

(Talut’s POV)

Once Yana had been released, I took off to explore on my own. We had agreed to meet at the bleachers. I was enjoying the warm thermals and the calm atmosphere when I saw him. Of course it was hard not to spot Blue most of the time. He hadn’t seen me. I slowly descended behind him and tapped him on his back. Then I used agility to get in front of him when he looked behind himself. “Blue, do you honestly think I’ll still be behind you,” I said as I laughed at his antics. He immediately spun around. The look on his face was priceless. I wish I had a camera. We ended up filling each other in on what had been going on since we last saw each other.

(Aiyana’s POV)

I felt myself being released. Shortly after, so were the rest of my remaining teammates. The majority of them took off to explore, while a few of us stayed with Nala. I took the time to look at the huge oval track. “You’ll have to make ten laps around the track.” I smiled nervously. “I’m not sure how I’ll do, but I’ll do my best.” Nala smiled. “That’s all I ask.” Then our small group went over and rested on the bleachers. Gradually the others returned. I started out trying to pay attention to the races, but eventually my mind drifted as I wondered who my opponent was going to be. Swinub. “Who said that?” I asked puzzled. ”Who said what?” Flame asked coming in and landing beside me. “Someone said ‘swinub’ when I was wondering who my opponent was going to be.” “It wasn’t me,” Sweetie and Salem said at the same time. Nala smiled and scratched be between the ears. “None of us said anything, but I believe you heard something. It might have been your hidden power.” “Maybe…” I said as I let my voice trail off. I didn’t have long to wait until I heard my name over the loud speaker. “Nala98’s Houndour Aiyana please report to the track.” I gulped as I made my way down the bleachers. “You’ll do great,” Kovu told me as I passed him. I nodded, as a determined look appeared on my face. Sure enough, there was a swinub waiting for me. “Are you my opponent?” I asked. He eyed me warily. “Yes, I am. You had better not cheat, of course, I’m just wasting my breath.” The fur on my back bristled. “What exactly do you mean by that?” He rolled his eyes and looked at me like I was the dubest thing he had ever seen. “Everyone knows that dark types can not be trusted.” I sighed. “I suppose if everyone jumped off a cliff, you would too.” I never got a statement in response to tat because a voice came over the loudspeaker. “ON YOUR MARK! GET SET! GO!”

Aiyana L.7 Houndour VS. L.10 Swinub

As soon as we heard the word go, we both took off. In terms of speed, I was slightly faster. However, when it came to experience and ease on the ice, I was sorely lacking. The skates made my feet feel heavy, but I focused on the track ahead. I had passed the swinub a while back. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. At least, until I was hit from behind with a tackle that sent me sliding into the wall halfway through my first lap. I climbed to my paws. I had to distract him but how? I decided to try a bluff. Everyone that knew me knew me knew that I wasn’t fierce, so I hope that the swinub didn’t know anyone that new me. I did my best to catch up. I hope this works, I thought as i prepared myself to use an attack I had never used before. I waited until I was right behind the swinub before I took a deep breath and let loose and intimidating roar. It even startled me, and I was the one that made the nosie. I was well into my second lap before I saw him again. I slowed down slightly so that I could keep an eye on him. I wasn’t graceful, but at least I was able to remain standing and go around the track. The training sessions at the Eevee House had really paid off. I knew that I didn’t have many attacks that would help me out on the ice. For all practical purposes I only had one attack that I could use, and I wanted to keep that a secret for now. For the next few laps the Swinub didn’t try anything. He had caught up with me at the beginning of the fourth lap and the look in his eyes was plain that he wasn’t out of tricks just yet. Sure enough, within seconds I was buried under a pile of snow. I sighed, he seemed to have his courage back. I struggled to get out of the snow and moving again. I hoped that I could continue with the intimidation bluff a little longer. When I finally caught up with him on the fifth lap, I stared at him trying to use leer. It didn’t work exactly how I had planned as the swinub started laughing. Well, I maybe could sound fierce, but looking fierce in order to use leer just didn’t work out. X_X I had to face it I wasn’t good at being scary. We were dead even for the remaining laps. On the last leg of the race, I didn’t want to pull ahead in case he tried something else. I was right to be wary of him as we advanced, he grinned. Then he darted in and bit my leg. I slammed into the pile of snow that had covered me earlier and skidded into the wall. I shook my head, before trying to get to my feet. I heard the crowd booing the swinub. I tested my leg. It hurt but I could bear weight on it, so I took off. As soon as I saw the swinub, I focused on my hidden power. I had thought it would lift him up like the tootsie roll bank. Wrong. As the pink glow enveloped him, he gradually slowed to a stop though he kept on skating. I heard laughter, and it was hard to refrain from laughing myself. He looked so funny. I maintained my concentration until I caught up with him then I let him go. I skated faster as I saw the finish line. Soon, I pulled ahead. Suddenly, I had the urge to dodge to the left. I did and narrowly missed an ice beam. I kept skating, but I made a mental not to ask Sweetie about her psychic power. I needed to know as much as I could in order to get the most use out of my hidden power. Cheers from the crowd brought me back to reality. Somehow, I managed to stay on course and cross the finish line. The swinub crossed the finish line muttering something about dirty darks. I shrugged. It was his problem. I wouldn’t let that get me down. Just then, a Nurse Joy arrived to look at and bandage my leg. I could feel it throbbing slightly, but I wouldn’t let hat bother me.

I grew to L.8!

[Last Exile]

Tara, I sent a reply, saying yes! On Sunday last week! I don't know why you didn't get it.

Anyway, post away! And sent me an email! I wanna talk Meteora with you if we can.

[Lady Vulpix]

That was nice, Amy! Sorry I didn't reply earlier. I had many distractions today, my thesis being the biggest. The day went off in a gust!

[Lady Vulpix]

DarkPrince the Dark Knight gets 20 stamps for this unusual scenario. (I made some contributions to it). ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

We have been invited to a special event that takes place on the Easter Islands. Many of you may find this peculiar, but it could be a nice change of scenery for those looking for fun, or even for some training. The game will be held on an open area, and all those who managed to fulfill their quests will be rewarded with a tasty treat. Here's what the sign at the registration boot says.

"Hello, and welcome to the Easter Islands. In this exciting event, you are on a quest to earn Easter eggs, a very popular tradition held each and every Easter. However, in order to receive one of these delicious treats, you must defeat one of the many trainers here to find one (it will always be a random colour, and its contents are always random (e.g. for example the egg could be a chocolate flavoured egg with or without a creamy filling inside). The trainers here will always be holding one egg, but getting it (and learning what type of egg it is) will be difficult, as you will have to battle with any of the following Pokemon:

Level 10 and Below

Pichu L5 +1
Igglybuff L10 +2

Level 11-20

Cleffa L15 +1
Togepi L20 +2

Level 21-30

Marill L25 +1
Jigglypuff L30 +2

Level 31-40

Pikachu L35 +1
Snubbull L40 +2

Level 41-50

Clefairy L45 +1
Eevee L50 +2

Level 51-60

Exeggcute L55 +1
Lickitung L60 +2

Level 61-70

Togetic L65 +1
Azumarill L70 +2

Level 71-80

Wigglytuff L75 +1
Chansey L80 +2

Level 81-90

Clefable L85 +1
Raichu L90 +2

Level 90-100

Exeggutor L95 +1
Blissey L100 +2"

[Knight of Time]

My trip to the Easter Islands

[My POV]

It was not an ordinary day today. Waking up from a long nap at my house, I could see that the table was decorated with a single basket filled to the top with Easter grass, and a few other treats, but upon looking through the entire basket, I gasped. No Easter eggs in sight! Feeling puzzled about why I did not get any Easter eggs, I decided to leave the house, and upon walking a few miles, I noticed a portal. Even though I had travelled through a portal before, during my trip to the Porygon Valley, I noticed something rather unusual about this new portal.

Upon staring at it for about a minute or two, I finally understood what was going on. Seeing virtually every colour of the rainbow, I decided to step inside. Even though I felt a little dizzy from the swirling colours going into my eyes while I was being transported, within a few minutes my 'ride' finally stopped, and I found myself in a strange land, filled with a few statues here and there.

Trying to figure out where I had ended up, I walked around for a few minutes before finally finding a sign, that read "Welcome to the Easter Islands". Starting to like this place a lot, I walked around some more, looking for someone who would also be here, until I came across a girl a few years younger than me, about 16 years of age.

"Hi, my name is Dawn, what's your's?" Introducing myself to Dawn, I told her that my name was Kyle. "Oh, you seem to be new around here. Is this your first visit to the Easter Island?" Upon hearing Dawn's question, I nodded. Telling her that I wanted to make this my only visit, I asked Dawn curiously why I ended up with no Easter eggs before coming here. "Oh, I'm sorry, but we can't allow you to get an Easter egg or two without winning a Pokemon battle here. Are you up for the challenge, Kyle?"

Nodding, I declared I was ready for Dawn's challenge. "Okay, how about two Pokemon each. What do you say?" Upon hearing the type of challenge Dawn wanted, I quickly agreed, but also told her that I was up for an additional challenge, to see if only one Pokemon could win both battles. "Two against one? Are you sure you will not need a second Pokemon, Kyle? You seem to be taking this challenge a bit too seriously." Nodding once again, I smiled as I took out a black and orange Pokeball. Enlarging it, I opened it up to reveal my adopted male Houndour, Chaos, who was currently wearing a Pokemon Earring to help him. "You made a good choice to buy that earring for your Houndour, but are you sure it can help him beat me?" Declaring to Dawn that I was very sure this 50% special attack boost would come in handy, I nodded once more. "Okay, for my first Pokemon, I call upon my first of two Igglybuff. This one is named Bouncy. I'd be real careful around him if I were you. BTW, do you want to attack first Kyle, or can I?" Telling Dawn that I felt like attacking second, I declared to her that I would not be afraid to battle a cute Pokemon like an Igglybuff, and I shook hands with Dawn. Taking my place, Dawn and I declared ourselves ready to battle.

Chaos the Houndour (M, L5) vs Bouncy the Igglybuff (M, L10)

[My POV]

Upon seeing Bouncy being let out of his Pokeball by Dawn, I turned to Chaos. Asking him if he was ready, he nodded. Just then, I heard what Dawn had planned for me and Chaos. "Okay Bouncy, I have an idea. Even though you and Chaos are the same gender, there is one thing that you have which he does not. The power to charm your opponent, so I want you to use a Charm attack on him!" As soon as I saw Bouncy look cute towards Chaos, I shuddered. With Chaos's attack power cut in half, and Dawn simultaneously giggling, I could tell that Chaos didn't look too happy. "Okay Chaos, time for a weather change. It may be cloudy right now, but this might just help you should you beat Bouncy, so use a Sunny Day!" Upon seeing Chaos summon the sun, I whistled in relief.

"Hah, you may have made a good decision to have Chaos call upon the sun, but Bouncy can take advantage of it. Now, Bouncy, blast Chaos with a Solarbeam attack!" As soon as I saw Bouncy create and fire the powerful bright green beam of sunlight, I watched as Chaos was knocked aside. Knowing that getting Chaos to use Sunny Day might have been a mistake, I shook it off, realizing the power it had to help Chaos in this battle. "Okay Chaos, just because Bouncy is able to use Solarbeam without needing to charge it doesn't mean he will win this easily, so use an Ember attack on him." Upon seeing Chaos spit out a small, orangish yellow flame at Bouncy, I felt better, knowing that its power was upped quite a bit, thanks to the combination of the earring on Chaos' ear as well as Chaos' ability to call upon the sun.

"Oh great, I should have known you would take advantage of Chaos's power. Just because he is five levels lower than you doesn't mean he will be able to edge you in this battle. Now, give Chaos something he won't expect, and give him a Present." Upon hearing that Bouncy had a present for Chaos, I shuddered in fear for a few moments. Knowing that there would only be a one in four chance of the present healing Chaos, I watched as he opened the box. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! After seeing three explosions come out of the box, I slapped myself in the face. Knowing that Chaos would surely faint from one more attack, including a very weak one, I had just about enough. "Okay Chaos. You might be down, but you are far from out. Now, call upon the moon's power, and use a Moonlight!" Upon seeing the moon come in within a few seconds, I started to feel delighted after a beam from the nightly star washed over Chaos, completely healing his wounds.

"Well, you sure got lucky Kyle, but this is not over yet. Bouncy, get Chaos with a Headbutt!" Upon seeing Bouncy lowering his head to ram headfirst into Chaos, I pondered for a few seconds, wondering if Bouncy might end up bouncing off of Chaos because of his rubbery body. "I don't think he will, Kyle, but we'll see." Dawn answered to me. Within a second or two, I could see Chaos being headbutted pretty hard. Even though this made Chaos a bit angry, I still had a few tricks up my sleeve. "Okay Chaos, that Headbutt attack of Bouncy's may be strong, but it is not going to hinder you that much. Now, give Bouncy another Ember attack!" As soon as I saw Chaos spit out another orangish yellow ball of fire at Bouncy, I suddenly noticed that Bouncy was burned by the flame.

"Arrgh, you got lucky to have Bouncy get burned. It's not too often a burn comes around, but I am still not going to hold back. Bouncy, I want you to now use a Pound attack!" As soon as I saw Bouncy coming to drop his unburnt leg onto Chaos' body, I knew that this would signal Bouncy's end, since he was starting to look pretty weak. "Okay Chaos, just one more Ember should do the trick for Bouncy." Upon seeing Chaos retaliate with a third ball of fire at Bouncy, I knew that this battle was halfway done, and I watched in surprise as Bouncy tried to get up again, but to no avail.

Chaos grew to L7 and learned Roar!

"Bouncy! Oh no, you, you defeated him! I will avenge you for this. Let's go, Buffy!"

Seeing a second Igglybuff come out, I asked Dawn if Buffy was a female Igglybuff. "Yes, Buffy is a she. Like Bouncy, I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you. BTW, since I attacked first last time, you want to go first this time, Kyle?"

Hearing Dawn's proposal to attack second, I nodded, knowing it would be fair for her to attack second this time.

Chaos the Houndour (M, L7) vs Buffy the Igglybuff (F, L10)

[My POV]

Upon seeing Buffy, I was in shock. Knowing that she would be possibly harder to defeat than Bouncy was, I turned to Chaos. "Chaos, I have a funny feeling that Buffy may be quite a bit harder, so we have to be tougher this time. Start things off with Ember!" As soon as I saw the fireball hit Buffy, I suddenly noticed something about her. Though Chaos' attacks were stronger, I could see that Buffy was also just as tough, as I heard Dawn's first command. "Okay Buffy, Chaos thinks you will be easier to beat, since his Ember attacks are stronger. But, there is one thing you can do that might just stop him. Use an Attract on him!"

As soon as I saw Chaos begin to look at Buffy's irresistibly pretty face, I shuddered. With Chaos now temporarily in love with her, and the sun's rays starting to disappear, this could get really bad for him, unless luck was to be on his side later on. Starting to get a little worried, I turned to Chaos again. "Okay Chaos, this looks bad, but I know you will overcome this attraction. Now, get back at Buffy with another Ember!" Upon seeing Chaos succesfully spit out another small flame at Buffy, I cheered for Chaos, the Houndour knowing that I was starting to become very proud of him.

"Man, I don't know how your Houndour could get this lucky. However, I am not about to fall just yet. Now Buffy, get Chaos with your best Rollout attack!" As soon as I saw Buffy curl up into a tight ball and roll smack into Chaos, my smile towards Chaos began to fade, until I suddenly had an idea. "Okay Chaos, it may appear that Buffy is going to keep on using Rollout until she defeats you, but I have an idea. Since her body is all soft and rubbery, you can take advantage of this when she gets close to you again, by using an Ember!" Upon seeing Buffy roll within striking distance of Chaos, I watched as he spat another fireball on the ground near her. "Buffy, look out! That Ember attack is in such a clever place, so you have to roll around it!" Dawn warned.

However, both she and I could see it was too late, as Chaos' timing was perfect on the fireball attack, and I watched as Buffy uncurled and fell down. "Well, it looks like you won this battle Kyle. I didn't expect your Houndour would be able to beat both Bouncy and Buffy without the help of another of your Pokemon. As I promised, here is my Easter egg. You've earned it, congrats."

Upon seeing Dawn recall Buffy and hand me her Easter egg, I scratched my head. Not knowing what flavour was inside, I thanked Dawn for the battle, and went back through the portal, removing the wrapper on my egg to see what flavour I got...

Chaos grew to L9!

[Aipom Of Doom]

Just curious, but is this scenerio supposed to be on a made-up place called Easter Island, or the real Easter Island place off the coast of Chile with those big statues? That would be quite strange. =/

[Knight of Time]

Originally posted by Aipom Of Doom
Just curious, but is this scenerio supposed to be on a made-up place called Easter Island, or the real Easter Island place off the coast of Chile with those big statues? That would be quite strange. =/

Danny: No, this is the real Easter Island, but with a few twists here and there.

[Reptilius Pyrus]

Wow… I haven’t been in PCG for quite a while. But this scenario looked so tempting, I couldn’t resist! Here goes…

<Cora’s POV>

I awoke to the sight of two yellow eyes staring back at me. Shouting in surprise, I attempted to roll out of bed, but my leg caught in the sheet and I thudded clumsily to the floor. At once there was a burst of laughter. I blinked fuzzily, trying to apprehend what had happened. Akuba II was coiled by her tail to the bedpost. Apparently, it had been she who had startled me. I heard giggles coming from the other end of the bed. Yanking the sheet off my foot, I crawled toward them. Poking my head around, I saw Xuki, Adhish and Flarinea doubled up in hysterics.

“What—“ I began bewilderedly.

“APRIL FOOL’S!” they chorused, and went off into fresh fits of mirth.

I shook my head in disbelief. “You weirdoes.”

Standing and stretching, I took the Ekans off the bed. She slithered up my arm and twined around my shoulders contentedly. Walking into the kitchen, I noticed a basket on the table. It was filled with assorted chocolate treats and Easter grass. But…. It wasn’t Easter yet! I stared suspiciously at Xuki, who had followed me.

“Is this another joke?” I asked. “Are these filled with castor oil or something?”

He shook his ursine face. “No… Honest!” he added, as I narrowed my eyes in disbelief. “Ask Pearl if you want. You know she wouldn’t lie.”

I decided to do just that. Striding into the room where all my Pokemon slept, I approached the Shuckle’s shell and tapped on it lightly. After a few seconds, Pearl’s head poked out from the hole in the hard surface. “Yes?”

“Do you know who put the Easter basket on the table?”

She thought for a second. “Hmm… Well, Xuki and the others were planning on scaring you when you woke up… and frosting in the toothpaste… but I didn’t hear them planning to do anything with Easter candy.”

Thanking her for the heads-up, I walked into the bathroom, still puzzled about the basket. Opening the toothpaste, I sniffed it. It was indeed frosting. I decided to play a trick of my own. I wet my toothbrush, and began brushing my teeth without using any toothpaste. As I had suspected, Xuki poked his head in.

“Notice anything different?” he asked innocently. Hiding the tube behind my back, I shook my head and continued brushing. His face fell. “Are you sure?”

Finally I spat in the sink. “Well, now that you mention it… it does seem a bit…”

He was eager. “Yes? Yes?”

I took the tube out from behind me and squeezed. “Nice try! April Fool’s!” The frosting/toothpaste squirted all over his tan fur.

“Hey! How—How’d you know?!” he spluttered.

I smiled. “Pearl told me. Thanks for the suggestion to ask her, by the way.” Grumbling, he pushed past me to wash in the sink.

I grinned, satisfied. Returning to my room, I pulled on a T-shirt with “baka^ni” on it (Megatokyo!!!! ^_^) and shorts. I tossed my robe on the bed, then realized that the lump in it was Akuba and untangled her from the cloth. “Sorry, about that, Ku.”

“You should be,” she hissed, annoyed.

“Well, someone’s in a bad mood today. Why don’t you get some sun?” I took her to the window and opened it. Outside was a shimmering portal! I had seen one of these before, when it was a transport to Porygon Valley, but I had been a little uncertain about it and, since the valley had been fairly close, had decided to walk instead. Something about this portal made me think that it was considerably farther away this time, though. Heading towards the front door, I called, “Pearl? Do you want to go out?”

She slowly crawled out of the room. “Um… ok… If you think I would last…”

“Sure you would! Now let’s go.” I sent her into a Pokeball and, on a whim, picked up the Easter basket. As I started to head out the front door, Xuki came running.

“Hey! What about me?” he whined.

I shrugged. “Sure, whatever. Anyone else want to come?”

As I suspected, all my Pokemon approached. I recalled Xuki, Flarinea, Adhish, Aquaria, Zaporill, and Doriana, but left Akuba out. Locking the front door behind me, I took a deep breath, shut my eyes—and stepped through the portal.

Immediately, I felt a rush of dizzying speed. Daring to open one eye, I saw a rush of bright, swirling hues of every imaginable color. Shutting them tight again, I hoped fervently that I wouldn’t get sick. Luckily, before I was nauseous, I felt my feet land on solid ground. My knees buckled, but I managed to stay standing as I took in my surroundings…

To be continued….(Gotta go to bed)

[Lady Vulpix]

Kyle, I made my comments to you on AIM. Take your 7 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

Welcome back, Reptilius Pyrus! I'll read your story soon.

[Wolfsong]

Well, here is the last two parts. I think my writers block is over for now.

(Salem's POV)

Yana’s opponent in the race kept attacking her. She had tried to intimidate him, and was successful at first. However, she wasn’t able to maintain the bluff for as long as she needed to. That roar of hers scared me. I’m not afraid to admit it. The swinub was playing nasty. He even bit Yana’s leg, but she didn’t let that slow her down. I had to laugh as it looked like the swinub was skating in place, surrounded by a pink glow. I couldn’t resist. “What happened, did you hit an invisible wall?” I shouted at the swinub while laughing. The others cracked up as well. “Way to go Yana!” When she crossed the finish line, the entire crowd cheered (of course we did as well). After Nurse Joy had bandaged her leg up, she joined us. The white bandage stood out against her ebony coat. I gave her a high paw. “Nice work with the hidden power.” She nodded absentmindedly. “Nala, could we get something to eat now please? I’m hungry.” Amy smiled. “Of course.”With that, all of us went off to find a food vendor. Almost everyone was able to eat his or her fill. I was one of the few that weren’t allowed to overload their stomach. Nala looked at her watch. “We should be getting back.” Everyone nodded, and about that time a voice came over the loud speaker announcing that it was time for the hockey games to begin.

(Sugar’s POV)

We all headed back to the track. I was frustrated, and I could shock someone. I wouldn’t do it, not on purpose anyway, but I felt like it. Once again, my battle was waiting on a ref. It was the same thing with Blazer’s battle. He didn’t seem to be bothered by it. I guess it was in my blood to get restless easy. I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember. The next thing I knew, I had collided into Yana’s backside. “Oops. Sorry about that.””Nothing to worry about,”I then saw why everyone has stopped. It seemed that the rink had been completely melted. When the call went out for pokemon with ice moves to help, some of my teammates volunteered. They included Simba, Ayla, and Talut. When they returned later, they were talking excitedly. I managed to make out that they had seen some of Gabi’s team. Sure enough, when the hockey games resumed, her team was one of the next up. The battle was interesting to watch, but when the feraligatr used surf against Amber I almost ran down to join Tsunami in the rink. However, Amy had a hold of my collar, preventing me from running anywhere. I think she had somehow anticipated that, and effectively kept me from running off. I was so angry I let a thundershock fly. It hit Nala, and she let go of my collar. I didn’t run off since by then I had calmed down slightly, and I settled back to watch. When they had won, I cheered at the top of my lungs along with the others. Not too long after, it was time for the Triple S Threat to show their stuff. “Good luck guys.” They nodded as they made their way to the rink.

Simba L.38 Vaporeon, Salem L.38 Espeon, and Sparky L.38 Raichu
The Triple S Threat
VS.
L.40 Lapras, L.40 Vaporeon, and L.40 Poliwrath
The Swim Team

(Simba’s POV)

It was a last minute decision as to who would be the goalie. Salem declined knowing that he wasn’t as observant as a goalie ought to be. So that left Sparky and me. I volunteered to be the goalie. So, I walked over and took my place in front of the net. Salem and Sparky walked to the center of the rink. At that moment, our opponents arrived. Their goalie was a lapras. The vaporeon and poliwrath walked forward to where Salem and Sparky were. They nodded and shook paws before waiting for the ref to blow the whistle and drop the puck. The poliwrath and Sparky got sticks, but Salem and the vaporeon would have to rely on their attacks to propel the puck.

The ref blew the whistle and dropped the puck. After that, things happened quickly. The poliwrath was able to get control of the puck first. Together the two of them raced toward our side with Salem and Sparky on their heels. I took a deep breath as they slowed down close to the goal. At the moment the poliwrath went to hit the puck into the net, I used a water gun to send it flying backwards. Sparky took possession of the puck and was off before the others even had a chance to realize what had happened. I smirked as I figured that he must have used agility. The lapras tried to send the puck back the other way in much the same manner as I had earlier, but Spark was much faster than she had anticipated.

Ding!

[0-1]

I smiled. Suddenly a thick mist began covering the arena. I could barely see, and I had a feeling that the others couldn’t very well. I felt a breeze rush past my head. I groaned as the bell sounded signaling that the opponents had scored.

[1-1]

The mist around the arena soon began to clear. It was then that I noticed the four mirrors along the topsides of the arena. Salem had gotten possession of the puck. He was making his way toward the opponent’s goal propelling the puck with his psychic powers. However, the vaporeon snatched the puck away by using a tail whip to send it to the poliwrath. Salem turned tail and chased after them along with Sparky. The vaporeon turned and fired a volley of heat seeking star shaped missiles at my teammates, before catching back up with his poliwrath buddy. I was about to use another water gun, but the opposing vaporeon had other plans. He had been expecting this and used his hidden power as soon as the water left my mouth. I couldn’t help but scream at the pain. “AAAARRGH!” I cried as the electricity coursed through my body. I fell to the ground. “DAD!” I heard Salem yell over the sound of the buzzer. I struggled to get up and climb back onto my paws.

[2-1]

“That was uncalled for,” I said but no one was around to hear. Salem and Sparky had control of the puck again, and this time Salem sent the puck flying into the goal with a tail whip. The lapras thought that he was going to send it to Sparky. She thought wrong.

[2-2]

(Sparky’s POV)

This was getting ridiculous. We were just trying to play the game and our opponents were trying to win at all costs. I didn’t mind the attacks on us at first because they weren’t aimed at or weaknesses, or were used strategically. The attack on Simba was a different story. To make things worse, it was the vaporeon that had used the hidden power as well. The vaporeon had to know what pain the attack could inflict on a fellow water pokemon. Well, just in case it didn’t it was about to get a crash course. The vaporeon was nearing me as I approached their goal. I deliberately slowed down and let the vaporeon get close. Then, my electrical pouches began to spark, as I launched three electrical rings at the vaporeon. The thunder wave efficiently paralyzed it. After I had I smirked and used the opportunity to score. The lapras had been distracted by her teammate’s predicament. Then passing the vaporeon I set a tiny thundershock its way. I didn’t even bother powering it up full strength because of the boost the earring gave me.

[2-3]

The poliwrath began skating toward Salem and the goal. Salem was hot on his heels. Using quick attack to get out in front, Salem shot the puck toward me with a psybeam. I reacted instantly racing towards the goal with the puck. The lapras looked like she was going to block any shot that I made. I just shrugged and used a thunderbolt to send the puck flying. I didn’t have any troubles scoring that way.

[2-4]

I already had a plan forming. I had noticed the mirrors. The opponents had called a time out to regroup. I used that opportunity to tell Simba and Salem my plan. They nodded and we were set. We still had to wait for the others to finish their time out session though.

Things didn’t quite go exactly how I would have liked them too. The vaporeon had managed to overcome his paralysis long enough to use an ice beam freezing me in place. At least I could still move my upper body and fire off electricity. However, there was no way that I could make a goal being frozen in place. By now, Salem had possession of the puck again. “NOW!” I shouted. Salem sprang into action. His red gem began to glow black, as the glow enveloped his whole body. The glow seemed to suck out all of the light from the arena thus immersing the arena in pitch dark. I waited to the count of three thus ensuring that my teammates would have their eyes closes. Then, I fired a thunderbolt to the closest mirror. It reflected the bolt to the next until the thunderbolt and the arena had lighted all the mirrors. The effect was immediate. The arena was once more lit. Our opponents stood there blinking, temporarily blinded. “Go,” I said and once more Salem reacted. He was able to score the winning goal.

[2-5]

The Triple S Threat Won!

Simba grew to L.39!
Salem grew to L.39!
I grew to L.39

Nala came down and congratulated us. She recalled Simba. Then after Salem had broken the ice holding me in place with his iron tail, she also recalled us.

(Nala’s POV)

After the match was over, I took all three of them to the Pokecenter. By the time we had returned, the third event had started. Talut and the others had saved us seats. No sooner than I had sat down, than the loudspeaker boomed requesting Kovu to go to the starting line. I wished him luck. He nodded before leaving.

(Kovu’s POV)

As I neared the starting line, I wondered who and what my opponent could be. As I neared the starting line I noticed a long waterway extending much further than the actual course. There was a kingdra waiting at the beginning end of the waterway. I nodded, before taking my place at the starting line. The shout went out. “ON YOUR MARK!” I tensed up. “GET SET!” I was ready. “GO!” I took off running. I was ahead, but I had a feeling that unless I did something quick it wouldn’t be that way for long. Sure enough I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I used a quick attack to gain some ground. It worked somewhat, so I used another. I smiled to myself as it worked. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going. I had to skid to a stop so I wouldn’t run into the freezing water. I looked back to see that the kingdra was approaching fast. I sighed, jumping in. The change in temperature was drastic. “Yowzers! That’s cold!” Don’t ask where that came from I’ve never heard that word before. At that precise moment, the kingdra caught up with me. I was making progress though it was slow. Slow and steady wins the race I told myself. The kingdra smirked. I had a plan. I couldn’t guarantee that it would work but I could at least try. I tuned my head so that the kingdra could see the scar, and gave him a mean look. Then I let out an ear splitting screech. It worked! It had caused the kingdra to slow down slightly. I knew the effects wouldn’t last long and I was tiring out. The cold wasn’t helping me any. Slowly, but surely, I was making progress. The kingdra had by now caught up, and was pulling ahead. At last I had reached the bank. The kingdra in the meantime had already started shooting his targets. I shook as much of the excess water off that I could. At that moment, my first target appeared. A small purplish black ball of ghostly mater formed in the air in front of me, before slamming into the target. One by one the other targets appeared and I dispatched them with shadow balls in much the same as I did on the first. All I had left was the battle. I was jarred out of my thoughts by a water gun to the face. The battle, it seemed, had begun.

Kovu L.52 Umbreon VS. L.50 Kingdra

I raced in and hit the kingdra with a quick attack. He retaliated with a headbutt. I winced but prepared a toxic sludge, which I spat all over him. He responded with his hidden power, which luckily for me, was fire. It stung, don’t get me wrong, but it had a benefit that the kingdra hadn’t counted on. It had dried me off and warmed me up somewhat. My eyes began to glow white as I channeled my energy into a confuse ray. The kingdra took the opportunity to hit me with another headbutt. I launched the ray immediately before he could look away. He retaliated with a volley of heat seeking star shaped missiles. I responded with a swift of my own. I slowly disappeared as the kingdra looked around. He then used a water gun on himself. His confusion had gotten the better of him. I used the opportunity to slam into him from behind returning to visibility. By now, the kingdra was sweating, a sure sign that the toxins were doing their job. I needed to end this fast. The ring on my forehead began to glow and an orb of pulsating electrical energy formed in the air in front of me. Once it had completely formed, I released my hold on the zap cannon and let it fly towards the kingdra. He had just managed to shke off his confusion, when he noticed the zap cannon heading his way. By then, it was too late. The attack hit, and he was out like a light.

I grew to L.53!

I saw the finish line just ahead. I gathered my last reserves of energy and walked towards it. Eventually, I crossed it. Amy and the others were there waiting for me. I walked over to them and was given a warm welcome.

[Meowth_Kitten]

LV, I think I'm in trouble... In the Winter Games scenario, the hockey game, are we allowed to have team members of different levels or must they all be in the same level range? I had originally planned to have Christian, BlueShadow, and Jesse on the hockey team. Christian and Blue are about the same level, but Jesse is way below. I figured I could pick two Pokemon from Christian and BlueShadow's level range and one from Jesse's level range. Must I remake my team in order for them to be all the same level range or can I improvise as explaied above? They all gain the same amount of levels anyways. I've already pretty much written out my intro and I'll have to start all over if I have to change the hockey team. I completely understand and will happily re-write it, but I'd be even more happy to keep it the same, lol. Thanks!

[Wolfsong]

Reptilius Pyrus take four stamps for th nice story.

[Lady Vulpix]

Ouch! I'm sorry, M_K, they need to be in the same level range. They don't have to be all the same level, though.

I enjoyed your story, Amy, and it was good to know you read mine.

[Charizard04621]

Hmm, I'll post the battles later... Here's just an introduction, for now.

My POV:

Okay, if I said that I had any normal experiences ever since I became a Dragon Tamer, I would be a filthy liar. I had just found this extraordinary Eevee at the Pokézoo Adoption Center – he called himself Lune – whom everyone else seemed to like, too. He wasn’t hyper and super friendly like Switchblade when he was younger; or possess Evenstar's charming grace that seemed to attract everyone's affection; he was more like Élan, but not quite so uncontrollable when he became angry. No, Lune was much calmer, but he kept mostly to himself, for he did not have much that he wanted to say often. He was – how would you say it – cool; and the words he spoke flowed smoothly like a gentle river; his voice was pleasant to hear. He got along with everyone well enough. He was really a remarkable character. But something about him made me feel uncomfortable, some flickering shadow of faint doubt that made me dreamingly wonder...

Nimrodel, Élan, Evenstar, and Lune were resting in their poké balls while Switchblade and I did a little exploring. We had just cleared a small, grassy hill filled with fragrant spring flowers when it happened. Suddenly, rapidly, and inexplicably.

We were seized and thrown about by winds of gigantic proportions, hardly able to catch our breaths throughout the tumult. But the sensation only lasted briefly, vanishing almost as soon as it spontaneously came. Shredded flower petals floated slowly down to the floor.

"Whoa, Fearow!" said a boy who looked about twelve years of age. He grinned sheepishly at me. "Hi, sorry, my Fearow and I didn't mean to do that," he told me. "It's just that Lance has just recently evolved, and we both don't know how to control his power yet."

"That's... quite alright," I replied, somewhat breathlessly, brushing off the fine golden pollen that had accumulated on my shirt. Sweet though it might smell, sticky pollen was stubborn if not removed quickly; it would cling onto cloth and refuse to budge. I liked that shirt. It was sky blue and sleeveless, incidentally, and in it was woven a picture of a Dragonair, silvery beast of graceful majesty. I admired the pokémon with almost an obsessive passion; deep in my heart was the ever-burning desire to, someday, be privileged enough to train one.

"Ahem. Anyway," the boy said, clearing his throat, "My name is Charlie. You're Karin, right? I was supposed to deliver you this."

I received the brightly-colored envelope with curiosity. "What's this?" I whispered to myself, as my excited hands, trembling, carefully opened the seal and picked out the letter inside.

"You have received an invitation to a special event that will take place in the Easter Islands, as will all the other Dragon Tamers," I read. "The exact details will be provided once you arrive, but be assured that you will take particular delight in this happy celebration. Please do not refuse the invitation; you will surely be rewarded for your interest." Turning to Charlie, I asked, "Great, but I have no idea how I'll get there. Do you?"

As if in response to my question, I felt myself whisked rapidly from the ground, with Switchblade beside me, who uttered a surprised mechanical cry. Charlie, below, smiled, probably having seen this strange occurrence several times before, and waved goodbye. I wondered how amusing the reactions of other Dragon Tamers were.

The journey was a blur. I remembered sensations being dulled, for sight was limited to the whizzing by of mixed, indistinguishable colors, and hearing to the whoosh of the air by my ears. But my emotions, in contrast, were sharpened: I suddenly felt elated beyond my wildest joy: thrilled, somewhat frightened, and jubilant all at the same time.

Then, abruptly, the strange rushing feeling came to a halt, and all senses rushed back to me. I saw Switchblade beside me, also out of breath by this bewildering experience. All around was meadow upon meadow of astonishingly beautiful spring flowers, and the cheerful music of the birds and sweet smell of the growing fields around me excited my senses with utter joy.

Switchblade was the first to notice the unusual stone monuments that protruded from the ground. The fact that they were decorated gaily with ribbons of all colors, and the grass about them was strewn with glittering ornaments, did not reduce the inspired awe that I felt when I gazed upon them; and I shrank back a little, from terror. What a strange day! It started off with the discovery of Lune at the Pokézoo Adoption Center, then with carefree exploring, and Charlie and his inexperienced Fearow; and now here we were, staring face to face into the cold, unblinking eyes of stone giants, brought to this island by a mysterious wind.

"Do you have any idea what's going on, Switchblade?" I asked.

Absolutely no clue. Maybe we can ask that girl over there? Switchblade gestured at a girl some ways ahead, who looked oddly familiar...

When we got there, I realized why. "Kristyn...?"

"Hey, yeah. Remember when Evenstar and Switchblade battled my Aipom and Meowth?" she asked. Without awaiting an answer, she continued. "Well, anyway, the weirdest thing happened to me. I don't even remember how I got here. I just know that I did, somehow. One moment I was watering my garden, and the next, I was here." Kristyn was in good spirits, and scarcely stopped to breathe. I didn't realize that she was this talkative the last time I saw her. "Oh, I've figured out a few things, though." She brought out a small package wrapped delicately in tin foil, showed it to me for a brief instant, then put it back in her purse. "There are trainers here who are handing out candy eggs. You have to beat a trainer to get one, though, which I've just done a little while ago. My Persian is still taking a rest."

I blinked, not fully understanding. "That's weird... Why are they handing out candy eggs? Any idea?"

"No, not really," she answered. "I think it's some sort of custom that they have."

"Um... okay." I didn't ask any further questions. I still wanted to know who these trainers were, where they came from, why we were brought to Easter Island, what those giant statues were for, and how exactly we got here, but I decided to leave it at that.

"By the way, I've just gotten a really cute new pokémon. Care to battle her?" Kristyn asked. She threw the pokéball, and in a revealing flash of white light, the tiny Igglybuff appeared and began to bounce about happily.

"Neat, an Igglybuff. Perfect for a little someone who's been confining himself to his pokéball for some time. Go, Él-"

At that moment, Lune burst forth from his own pokéball and stepped calmly into the battlefield.

Élan does not want to battle now. Let me handle this, he said.

"Lune? Are you sure? That Igglybuff looks like she's received a little more training than you have..."

Battle does not scare me. Don't worry. I'll be fine.

"All right, then," I said, banishing the last traces of hesitation from my tone because of the confidence the Eevee's words put into me, "Go for it, Lune!"

[SneaselReborned]

I'm using a Torkoal I adopted from Pokezoo Adoption Place. She is level 5 at the moment, and knows Eruption, Ember, and Smog.

Lv. 5 (Ember, Smog, Eruption)

Walking around the neighborhood, I smiled. Sitting in my pocket was my very own pokeball. All mine! All mine! I even had adopted two pokemon! Lovely. Even better, they were both fire types. Looking down, I saw my little Torchic trying to walk. I picked her up, and decided to carry her home. She was just a baby, and yet she was already so ambitious. My other pokemon, Torkoal, did not like walking much, but was very courageous. In the adoption center, she even tried to fight another pokemon. Smiling, I started to run. I wanted to show my friends my new pokemon.

AHHHHHHHHH!

TORCHIC!!!!

Torchic scratched me! Dangit! Now I have to walk the rest of the way back. Torchic smiled back, and I couldn't help myself. I started to laugh. Just on the sidewalk. I just started laughing. Soon a couple of people were looking at me. Ehehe.

Eek. This is not good. I gotta get outta here

Quickly sucking up Torchic into her pokeball, I started running. Soon I was in my house. I looked around, and nobody was home. Then I looked on the counter. There was a little letter:

Dear Trainer,
You have been invited to compete in an easter egg hunt. The eggs are very tasty, so that will be your motivation. Your obstacles are other trainers. If you defeat a trainer, you take their easter egg. If you lose, they take yours. Believe me, you will want these eggs. When a pokemon eats them, they level up depending on what opponent they fought. The higher level the opponent was, the more levels the pokemon will gain. You will also recieve some chocolate eggs for your pleasure. Your teleporter will arrive at your door at about 4:25. Be sure to be ready!

Signed,
TheDragonTamer

Hmmmmm....seems pretty cool

I decided that I should go. Them I looked at the clock. 4:23.

[b]OH NO! ONLY 2 MINUTES!!![/i]

I rushed upstairs, and grabbed my jacket, incase it was cold. Then I dashed out the door, quickly grabbing my pokeballs from the little rack that I had. Then I saw the teleporter. I only had a few seconds to make it. I dashed, and finally I was in.

VLYOOOMMMMM!!!

Suddenly, I found myself on an island that I had never seen before. The sea was at my back, so I started walking inland, not knowing what I might find.

Then it hit me. I had forgotten Torchic's pokeball at home! I would have to do battle with Torkoal for now. Hopefully Torkoal could level up and become even stronger than before. In front of me I saw a thick forest.

Not bad...

I walking up, and started to come inside. Thats when I started hearing things. Screams of pokemon that were falling, agonizing losses.

What is this place...

Then, in front of me, I saw a trainer.

"C'mon you loser. Lets battle! I will take your easter egg!" the enemy trainer said.

"But I don't have an--" I attempted to say

"Shut up! Go IggyBiggy!" the enemy yelled.

"Okay fine. I got nothing to lose. You will fall! Torkoal, rise!" I yelled.

Torkoal didn't look much phased by the little Igglybuff, but I know that it could harness quite a bit of power. Knowing the true extend of its power, I knew Torkoal could have a tough time.

Torkoal's POV

Hmmm, a little pest. Easily I can destroy this thing. Maybe I should go easy on it. I think I'll just wait a see what it can do.

"Iggy! Cmon! Lets show this thing what we are. Use an Attract!" the other trainer yelled.

I didn't see anything attractive. I turned away, disgusted at this...thing! Ugh! It will pay.

"Torkoal, this thing is pitiful! Use a Smog attack! Send poisonous gases towards the little imp!" my trainer yelled.

Haha! Die! COncentrating hard, I summoned the poisonous fumes that rested inside my body. Whirling them around me, I tossed them at the little thing. Seeing it cough and wheeze was fun. As the poisonous cloud overwhelmed the little thing, I could hear the enemy trainer yelling something out.

BAM!

AH! Did I just get hit by a train? Argh! Then I saw the thing, rolling around like a madbeast, trying to roll over anything. That's what happened to me. Argh! That hurt! Weakly, I got up again, and looked to my trainer.

My POV

Oh no. Torkoal was surely in trouble. Eruption would be useless at this little life, but I had to save Torkoal somehow. Wait! That was it! Eruption!

"Torkoal! Use an Eruption! Crack up the earth and create holes and cracks everywhere. Send magma spurting at the thing!" I yelled.

Torkoal smiled. Easily she knew what I was thinking. Suddenly, white smoke puffed out of Torkoal. THe ground below her started cracking, and suddenly the earth started to shatter.

BOOM!

A huge spurt of fire blasted up. Aimed at Igglybuff, it still was useless. The rolling pokemon just slightly slowed down, but it the rollout continued. Now the devil was coming back for another hit. Igglybuff rolled and rolled. Suddenly, it stopped! Perfect! It was trapped atop the volcano that Torkoal had created out of the earth. Now it was time to finish this!

"Torkoal! Use Eruption again!" I yelled.

Torkoal smiled, and suddenly an enormous fireball erupted from the volcano. Igglybuff flew into the air, and then hit the ground, destroyed. Its eyes were Xs. Yes! I knew I won!

Lv. 7 (Eruption, Smog, Ember, Curse)

Torkoal learned CURSE!

I smiled, and recalled Torkoal for a nice rest. The enemy trainer hung his head and tossed me an easter egg. I gave it to Torkoal, and he raised two levels! Yes! Torkoal learned Curse! This was turning out to be good.

"Wait a minute! You aren't done yet! You may have beaten my brother, but you won't beat me!" Another trainer took the place of the old one. "I am the sister of the trainer you just fought. Me and my pokemon shall defeat you!"

I looked at the girl, and grimaced. Torkoal was in no shape to battle. She had already wasted much of her energy in the two Eruption attacks, and I didn't know if she could take any more. However, I knew that she would not like to forfeit, so, putting all logic behind me, I sent out Torkoal.

"Hm! Torkoal again? Well, this time this pokemon will not fall so easy! GOOO IGGLYBUFF!!!!" the trainer yelled. "You know what to do, right Iggly? Good girl!"

"Okay, Torkoal, so Eruption is out of the question. You are too weak. Our only chance is our new attack. Use Curse!" I yelled.

Suddenly, TOrkoal started to change colors. Suddenly, smoke started to erupt from his back. The smoke started to wisp around Torkoal, and suddenly he turned back to normal. THe enemy once again tried to Rollout, but Torkoal held his ground. Wow.

"Nice Torkoal! Use another Curse!" I yelled. This was going very good for me.

Once again a brilliant display occured, and once again Igglybuff couldn't even phase Torkoal.

"CMon! TOrkoal, keep it going! Curse!" I yelled. This was great!

This time, Torkoal smiled, and the brilliant display continued. And, once again, Igglybuff was helpless. YES!

"Okay! Torkoal! Its time to win this! Use an Ember!" I yelled.

Torkoal started to charge power, and suddenly an enormous fireball erupted out of his mouth. Igglybuff was afraid, and stopped rolling.

"NOOOOOO!" the enemy trainer yelled.

BOOOOOOM!

Igglybuff went flying, and hit a tree hard.

BAM!

Then, it sunk to the floor, defeated. YES!

Lv. 9 (Eruption, Ember, Smog, Curse)

Yes! I won! I smiled, and took the egg. Yummy! It tasted really good. Yummy. Then, I started walking even more into the interior of the island, not knowing what dangers awaited me.

--------------------------------


How was that?

[Lady Vulpix]

That was a very nice intro, Karin! Take 5 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢
SneaselReborned, I'll read yours soon. Amy may rate it if she has the time.

[Lady Vulpix]

SneaselReborned, that was nice, but the phrases looked disconnected from each other. You may want to put in more text to link them next time. Take 5 stamps, and welcome to the Battle Range! ¢¢¢¢¢

[Wolfsong]

I had a hard time getting started, but i think what i came up with is ok.

(Nala's POV)

After the winter games were over, I decided to just go home and rest with my team. I was actually glad I didn’t choose Jasmine to participate after seeing what the others had gone through. I did realize that she was now old enough to battle. I looked over at her and smiled. She had grown significantly in the last six months. She saw me looking at her and smiled. All I needed was a nice friendly battle. I wanted her first to be fun.

Yana chose that moment to jump onto my lap. “Oomph!” She smiled sheepishly. How’s your paw?” “Much better.” She replied. “Whatever Nurse Joy did, it worked.” “I nodded, and began to carefully remove the bandages. I blinked. The wound was gone. You could barely tell that she had been injured. “Well, I’m going to go to bed.” Yana nodded, and jumped off my lap allowing me to get ready for bed. Once I climbed in bed, she jumped on top of the covers. I rubbed her head, as I read a chapter of The Return of the King. When I was finished, I placed the book on the nightstand and turned out the light, drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of laughter. I got up and walked into the living room. My team was gathered around the television watching Dr. Dolittle. I decided to go far a walk after I got ready.

(Kovu's POV)

I had seen the movie already, so I just hung out at the back of the crowd with Blazer. It was starting to get rather quiet around here. “You know, I kinda wish something would happen. Nothing bad. Just something that will be interesting and fun. I’m getting bored.” Blazer yawned. “I know what you mean.” It wasn’t long before Amy had returned. She looked as if she wanted to go for a walk. Sure enough, when as saw that we weren’t watching the movie, she asked if we wanted to come. “Sure,” I answered, as Blazer nodded.

(Nala’s POV)

It was a nice day outside. Occasionally, a gently breeze would present itself. It was one of those days that I just needed to get out and not stay cooped up inside a house. It had been a while since I had last seen Steve, but at least I still got to talk to him frequently. I looked over at Blazer and Kovu. They seemed to enjoy these walks as much as I did. “I guess its time we should head back.” They nodded. With that, we turned around and went back home. Once we reached the house I noticed that there was a note taped to my door. I pulled it off and went inside. The others were still watching the movie. “Did anyone stop by while we were out?” “Not that we were aware of.” Talut answered before receiving a chorus of “SHUSH!” from the others. I nodded, and then began to read the note.

If you’re looking for fun and battles,
Don’t hesitate, follow the directions,
Which will lead you to a portal to an interesting place.

Strange but interesting, I thought, as the other members of my team wandered in. The movie had ended, but they were curious about what we had been talking about.

After a group discussion, we decided to check it out. I recalled everyone except for Blazer, who accompanied me as we followed the directions on the note. We knew we were at the right place when a huge portal appeared. There were hues of red, blues, greens, and many other colors of the rainbow swirling about inside it. I offered Blazer his pokeball, and he retreated to the safety of it as I clipped it back onto my belt. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through. Almost immediately, I felt as if I was on one of those fast rides at an amusement park. The acceleration was very rapid and, unfortunately, I had no control over it. After a while, I felt myself start to slow down clumsily landing on my knees. Climbing to my feet, I brushed the dirt off of my jeans. Once me jeans were dirt free, I released my team. Jasmine curled up around my neck, as I took in my surroundings. My eyes widened when I saw the gigantic stone heads. That could only mean we were in the Easter Islands. I gulped. Not too far away, I saw a booth decorated with pastel balloons. I approached it, hoping to find someone that could answer my questions, but it was empty. I turned to walk away when I heard sweetie. “Hey! There’s a sign.” I looked, and sure enough, there was one.

"Hello, and welcome to the Easter Islands. In this exciting event, you are on a quest to earn Easter eggs, a very popular tradition held each and every Easter. However, in order to receive one of these delicious treats, you must defeat one of the many trainers here to find one (it will always be a random color, and its contents are always random (e.g. for example the egg could be a chocolate flavored egg with or without a creamy filling inside). The trainers here will always be holding one egg, but getting it (and learning what type of egg it is) will be difficult, as you will have to battle with some tough Pokemon.

(Jasmine’s POV)

I wasn’t exactly sure as to what was going on or where we were, but the overall mood was pleasant. I heard Nala mention something about battles as she was reading the sign. I wasn’t exactly sure of what to do in a battle, but before I had either been too young or it was too dangerous. I wasn’t a baby any more. I mean, I didn’t sleep the entire day like I used too, and I hardly ever took naps now.

(Salem’s POV)

“Well, there’s never a dull moment, is there?” I said, getting a few laughs from the group. I looked around as Nala spoke. "I guess we need to find one of these trainers." We nodded, when I heard the sound of footsteps getting closer. “Actually, I think one of them has already found us.” Sure enough, within minutes, a teenage girl appeared. Nala looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I blushed. “I… uh… heard her coming.” I admitted. Sweetie started to giggle but stopped when I shot her a look.

(Nala’s POV)

I watched as the girl drew closer. She was a foot shorter than I was, with waist length black hair. She was confident. In her hand was an egg wrapped in a pastel blue foil wrapper. “Hi,” she said smiling. “Would you be interested in battling for this?” “Sure, why not.”

(Jasmine’s POV)

I stayed still listening to the conversation from my perch around Nala’s neck. I sighed. She had just agreed to a battle with someone and chances were good that she would pick on of the others. “I’ll start off with one of my Pokemon that needs training…” There was a flash of red… “Pi?” “Go Pichu.” Nala looked at the pichu for a few seconds before looking at me. “Jasmine, how do you fell about having you’re first battle?” I couldn’t believe my ears, but I nodded yes, squeezing Nala in an attempt to hug. “Can’t breath,” she gasped, and I loosened my grip. Blushing, “Sorry.” She nodded, “It’s ok.” With that, Nala knelt down so that I could slither down her arm onto the ground.

“Hi!” the pichu said. She looked puzzled, and I wondered why. “What happened?” she asked. Now I was puzzled. “Nothing. Why?” She pointed to my wings. “Those. I’ve only seen pictures of dratinis before, and none of them had wings.” I smiled. “Well, I was born with them. I’ve been told that I was special…” The pichu’s trainer coughed. “Is she ok?” I asked. “Yeah, I think she wants us to start the battle though. I nodded. “Well, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Jasmine L.5 Winged Dratini VS. L.5 Pichu

(Nala’s POV)

I had to chuckle at Jasmine and the pichu. They were talking to each other, at least until the pichu’s trainer coughed, indicating that she would like the battle to hurry up and start. The pichu struck a battle pose as Jasmine sat there coiled like a snake about to strike. Since I had been helping Yana, it was easier to jump into the trainer mode offering advice. Of course, most of my team was fairly independent, and Yana was gradually getting there. I was getting practice as well. “Ok, Jasmine start off with wrap.” She nodded, springing into action. The pichu was running straight at her in an attempt to headbutt her. Jasmine slithered to the left, at the last second, as the pichu fell on the ground where jasmine had been seconds earlier. Jasmine wrapped herself tightly around the pichu’s lower body. The pichu tried to wriggle free but was unable to do so. Jasmine just tightened around the pichu. “Pichu, don’t just sit there doing nothing, give her a thundershock.” The pichu nodded and the electrical pouches on her cheeks began to spark. “OW!” Jasmine shouted as she released her hold on the pichu as the current coursed through her body. I winced. “The pichu took advantage of Jasmine’s distraction and used another headbutt, this time connecting. I could see that Jasmine was getting tired, and I knew we needed to end this fast. I smiled when I remembered her bred on move. “Jasmine use your blizzard.” She nodded and closed her eyes. The pichu’s trainer looked on, nervous. The air began to get colder as Jasmine concentrated. Jasmine smiled, opened her mouth, and launched several ice shards at her opponent. The assault was brief, but intense. When Jasmine was finished, the pichu was encased in a block of ice. “Nice work Jasmine. One more blizzard ought to finish it.” She nodded, using another blizzard. This time, the pichu couldn’t take anymore, and she fainted. Jasmine had won! “Nice battle, that dratini of yours is something.” I smiled, “Thanks.” I then asked Kiara to help thaw out the pichu. She nodded and set to work.

Jasmine grew to L.6!

Once the pichu had been thawed out, she was recalled back into the safety of her pokeball. “Ok, my next Pokemon won’t be as easy. Igglybuff, its your turn!” With that, she threw another pokeball, and in a red flash an igglybuff appeared. I could tell right away that she was stronger than the pichu, but the majority of my team were too strong to battle it. I would have to either use Jasmine again or Yana. I didn’t want to push Jasmine any more, so I decided on Yana. “Yana, are you up to a battle?” She nodded, and I smiled. She was becoming more confident with every battle. Recently, she even had her first win in the battle tower.

Aiyana L.9 Houndour VS. L.10 Igglybuff

(Aiyana's POV)

“Hi.” The igglybuff just ignored me. I shrugged. “Igglybuff start out with sing.” I could already tell that this was not going to be an easy battle. “Yana use mud slap.” I smiled, turned away from my opponent. I spat on the dirt, then kicked the mud all over the igglybuff. She started to sing he name softly and I could feel my eyelids growing heavy until I could no longer keep them open.

(Nala’s POV)

I watched on nervously as Yana succumbed to the igglybuff’s sing. I didn’t know is she could hear me or not, but I had to try. “Ember.” Meanwhile, the igglybuff was wiping the mud off of her body. “Nice work Igglybuff. Use an icy wind next.” As I watched, I could felt he wind begin to pick up and take on an icy chill. The gale slammed into Yana. When the attack was over, I saw Yana open one of her eyes. I started to say something but stopped when I saw her shake her head no ever so slightly. I stayed silent and watched. The igglybuff was suddenly enveloped in a pink glow and rose high up into the air. “What the? How did she wake up so fast?” the other trainer asked when she saw Yana now standing and looking at the igglybuff. It was at that second that the glow faded and the igglybuff fell to the ground, and bounced. I winced. Her trainer turned to face me. How is your houndour using a psychic move?” I just smiled. “Her hidden power is psychic.” “Oh. “Igglybuff, use another sing.”

(Aiyana’s POV)

I had a plan. I just hoped it would work. I scooped up some mud in my paw, and waited until the igglybuff had opened her mouth to start singing. Then I tossed the mud, aiming for her mouth. Bull’s Eye! It went inside like I hoped it would and she began coughing and spitting to get it out. I took a deep breath, before spitting several tiny fireballs at her. He cried out in pain, before curling into a tight ball and rolled straight at me. Uh oh, I thought. Before I could get out of the way, she hit me. I winced, as she rolled away. I decided to see if I could use my hidden power to slow her down. This was the first time I directly tried to control how it worked. It wasn’t easy, and thus, it took a while before anything happened. As the igglybuff came closer, gaining speed with every second, a glow surrounded her and he speed began to decrease. It wasn’t fast enough, because she bumped into me. I gritted my teeth, and fired another ember at her. I smiled as her eyes closed and she didn’t attempt to get up. She was unconscious.

I won!
I grew to L.11!
I learned solarbeam for my free TM.

(Nala’s POV)

Yana was becoming more independent. She had battled most of the battle on her own that time. I was proud of her. The trainer recalled her igglybuff, before she walked over to me. “You have some nice strong Pokemon. Err… What’s your name?” “Thanks,” I said smiling. “My name’s Amy, but my nickname is Nala.” She smiled. “It was a pleasure battling you, Nala. My name is Erika. I don’t have a nickname. You earned this,” she said handing me the foil wrapped egg. I thanked her, and once more the portal appeared. I stuffed the egg into my pocket, before recalling the others once more. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the portal once more for another wild ride. This time, at least, it was back to my house. Once inside, I released everyone again, and went into the kitchen. I pulled the wrapper off of the egg before I took a knife out of the drawer. I cut the egg in half, giving a half to Jasmine and a half to Yana. It was solid milk chocolate. I smiled as I watched them eat it.

[Meowth_Kitten]

This is perhaps my longest battle story yet and its only the intro and the first game; the ice race. I'm sorry for taking so long in posting it. I was going to just post the whole thing at once when I was finished, but it'll take me at least another week or two to get there, so here is, like I said, the intro and the first winter game. Thanks for giving me the extra time!



[MK’s POV]
I was so unbelievably bored. There was nothing on the TV to watch and no one was online to chat with. My favorite message board didn’t have anything new, either. I wasn’t tired, so I couldn’t take a nap. I was just plain bored. Maybe I could take a walk into town and see what was going on there. Maybe I’d see some Dragon Tamer friends. Yeah, that was a good idea. I needed to get one of my team members to come with me, though. It was a general rule in town to never be without a Pokemon for protection. Maybe Christian would like to come with me, for old time’s sake.

I pulled on my sneakers and a lightweight jacket and grabbed Christian’s Pokeball. He was outside, though, probably with BlueShadow. So I made my way down the stairs and went outside. Sure enough, there were Christian and Blue, practicing their attacks on each other. I didn’t want to stop them, so I sat down on the plastic chair and watched. They both noted my presence and stopped long enough to smiled and wave at me. I returned their wave and enjoyed the show.

Christian lifted BlueShadow’s huge body with his Psychic attack and tossed him into a nearby tree. Blue quickly got up and opened his mouth wide. Flames began to boil and form. Christian hurried to take cover from the Flamethrower attack. But Blue was watching his every move and calculated where Christian would be next and shot the flames toward him. The attack made a direct hit. Christian’s sleek and shiny fur was singed. But instead of being in pain, he laughed to himself and signaled to Blue that he was finished practicing. The two team members approached each other and shook paws. I held out a Potion, offering it to BlueShadow before he took off into the air. He waved it away, smiling happily, and flew away.

“Hehe, you two are too smart for each other, you know that, right?”
“Nah, the practice is a good thing for us. Though I hate when he uses that Flamethrower attack, it always makes my fur look like poop.”
“Oh Christian, you’re a nut. Here, take this Potion, it’ll fix up your fur in no time. Oh yeah, would you like to go into town with me for a bit? We’ve not been for a long while, it’d be fun.”
“Sure, okay. Sounds like a plan to me.”
“Great! I’m going to go grab my pack and let the others know where we are going and then I’ll be right out.”
“Alright, then.”

So I took myself into the house and upstairs to grab my pack. Then downstairs again [man, I sure must burn tons of calories a day!] to the living room where my team was. They all looked up at me.

“Hey guys, I’m going into town. Christian’s coming with me. You guys want anything?”
“Nah thanks, I’m good,” said many murmurs. “Alright, I’ll see you all later, then. We won’t be gone too long.” “Bye!”

I went back outside where Christian was waiting for me. He grinned and ran ahead of me, leading the way towards town. We hadn’t spent much time alone since Jesse was born, and that was a long time ago. It was nice to talk to him like he was my best friend again, not just a member of my team.

We told jokes and laughed about all of our silly past memories. We recalled the hardest battle that we had ever been in with the Dragon Tamers. It happened when Christian was still a little Eevee. Team Rocket had taken over a town and were killing Pokemon and possibly fellow humans as well. We had been called to help take care of them. Christian was all I had and he wasn’t a strong battler yet. I don’t ever really remember what enemy Pokemon he had to battle. Whatever it was, he won, but just barely. I remember hearing all the shouting voices of hurt trainers and Pokemon; as well as those who had lost their friends for good. I remember being one of those trainers who cried into the night because I thought Christian was gone. He had fainted right as his opponent fainted. I wasn’t able to get him back into consciousness. But by the miracle of God, he survived…

“ Man, we had some pretty hard times together, don’t you think, MK?”
“Yeah, we sure have. It’s amazing that with such a tough past and tough battles that we’re still going strong… We’re here!”
“So where’re we going first?”
“Hmm, how about to Wal-Mart to pick up some food and stuff?”
“Sure.”

So we made our way down the street to our local Wal Mart store. We saw many new and friendly faces of both trainers and Pokemon. We even saw little baby Eevee and Pichu crawling around. Some of them were getting too close to the street, where cars were driving along. Christian helped that by picking them all up with his psychic attack, turning them to face the other way, and gently set them back on the ground to go their marry little way. I guess they either had really bad trainers who weren’t looking after them or no trainers at all.

We went into the store and I grabbed a cart from the greeter.
“Chris, do you want to stay with me or meet me somewhere when I’m through?”
“I’m going to go look around, so I’ll meet you here in fifteen minutes?”
“Okay, have fun.”

[Christian’s POV]
I had been wanting to check out the latest Nintendo games for my play station. So I made my way to the electronics and wasn’t really watching where I was going. I ran into a bulletin board that was right smack in the middle of the isle. “Geesh! They want people to run into this thing, don’t they?” I asked myself.
“No sir, they just want trainers to see it.”
“See what?”
“Open your eyes and read the paper attached to the board, boy.”

I finally looked up to see who was talking to me. It was a rather old and very wrinkly Venusaur. He was glaring at me with a nasty look that chilled me. I shrugged his look off and looked up at the board. It was from the Dragon Tamers and the Winter Games!

A smiled leapt across my face as I looked around for free copies. I found the pile and snatched one up, slipping and sliding as I tried to run on the smooth tile floor. I finally got to MK and jammed to paper into her hands.

“What’s this? … The Winter Games! I’d heard Nala talking about something like this, but she wouldn’t tell me exactly what it was. Do you think we should go, Chris?”
“Heck, yeah!”
“Great! Lets get finished up here and we’ll be off.”

****
We arrived to find the house a wreck. “Guys, what happened here,” I asked the innocent faces of my son and grandson.
“Well, I guess we got carried away and messed things up…”
“Yep. *sigh* Come on, help me clean this up before MK comes in with the groceries.”

I helped Jes and Torrey clean up the mess. It only took about two minutes, and by that time, MK was inside, unpacking the stuff we bought.

“Okay, Chris, Jesse, and Torrey, would you all round up the team? I have a surprise.”

The three of us tore off into the house and passed on the message. Soon, we were all gathered around our trainer. She had a grin on her face, as did I.

“Alright, guess what everyone? The Dragon Tamers have announced the arrival of the Winter Games. I’ve decided that we’re going to participate, so we’ll be leaving first thing in the morning. There will be three different games that give one level of experience. There is a course, a hockey game, and an ice skating race. You’ll all have to choose who gets to participate amongst yourselves, I don’t think I could make the decision myself. There is only one Pokemon allowed in the ice skating race and course and three allowed in the hockey game.”

Murmurs arose in the air. Everyone was extremely excited about the great news. MK grinned happily and walked out of the room, leaving us the info we need to decide who did what. After a few minutes of jabber, I took charge.

“Okay guys, we need to decide who’s doing what as soon as possible so MK can send in the registration papers. So, who would like to take part in the ice skating race?”

Silence… then someone finally spoke up.

“I would,” said a soft voice. “But I don’t know if MK will let me or not…”

It was little Khaisa. She little a little red in the face, almost like she was embarrassed from speaking.

“I don’t see why she wouldn’t let you take part in it. You’re old enough now, heck, you’re already flying around the house. I’ll put your name down.”

She smiled a huge grin and sat up proudly. BlueShadow patted her encouragingly on her back.

“Good, so who wants the course?”
“I’m up for a hard challenge, so I’ll take it.”
“Okay, Zippo, your name is down. There for the hockey game. I know I want to play that one, who else wants to?”
“Count me in, Chris.”
“And me.”
“Okay, me, BlueShadow, and Jesse… That’s it, we’re done. Does anyone have any objections?”

With a grin on my face, I acted like a judge and slammed my paw on the ground, like I was signifying the end of court. My teammates laughed and started talking to each other. I took the paper with our names on it into my mouth and ran upstairs.

“Here you go, MK, we all decided who’s doing what. I wrote down our names. Its all there.”
“Okay, thanks Christian! I’m actually packing right now, so if you want to go down and tell the others to starting getting stuff together, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks.”

So I ran back downstairs and asked everyone to help get stuff together. We made a game out it. I use my psychic attack to pick things up and fly them over to Blue or Jesse and Torrey. Then they’d catch it and throw it to some one else and eventually the item would end up in the bag where it needed to be. Within a few minutes, we were finished and MK was running through the halls checking to make sure everything was good to go.

“Who’s up for pizza now?”
“ME!!!!!” We all said at the same time.
“Great, lets go!”

So we all charged and raced each other to the front door and outside. MK was even running as hard as she could to beat us all. This was just one of those nights where we could be little kids again.

***
“Okay everybody, shush up. The Games start in about a week. So we were a little slow finding the announcement papers. So, to get some good training in for those of your participating, we’re going to head to the Eevee House and practice. Nala’s told me that she freezes the pool in order to let her Pokemon skate on the ice, so that’s what we’ll do. So, get your stuff together and lets get going!”

So we did. Once everything was packed into MK’s bag, all my teammates returned to their Pokeballs except Blue and I. Us and MK walked outside and made sure all the doors and windows were locked. Then, Blue knelt down and MK and I leapt onto his back and we were off. It takes a long while to get to the Eevee House from where we live, so I had some time to think about what I wanted to practice and all that good stuff. I was sure excited. I hoped Blue and the others were, too, it is going to be a ton of fun.

[Khaisa’s POV]

I heard MK’s voice from outside my ball and felt myself being released. I looked around the familiar room and followed my big brother Blue to the pool. He had a pleased look on his face when all of us looked around at him to freeze it. He drew in a deep breathe and a gush of icy water-like substance flew out of his mouth and into the water. It immediately froze the area where it hit and began to quickly spread until it reached the edges. He stepped out onto the ice to make sure it was froze. It held his weight, so it was safe.

Christian, Jesse, and Zippo made their way onto the ice, first goofing off before looking serious and trying to stand up. I was a little afraid, but I felt good about the ice. It was my type of thing and I felt comfortable around it. BlueShadow winked at me and waved at me to join him. He was clear out in the middle. I slithered the the edge and started onto the ice. Brrrrr, it was cold! But I finally got used to it.

I looked around before continuing to Blue. They were all slipping and sliding uncontrollably while Blue and I were just fine. Must be a natural thing for us dragons to have good balance on ice, I guess.

“Come on, Khaisa, we’ll get you racing before you know it!” said Blue when I slide my way to his side. “Since you’re in the race, lets you and I take a few laps around here and see how you do.” “Okay.”

So we took off. Blue was digging his daggered toes into the ice and pushing himself along, using his huge tail and arms for balance. He also had his wings spread out, I guess for reasons I didn’t understand. As fast as he was going, I was right there with him. Gliding along on the ice was extremely easy for me because I really couldn’t fall. The wind in my face really felt awesome. I was really doing this! And I was really going to win the race when it came.

We did about twenty laps around the pool before we stopped.
“Wow, Khaisa, you are really going to do well. Ice comes naturally for you!”
“Hehe, thank you, Blue. Same for you.”

He smiled at me. “You okay to practice on your own now or do you need anymore help.”
“I’m fine. Thank you for your help.”
“No problem, anything for my sis.”

MK let us stay and practice for a few more hours before announcing it was time to go back home. She said we’d keep coming back everyday until the Games began. I truly felt confident about this. When I had first spoke up that I wanted to play in the games, I honestly felt that Christian wouldn’t let me because I was still too young and too little. But here I was, getting ready for them! Yay!

[Jesse’s POV]
[The day before the Games]

Everyone was so excited. We just couldn’t wait to get going. We had traveled from the Eevee House to the town in which the games were being held and had booked a hotel. Since those of us who were participating in the challenges needed a good night’s rest, we decided to just lounge around by watching TV and eating all night. I was so excited to be able to be on the hockey team with Dad and Blue. It was going to be great!

But my luck soon changed. MK got a phone call at about 6:00 P.M. and was asked to meet someone in the lobby. We all look confused, as did she. She was gone for a good twenty minutes. When she came back, she didn’t look too happy at all. The news wasn’t good.

“Um… I don’t know how to tell you this, Christian and Blue, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to be in the hockey game tomorrow… *dead silence* That was Gabi and Nala who I met with and they told me that the hockey teams must all be in the same level range… Jesse is at a much lower level than the two of you and well… Gabi just won’t have it. I don’t understand why not, but that’s the rules. I should have known! I’m sorry, boys… We’re going to have to pick new team mates in Jesse’s level range… or switch your games around. If Zippo and Khaisa want to keep their spots, we’ll find new players, but if they want to do the hockey game with Jesse instead of the course and ice race, you two can do them instead. Does any of that make sense?”

“Yeah, I think so. So if I play in the hockey game instead of the course, Christian or Blue can take my place in the course and I’ll take one of their spots in the hockey game? And the same with Khaisa?”

“Exactly, Zippo, but its your choice. You and Khaisa have practiced long and hard on your events and it’ll be a tough game for you if you choose the hockey game. Its up to you.”

“Well, I don’t know about Zippo, but I’ll do anything to let my big bubba Blue and Christian play! I’m up for the hockey game rather than the ice race. What do you think Zippo?”

“I think you’re right. I’ll play in the hockey game and let them have the course, its no problem. We all get to play this way!”

“Great! Is that okay with everyone else? And you, Jesse?”

“Of course it is!”

MK smiled at me and everyone else. For a minute there, I was afraid that Dad and BlueShadow wouldn’t be able to play at all. This isn’t exactly what we wanted to do, we all wanted to play in the games we picked, but we can’t always have our way. So we were happy with what we got. I’d have just the same amount of fun with Zippo and Khaisa as I would have had with Dad and Blue.

Satisfied and excited, we all headed to bed.

***

“Rise and shine everyone! Its game time! Jes, I know you’re not still asleep, stop that snoring.”

I snorted with laughter and shot up off my spot on the floor. Then I remembered the night before and was curious to know if Dad and Blue had decided what they were going to play in yet. Turns out Blue was going to take Khaisa’s place in the race and Dad was going to take Zippo’s place in the course.

So naturally, being the first to perform, Blue was a nervous wreck. As tough as he always seemed to me, I’d never seen him worried about anything. Truthfully, I looked up to him and because he was nervous, it made me nervous, too.

“Hey MK, do you know what our opponents are?”

“Oh yeah, I do. Hang on, I’ll get the paper.”

So MK ran up and then back down the stairs carrying a paper.

“Okay, BlueShadow, you’ll be racing a Lapras. Jesse, Khaisa and Zippo, you’ll be playing against a Smoochum, Swinub, and Squirtle. And Chris, you’ll be on the course with a Kingdra. Sounds like you’ll all be having a tough challenge, which makes it even better.”

She smiled and told us that we needed to be headed to the stadium in about ten minutes, so we all hurried about getting ourselves groomed and cleaned up for the day.

[BlueShadow’s POV]

Okay, I was nervous. But only because I hadn’t battle that many battles here with the Dragon Tamers. I got most of my training in the Battle Tower against other trainers. So I had a right to be nervous, right?

Within a few minutes of leaving the hotel, we arrived at the area where the Winter Games were being held. MK told us to remain where she left us and went to register us. Little Jayce and Jeepers were shivering with excitement and had to be picked up and held in order to keep them from running off. They were still kittens, so it was okay.

“Okay Blue, you’re up. I’ll walk you to the rink after I tell the rest of the team what is going on,” MK informed me.

I nodded my head and listened to her tell the team where everything was being held and at what times. Then she turned back to me and seemed to sense my fear.

“You’ll be alright, BlueShadow.”

She even took my clawed hand into her own and led me away. So I was “big and bad” but I still felt better when MK was there to take care of me.

“Well, here it is Blue. There is a Lapras running around here somewhere, you ought to seek him out and see what he’s like. That way you’ll be able to know in advance if he’s down right mean or a fair fighter. Good luck! I’ll be at the finish line waiting for you.”

“Thank you, MK.”

So I wondered around the icy rink, looking around at all the trainers and their Pokemon. I spotted a huge Lapras parked at the starting line. I figured he was the one I was to race. I made my way to him and grinned when he noticed me. My smile soon faded as he looked me up and down before he spoke.

“A blue Dragonite? What’s with that! You must be some sort of freak, am I wrong?”

I didn’t say a word. The Lapras raged in laughter by the look of my hurt face. I turned away from him, wishing I hadn’t been put into this race. Why couldn’t I have still done the hockey game? Christian would have helped me out in a case like this. I sighed and wondered why I was assigned to race this particular Lapras rather than one of the others that were wandering around. They looked much nicer.

“Would BlueShadow the Dragonite and the ice race Lapras please gain their places before the starting line!”

That was my cue. I took a look at MK at the other side of the rink. She made me feel a ton better. I took my place beside the Lapras, who was still snickering loudly. I decided that if he wanted to be tough, I would be too. I caught his eye and rolled my own, signifying that whatever he said to me was going to bother me.

“Would you like ice skates, Mr. Dragon?” A worker asked me. I shook my head no. I had my claws to carry me along the ice.

As soon as the worker was cleared, another appeared beside us with a gun. He counted to three and pulled the trigger. The sound boomed through the air and surged through my ears.

My muscles tightened as I pushed forward with great might. The Lapras wasn’t having trouble at all, but he was only a bit slower getting started. When he began to gain on me, I dug my clawed toes deep into the ice and surged forward. As I had hoped, they worked as ice skates for me.

For the first few laps, not I or the Lapras attacked each other. I believe we were both taking note that we needed to save our speed and energy for the very last lap in order to win. At least, that was my plan.

We were along on our fourth lap when the first attack hit me. I was a few feet ahead of the Lapras when he shot a dreaded Ice Beam. My huge tail took the hit and was made into a frozen block. I growled angrily as the Lapras passed me. An ice block on my tail wasn’t going to stop me. I knew exactly how I could break it. I stopped on the ice and lowered my body to the ground and picked up my tail, heaving the heavy ice block into the air. I swung my tail hard onto the ice below and shattered the block. The force broke it right off and left me to catch up with the Lapras.

I gained on him and laughed when his puzzled look told me how he wondered how I got loose from the ice. I decided to let him get the idea by hitting hard in the face with an Iron Tail attack. It did more damage than usual because not only was it hard as iron but was also pretty much frozen solid and cold.

My opponent screamed hastily and was knocked off course. He tried to hold his face with his flippers but couldn’t. I felt bad that I caused pain to him but it had to happen.

I skated along and past the fifth lap. Only five more to go. I took a chance at stealing a glimpse of the Lapras behind me. He was a least a quarter of a lap behind me. I had to hurry to get ahead. I concentrated hard on being faster and quicker. In seconds, I was whipping here and there along the track with speed that could only mean I had used Agility. The Lapras was far behind me now. Maybe I actually had a chance to win this!

Our race stayed in this mode for several more laps. But my luck changed when he suddenly caught up with me and scared me out of my wits by using a Growl attack. I cowered down and away from him buy regained my courage. I couldn’t afford to let him stay ahead of me. An Ice Beam attack of my own formed within my mouth. I was trying to decide where to aim it when a second Ice Beam of his hit me in my gut area. My own was pushed out of me, prematurely and ineffective. I again growled my anger deep in my throat. The Lapras caught the fury in my eyes and sped up quickly. I pried the ice off of my stomach. Then I realized it was our ninth lap and he was way ahead of me.

Once again I used Agility to catch up. I had a plan, a nasty one, but I was allowed. ¼ of a lap, ½ of a lap, and finally, ¾ the lap I stayed behind him. On the last quarter stretch, I powered up my Thunderbolt attack, quickly and quietly. I jumped into the air and hovered, aiming my attack carefully. Then I shot it. The hot electricity surged through my opponent painfully and stunningly. I knew it was a weakness of his but I purposely did not charge it up full power. It was only about a half.

The Lapras was forced to stop skating to recover from the attack. He knew the race was over and therefore did not even try. I felt bad but hurried on anyways. It was all I could do. Within seconds I crossed the finish line and was greeted by MK and my teammates.

“You did it, Blue! And in record time, too! Do you feel stronger? Because according to the Pokedex, you’re a level higher!”

All I could do was smile. I was pretty winded, having skated my hardest and fastest on the last quarter. I needed one thing though.

“MK, can I have a tail warmer? Its frozen solid!”

I grinned with the rest of my team and MK happily shook her head. She then led me to the Pokecenter to get warmed up.

***To be continued…***

BlueShadow grew to level 57! Yay for Blue!

[SneaselReborned]

I have a quick question. I just found a file on my computer that had a lot of my old stats before I got inactive a long while ago. On that file, it said that I had already done this "adopties" stuff. So I'm wondering if it is at all possible to use the old one I had. This was it:

Pidgeotto (F) Lv. 19 (Faint Attack, Gust, Quick Attack, Sand Attack, Tackle, Steel Wing)

When I got Pidgey at the adoption place, it was like considered "mutated" kinda. They said that when it was born, it had Faint Attack and when it was angry it was like insanely destructive and like even had a "dark side" so it was cool.

Anyway, I was wondering if I could continue training that one.

[Lady Vulpix]

Yes, you can.
Amy and M_K, I'll read your stories tomorrow.

[Charizard04621]

Lune the male Eevee LV5 vs. Kristyn’s female Igglybuff LV10

“Lune, just be careful!” I told him. I found out later that in battle, he didn’t need any advice at all. He had the greatest battle sense of the lot, even more so than I ever imagined. He was so good at it that he could probably beat Switchblade, or at least put up a ferocious fight. He never limited himself to anything; if he didn’t have many options, he made them.

“Oh, yeah,” Kristyn commented, “I forgot that you don’t tell your pokémon what to do. How strange. Makes it a little harder to predict, but we’ll be fine, right, Igglybuff? Go! Icy Wind attack!”

One thing about Kristyn… She always packed her pokémon full of powerful TMs, because she was rich and could afford it. I was worried about how Lune would cope against such an obvious disadvantage; he didn’t know very many moves, and that Igglybuff probably knew every single TM that Kristyn could have access to. How could Lune fight against something with such a wide arsenal of attacks when he in the first place had also battled less?

But my concern was unnecessary. Lune darted instantly into the lee of a giant stone head, moving whenever the Igglybuff tried to come at him at a different angle. The chill winds never got to him, no matter how many times the Igglybuff tried. She was getting observably frustrated, and her cheeks were flushed a bright scarlet with breathlessness and embarrassment.

“Enough, Igglybuff,” Kristyn said, seeing that her approach was not working, “Catch him off guard with a Sing, followed by a Dream Eater attack!”

I ground my teeth. Dream Eater was a terrible business, powerful and yet nearly unstoppable if the victim was asleep. It drained large amounts from the sleeping unfortunate, and yet was so subtle that it wouldn’t wake the pokémon up any faster. If Lune got caught in that trap, he would be in serious trouble. He didn’t have Protect or any moves that would save him, not even the mediocre Sleep Talk or Snore that would allow him to do at least something in his sleep. What could he do?

The Igglybuff’s enchanting melody floated softly through the air, like a gentle, slow-moving river, relaxing every muscle in my body… I felt my eyelids drooping, and smiled stupidly, about to fall into the sweet realm of slumber… And I would have, had Kristyn not suddenly stuffed special earplugs on me and shook me vigorously to wake me up. I could still hear everything, but somehow the Igglybuff’s singing didn’t have the same hypnotic effect on me as it did before.

“Luckily I had a spare,” she said. “These were very expensive, since I had them custom made, but I knew it was worth it to get another pair for the opposing trainers that I battled. I don’t really know how Igglybuff and I could battle otherwise, if the other trainer always fell asleep.”

I grinned, but it quickly turned into a worried frown. Lune didn’t have any earplugs. How could he avoid succumbing to such a tantalizing melody? Again, I found myself paranoid over nothing. When I looked over to the field, I could still see the Igglybuff singing… But she wasn’t having any success. Lune was wide-awake, and then I realized why. As soon as he heard the beginnings of the song, he had snapped into immediate action, rolling about on the ground and plugging his ears temporarily with dirt, flowers, blades of grass, and anything else that would help. The melody, therefore, became muffled and slightly distorted; and that bought him enough time to rise, charge into the singing Igglybuff headfirst, and shatter her melody altogether. He shook himself calmly, ridding his ears of the assorted motley. Kristyn didn’t look very pleased.

“Your Eevee is smart. I don’t believe he found a way around Sing spontaneously like that! But we’re not through yet. Igglybuff, use Sunny Day, then blind the Eevee with Flash, and while he’s disoriented, get him good with a big Fire Blast!” she yelled.

I grimaced. More TMs… And even an HM. I had never managed to get my hands on one of those. But Lune was not deaf; he heard every command that Kristyn gave to his opponent, and therefore had plenty of time to prepare.

The Igglybuff didn’t notice this, however; she turned her head to the sky, oblivious of Lune’s knowledge. While the Igglybuff called upon the sun, gently pushing away the clouds in the sky, Lune found a large, sweet-smelling flower, fitted it on his head so that it resembled a cap with shade at the front, and curled the flower’s leaves around his ears so the cap wouldn’t fall off so easily.

After that, Lune continually shot quick glances at the Igglybuff, looking at and immediately away from her, as if waiting for something. To be specific, he was waiting for the exact moment when he would see the Igglybuff’s body glow, after which the brilliant, blinding Flash would follow. Lune finally caught a glimpse of what he was waiting to see, and, looking immediately away, he shut his eyes and placed his two forepaws over his face to protect himself from the light.

“WHAT?” Kristyn yelled, shaken. “How did he know? How…”

I shook my head I disbelief. “Lune… You weren’t kidding when you told me you would be fine, were you?” I whispered to myself.

Kristyn began to lose her composure. “Never mind that, Igglybuff. NOW! FIRE BLAST! FIRE BLAST UNTIL HE FAINTS!”

Lune’s ears pricked up. He could hear the roar of the flames that approached him, and could smell the pungent scent of the burning flowers that withered under the wrath of the scorching kanji… The flower on his head felt drier, as if all of its vitality had been suddenly sucked out by the hungry fire, with nothing left behind. Lune could feel the heat approaching him, and he knew it was time to move. He had waited long enough. The light from the Flash had to have faded by then. Lune dashed off, opening his eyes cautiously, and took cover behind the same statue that he had used before.

In this way he avoided the first flaming kanji, which burned down everything in its path, leaving only a desolate trail of scorched earth behind, until the fire eventually subsided. The burnt remnants looked awkward in the midst of the beautiful spring growth, but there was more to come. Again and again, the Igglybuff spouted this kind of flame, never ceasing to go on relentless offense. It was only after she had exhaled the frightful burning kanji three more times that Kristyn beckoned for her to stop.

The Igglybuff, although packed with powerful TM knowledge and level training, had almost no battle sense whatsoever. She knew only how to take commands from her trainer willingly, with unconditional obedience. It did not occur to her that, with Lune using the same rock head as a shelter over and over again, there could be anything wrong with her trainer’s constantly failing strategy. She had not the wit to figure out that she could do anything in a different way than her trainer suggested. Kristyn had told her to use Fire Blast until Lune fainted, so that was exactly what she tried to do, until her trainer told her to stop.

By now, Kristyn could not hide her frustration and envy. She wanted a pokémon like Lune, who had a remarkably creative battle sense and could adapt to difficult situations. She had always hoped for a strong Wigglytuff, for that was her favorite pokémon, but when she had gotten this Igglybuff, she had immediately realized that it would be tough to accomplish. She knew that her Igglybuff was slow to learn in battle, but she did not want to abandon the poor thing just because the Igglybuff didn’t have much battle sense. Kristyn had done all she could to help her Igglybuff grow stronger, but she knew now that it was definitely not enough. She gave up right then and there, voicing commands in a dispirited manner.

“Igglybuff, use Psychic to lift Lune up really high into the air and drop him,” she said.

The tired Igglybuff tried to concentrate, but Lune was making it as difficult as possible. He ran around her in circles, kicking up dirt, broken grass, flowers, and pollen of all sorts to irritate her. The poor Igglybuff, not knowing what to do, followed his progress wildly with her eyes; she grew dizzy rather soon, and it was obvious that she could not do what her trainer asked. The Igglybuff was nearly driven to tears; she hated disappointing the trainer that loved her so much.

Kristyn noticed this, and, with a softened voice, comforted her pokémon, telling her, “Igglybuff, I know you’re trying your best, and that’s all that matters. You’re tired, but we have one awesome trick up our sleeves. Igglybuff, use your Fighting type Hidden Power! I know you can win if you do that!”

I started up in surprise when I heard this. How lucky for the Igglybuff to have a Fighting type Hidden Power for a situation like this! Lune, being a Normal type, would suffer the most from the Fighting element, and here was the Igglybuff with the privilege of having a Hidden Power of that type! Switchblade had a Fighting type Hidden Power, too, but when I compared him to the battle-weak Igglybuff, I could not really understand the connection. What was it that determined a pokémon’s Hidden Power type? It wasn’t their ability in battle.

Meanwhile, the Igglybuff was charging energy into masses around her, with the light of determination in her eyes. She did not want to fail her trainer, and she would do anything till the end to achieve victory, even if it meant pushing her body past its furthest limits. When I looked at her, I finally realized what it was that she shared with Switchblade: his great courage and boundless determination, and his willingness to give up everything he had in order to achieve his ultimate goals. I felt respectful admiration for the Igglybuff then, and her iron will.

Lune leapt at the Igglybuff with open jaws and clamped down upon her as she let energy flow from her body. If he was trying to stop her altogether, it did not work, for she did not wish to give up; but he interrupted her progress, and she lost valuable strength. It was a while before she was even ready to attack again.

Kristyn screamed with horror. “What was that? An Eevee of that level can’t learn Bite!”

Lune eyed her calmly, then looked at me also requiring an explanation. He appeared amused. It’s very simple. All I had to do was open my mouth and sink my teeth into her flesh. Just because I don’t know the move Bite does not mean that I am not capable of performing that basic action. It is true that I haven’t found out yet how to work in the Dark energy involved in the actual move Bite, but there is no rule stating that I cannot perform a simple action with my jaws. I can chew my food, right?

I beamed at Lune, finally understanding the limits to his battling prowess – there were none. Lune would not allow any to exist.

By this time, the Igglybuff was almost ready to launch her attack, and by the look on Lune’s face, there would be a lot of pain involved if she managed to succeed. As the Igglybuff made the final preparations to strike, Lune collected energy of his own into the form of a throbbing ethereal ball, calling the fleeting shadows in the darkness to his aid. They came, and together formed that dark, rippling mass, the sphere that grew and trembled at his paw. He launched this before the Igglybuff began her assault, and it went sailing upwards into the air.

“What is your Eevee doing?” Kristyn asked, surprised. “Even my Igglybuff knows her type charts. She knows that Ghost type attacks don’t affect Normal type pokémon. She’s got much better aim, too.”

Lune turned around to face Kristyn, and he gave her the answer. Do you remember that damaged rock statue that your Igglybuff kept attacking earlier? She’s standing right under it.

At that instant, Lune’s seemingly off-course Shadow Ball struck its target and exploded, shattering the final foundations of its intended target. The giant nose cracked away as stone crumbled under it, and it fell, along with the debris, heading directly for the unsuspecting Igglybuff below… Kristyn’s eyes widened, and, without another word, she immediately recalled her precious pokémon, rescuing the Igglybuff from destruction.

“I forfeit,” she told me. “Your Eevee is remarkably strong. I can’t imagine how invincible he will become as he grows further.” Kristyn fumbled about in her handbag, then pulled out the pretty foil-wrapped egg that she showed me earlier. “Here,” she said, “This is for you. I want you to have it.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Hey, Lune, would you like this?”

It’s chocolate. That's a no-brainer, he answered, smiling as he accepted the candy egg.

Lune won!
Lune grew to LV7!

[Matt]

PART 2 OF RACE

My POV:

We had finally gotten to the lodge. It took a while to walk in that snow to get here. I walked over to the fire place and sat down on the couch. Sneasel got down and started to warm up a little. I had noticed that he didn’t the cold temperatures like other ice pokemon. It was very strange to me. I sat back on the couch and started to rest before the real race started. It was going to be long and tough. It wasn’t long until I drifted off to sleep. I dreamed about Sneasel winning that race, Him beating all the others. It was a very close race but Sneasel had beaten them all…

Surrender’s POV:

I saw Matt squirming on the couch. I moved away from the fire to go see what he was doing. I got up there to see that Matt was sleeping. I giggled at him. He must have been real tired to conk out like that. I got up on the back of the couch. I was going to scare him. When I got on the back, I got ready to jump on top of his head. I wiggled, and then I jumped! I landed on top of his head. Matt jumped in fright and started to run around the room trying to get me off. I laughed and jumped off myself. He looked over towards me to see that it was me. He smiled and walked over towards me and picked me up. I laughed as he picked me up into the air. Then something happened. A faint beeping sound was heard on Matt’s wrist. He looked down at it. “NO!” he yelled. He put me down and ran back to the Pokemon Center. I heard him yell again. He ran back over to where I was and ran back down the hallway to the Pokemon Center. He put me on the counter for me to be healed, checked, etc. When all that was done, he put me in my pokeball and we ran off towards some unknown place…

My POV:
I couldn’t believe it!! It was past time to get to the race! I had to run fast. I was going as fast I could when my knee went out. I fell down into the snow in pain. I looked up towards the racing arena. I really hoped I could get there in time. I got up slowly and tried to stand on the leg that my knee went out on. I fell back down into the snow. It seemed that my knee joint had broken or something. I frowned. I didn’t know how I was going to get to the race now. Then it came to me.

“GO Stantler!” I yelled. Stantler’s pokeball landed on the snow, and Stantler appeared.

“Stantler… can you get us to the race really fast….” I said in pain.

“Stttttannnnnnnnnnnnntttttttttt,” Stantler said.

“I guess that’s a yes” I said trying to laugh.

Stantler bent down so I could crawl on to her back. When I had gotten on her back, she waited for me to get situated, and then she started to run as fast as she could to get to the race before the deadline was over. I could hear the announcer in the distance.

”If competitor Matt doesn’t get here soon he will be disqualified!”

“Stantler, get there quick” I said.

Stantler started to run faster. Soon, we were finally at the race. Stantler ran over to the judge. The judge looked at me blankly.

“Umm… why are you riding on your Stantler to get here?” He asked.

“Well...” I said. “The joint in my knee is obviously broken, and I couldn’t run over here” I finished.

“Oh, dear me, you need to get to the hospital as quick as possible” He said.

“NO! I want to watch my Sneasel race! I don’t care about my knee!” I yelled.

“OH, you’re racing!! What is your name sir?” He asked.

“I’m Matt and this…” I said. I took out my pokeball and tossed it on the ground. Sneasel appeared right beside me. “… is my Sneasel” I said.

“OH, so you’re Matt! We have been waiting on you so we can start the race” He said.

“Oh, heh, sorry about that” I said.

“Well we can make a seat for you so you can put your leg up if you wish” He said.

“That would be great” I said.

He walked over and got a chair and another chair so I could put my leg up on it. I sat down on the chair and waited for the race to start. Sneasel went up to the starting line. Then a Swinub came up beside him. Sneasel looked over towards me and waved his arms at me. I smiled at Sneasel as I saw him about to start a race that was going to be very hard for him.

Surrender’s POV:

I was ready to race. I smiled at Swinub. Swinub didn’t look too happy that he was racing today. I guess he was afraid of me. I laughed lightly. I heard the announcer about to start the race.

“OK racers get ready to race!” He yelled. “READY – SET – GO!” He yelled.

Sneasel VS Swinub

I pushed off of the snow and started to run. I had gotten a lot of exercise in the practice race. Swinub was left behind me, but it was coming up fast! I didn’t want to waste all my strength just on the first lap, but I didn’t want Swinub to get in front of me. Soon, Swinub did get in front of me. I sighed as I saw him slide by me. Swinub was turning the corner to get to the second half of this lap. I was just in the middle. I started to run faster than before. Maybe, I would be able to get in front of him this way, but I still didn’t get in front of him. I was turning the corner to get to the second long stretch. Then I noticed something. Swinub wasn’t too far ahead of me. I smirked and started to run faster. Soon, I had passed him and continued to run for the finish line. I passed the line, and I head the announcer again.

“OH, Sneasel is on Lap 2 while Swinub is lagging behind on Lap 1!!” He said.

I smiled. I didn’t want to get to arrogant about my lead. I looked over towards Matt who was watching the screen just above me. I looked ahead to continue the race. I could hear noises behind me. It was Swinub! I had to get away from him. I kicked up the speed to get away, but Swinub was still right behind me. Swinub passed me with a smile on his face. I frowned and started to go faster. Swinub was getting angry. He stopped and started to kick snow in my face. I put my claws in front of my face and started to run on. Since Swinub had stopped, I got to run right by him. I laughed as I turned the corner to get to the second long stretch. Soon, I passed the finish line again, still in the lead.

“Wow, what another amazing lap made by Sneasel” The announcer said.

I smiled. This was turning out to be a good race. I was already on lap three while Swinub was still on lap two. I decided to slow down a little so I wouldn’t waste all my energy just on this lap. I looked behind me to see Swinub coming at me again.

“Don’t think you can get away from me” Swinub said. “I will win this race and claim my title” He continued.

“I will win, you will not!” I yelled back at him.

I started to run faster now. I passed the corner and around to the second stretch. Swinub was really lagging behind now. I guess that practice race that I ran was paying off. I passed the finish line again. The announcer was saying the same thing as before. I was really getting tired of him.

I kept running, not even stopping for a breath. I didn’t want Swinub to catch up with me. I turned the corner to the longer stretch. Then, I ran into something. It was a big pile of snow. It seems that Swinub had set it for me. I fell down into the snow and got back up, but by the time I had gotten up, Swinub had already passed me. I frowned and started to run faster. That little “stop” gave me a boost of energy. I ran past Swinub and went for the line. I passed it and didn’t even stop to listen to what lap I was on.

“Weeooo” I said passing the line.

Swinub was not far behind me. This was going to be a very close race. I went around the corner again, this time avoiding the big pile of snow that I ran into before. I laughed at that pile of snow and continued running. Then I heard something. Swinub was yelling because he had ran into the snow himself. I started to laugh at him. Swinub was in there pretty deep.

“I guess he gets what he deserves for cheating” I said.

I continued to run, and ran past the line again. I guess I was on lap 5 now. That meant that I was finally half-way done. I smiled and ran some more. I turned the corner to see Swinub still in the snow. I was quite worried about him. I walked over to the snow ball. I poked his back. He started to quiver. I pulled him out of the snow. He was almost frozen! I gasped. My opponent was frozen and the race was only half-way done. I threw him on the ground to try to break the ice. Luckily, the ice did break. Swinub got up and looked around. He saw me standing beside him.

“Um… you freed me from the ice?” He asked.

“Yes, I did” I said.

“Wow, I thought you were bad, but now I know that you are very nice” He said.

“Heh, everyone thinks I’m mean” I said.

“They must be stupid or something” Swinub said.

“Well, not really” I said.

“Are we going to finish this race” He asked.

“Ok” I said.

We got into running position, and we took off. I was ahead of Swinub again. It wasn’t long until I passed the line again. I was now on lap six!!! Swinub passed the line again, but he was only on lap five. I giggled a bit and ran some more. All this running was very boring and tiring. But, I really wanted to win. I kept running. Soon, I passed the line again. This time I was on lap seven! Swinub was on lap six, but he was coming up on lap seven.

I was getting really tired now. I had been running for a long time. I looked over towards Matt. He was cheering me on. Somehow this cheering gave me the strength to go on. I laughed at Matt and continued to run. Soon, I passed the same corner again. The snow had fallen to the ground and wasn’t there anymore. I smiled at the thought that I had helped Swinub but frowned at the fact that he was going to lose. Even though he was coming up, he had wasted a lot of time in that snow. I passed the line again!! Now I was on lap eight!!

I grinned. This was a great race. I surely hoped that I would still win. Then I figured that I was being too arrogant. I stopped smiling and started to think about the race and the fact that I might be able to win it. Then, something happened. Swinub came up behind me and passed me!! I gasped and started to run faster. Swinub wasn’t going to win this race that easily. I passed Swinub, but he just passed me again. It was like that until we passed the line again. We were both on lap nine! It was just one more lap to go.

We were running right beside each other trying to get a break so we could run in front. Swinub was running into me trying to knock me into the snow. I frowned and started to run faster. I got ahead of him and turned the corner very sharp. I almost lost me balance doing that, and Swinub was right on my heels, too. I turned the next corner to get to the long stretch. Swinub was right beside me again. I didn’t want to cheat and hit him back like he had been trying to do to me the whole race. I gasped for air as I started to run faster than I had ever before. I ran past Swinub and past the line. Finally, it was lap ten! The last lap!

I was still running very fast. All this fast running was making me very tired. I ignored the pain and continued to run. I didn’t want to lose this race now. I looked over towards Matt. He had sat up to watch me run the final lap.

“YEAH, GO SURRENDER!!” He yelled.

I smiled at Matt and ran some more. I turned the corner and ran on to the final stretch! I started to run faster. Swinub was coming up behind me again. I started to run even faster. Finally, I passed the finish line!! I could hear Swinub yelling as he passed the line last. I stopped running and flopped into the snow. Matt got up out of his chair and hobbled over towards me. He picked me up out of the snow and hugged me.

“You did great!” He said.

I smiled at him. I couldn’t believe he liked me that much. My last trainer didn’t like me that much… I’m glad that I found Matt…

“Now, I will announce the winner of the race” The announcer said.

“The winner is….. Surrender, the male Sneasel!” He said.

“Congrats” He continued.

“SNEEEEEEEEEEE” I yelled.

This was the best, and first, race ever!

Sneasel grew to level 9