Pokemon

[Sacrificial Hero]

Just a note before we begin. This RP will remain open to anyone who wishes to join it and any person who stops posting will be booted. Here is the sign up sheet. http://z3.invisionfree.com/Moorim/index.ph...2070&st=0&#last
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The expansive Villa Grovia bustled in the valley between the surrounding hills. The annual junior Pokemon tournament was about to begin, and the recently redesigned Grovia stadium would play host to it. It was nearly sunset on the night before the registrations and Sean was wiping the sweat from his brow as he reached the apex of the northern hill. He wasn't accustomed to the heat yet, having been born in Frostown, the northernmost settlement of Dyrim. He set his eyes on the immense stadium and his heart skipped a beat. Finally, he was going to prove himself against his peers. So far he hadn't had a chance to challenge any gyms besides the one where he had trained, and he knew better than to have a showdown with that gym's leader at such an early stage of his training. Now that he was in the central area of Dyrim he would sweep the tournament and travel out into the region to gather gym badges, then he and his pokemon would showdown with Gordon and he could become the league champion.

With a mind full of hopes and dreams he descended, eager to enter the city and register. It was only a few minutes before he reached the bustling streets littered with people and pokemon alike. He wondered how anyone knew which pokemon were tame and which were wild. He opted not to try to catch the Scyther walking down the street, and to head for the arena as quickly as possible.

Lilith had already arrived and was waiting on line to register when Sean arrived and stood behind her. She did her best to ignore the exuberant young man, but his erratic behavior was far beyond the point of irritating. She sighed and rolled her eyes, wondering why she even had to wait on this line, and why no one had phoned ahead to set up her registration.

[rudeboy]

A cool wind grazed Toto's face, the sun was mild; the kind of comfortable heat that lends itself to hours of August baseball. He stood on a hill overlooking the family farm, tall grass beat at his thighs even through thick brown pants. He brushed loose black hair out of his face and looked out at the expanse. In the distance a Mankey hung from a tree surrounded by Burmy. The small white and brown monkey pokemon was usually fairly aggressive, although this one seemed calmed by the lax natures of the small bugs around him. In the surrounding field he saw a Tauros grazing, the proud bulls were fortunately far from their mating season this year so the grouping of them would be no trouble.

Too far off to make out identity, a group of black figures stood their while two smaller figures jumped at and away from each other, a ranch-hand pokemon battle he figured, nothing new to a cool day like today. Suddenly his side was brushed by a familiar weight. With an ecstatic "Miiiiiirrrrrruuuuuuuu!", a small pink cow-like pokemon made itself known.

Miltank stood nearly four feet erect, with a pink hide and black spots, a black hood like coloring around its pink face, a white stomach and pink utters, the black ball on its tail it playfully batted back and forth while Toto rubbed its head and it blinked happily. Toto was all too familiar with this little girl, he had been partnered with Miltank for over a year now and they had become the best of friends. Bored of its tail Miltank wandered over to Toto's backpack and removed a large white egg from one of the pockets. A gift from the Nurse Joy in his Acretown, the Happiny inside was long from joining the party, nonetheless Miltank lovingly brushed the egg.

Just then, his farmland paradise faded...

Snapping back into reality Toto found himself on bleachers in an empty stadium. He often drifted back to memories of home when he had a moment to think, it didn't seem necessary not however, the newly renovated Villa Grovia stadium was enough of a dream world. Housing 50,000 fans the new stadium would play host to this year's P3 open, a junior Pokemon tournament that brought the best and the brightest of new talent from all over Dyrim. As he looked below at crowds of people waiting to register, and next to him at the tiny pink bovine using his sleeping bag as a pillow, He was glad he called ahead to sign up....







Featured Pokemon:


Miltank

Mankey

Burmy

Tauros

Happiny

[ohemgeeitskc]

Krys had chosen one of the cooler spots on the bleachers, appreciating her Pokemon's sensitivity to light, as she watched the line of people slowly bustle up to the sign-in booth, one foot in front of the other, like lambs lead to slaughter. Honestly, they had no idea what they were in for. Did the name 'juniors' in the title honestly make these novice trainers believe that they would have a chance against someone who had trained so hard? Obviously they were lax about this tournament, having waited so long to fill in their registrations... she had completed hers the moment the registrar's office had opened, which left her free to people-watch, one of her favorite activities. She had let her Pokemon out of their balls, and they each relaxed in their own way.

Skitty had taken a seat atop Krys's shoulder, and eagerly watched the crowd, its ears moving like satellite transmitters, undoubtedly picking up on every single word and breath that it heard. Houndour had been asleep for quite some time now, chin rested on both forepaws, tail twitching. Banette, eyes narrowed, had those infinite green orbs trained on a couple on the line, arguing about power and line ups. Then, last member of the party, looking more like a sentry, sat higher than the rest, directly over Skitty. Absol was the only member of the party who cared for the small Pokemon, putting up with it's klutzy attitude and lack of grace with the patience of a buddah. With such a lazy party, it was amazing that Krys had even gotten this far, however, the team was merely resting, conserving its energy for the task at hand, and sizing up the competition. Skitty jumped slightly in an attempt to stand, and nearly fell from its perch. Absol delicately secured it in his mouth, and Skitty batted his nose playfully. Upon setting his small charge back on Krys's shoulder, Absol stood and stretched, yawning, before flaring his eyes angerly and setting his death-glare upon a figure. Even Houndour woke up, and followed Absol's gaze, down the bleachers. All Pokemon stood at attention now, eyes trained down on the only sight that could possibly catch them off guard. Krys's mother, waving eagerly, from the bottom of the bleachers. Krys ignored the lone figure and the skipping of her heart which accompanied. Sad, Lonely, that figure... that figure, which eventually gave up, and walked away, perhaps to watch the show, perhaps to have some form of heart to heart with her daughter, or offer some word of encouragement. One thing was for certain, however. Krys was not about to waste any of her necessary energy on the Woman who had shunned her. She was here for one thing, and one thing only. To battle, and prove once and for all, that she was right in picking this path.

[Billy Shears]

Matt's journey hadn't been terribly tough. He had a small bit of family in Dyrim and they basically took him anywhere he'd needed to go. Lucky for him the physical sense of 'trekking' was out of the question... for now.

Villa Grovia was astonishing. It was everything he'd heard and more - much more. He had never seen so many Pokemon in one place before, nor had he seen so many humans in one place, either! He didn't know where to go first, for within the first couple of minutes of being dropped off by his cousin, he found himself entirely overwhelmed.

Stammering for a few minutes too long, Matt rushed through the crowd to find the line. He placed himself behind a surprisingly-old woman who held an expression of utmost fierceness. If that hadn't confused him enough, he'd suddenly found a large hand, most likely three times larger than his, wrap around his shoulder.

"What the heck are you doing, kid?" A booming voice snarled, a bit too close to his ear for comfort.

"I was just getting on the line, to sign up... f-for the tournament." Matt suddenly found that he didn't like Villa Grovia as much as he'd previously thought, for as he turned, the ghastly image of the most burly and frightening man was revealed to him.

"You cut me in line, idiot. If you want to be in a tournament that badly, let's start the fight now."

"We c-can't save it, you know, for the actual tournament?"

"You being wise with me? Big mistake."

Before Matt could beg for forgiveness, the man withdrew what Matt spotted to be a Dusk Ball out from his pocket. He pressed the button once, then again to release a Pokemon.

Standing before him, scarily-large, was a growling Hippowdon.

Awakened by the commotion, a dreary-eyed Slakoth slowly peered out from Matt's backpack. It stared at the Pokemon blankly and yawned.

"I'm guessing you don't want to handle this one, right?" Matt muttered.

The Slakoth mildly shook his head and retreated into the backpack.

Matt gave a weary sigh. His stomach was in his feet.

[darkninja07]

Sunlight poured down. It was a beautiful summer afternoon, and the loud sound of plastic wheels on pavement filled Mike's ears. He had opted for a skateboard over a bike when he left his hometown, and was almost regretting the decision as he kicked and pushed up the enormous hill. He was wearing a black hat, a green T-shirt and jeans with holes ripped in the knees. He suddenly heard a high pitched squeal from behind him. "Let's go, Dratini!", he looked back and yelled to his partner. Uphill was the only time Mike ever had a chance against Dratini in a race.

As they reached the top of the rise, the Villa Grovia came into view. Mike flipped up his board and started to walk slowly, so to take in the spectacle completely. Grovia Stadium stood out amongst the array of buildings. The line headed into the stadium was the next thing Mike spotted, and he forgot all about the amazing image before him. "SHIT WE'RE LATE!", he yelled. He hopped back on his skateboard, grabbed Dratini's tail and they jetted off into the city.

When they had finally reached the line, he noticed that one unsanctioned battle had already began. A huge circle of people surrounded the area where the battle would take place. Mike did his best to push his way through the crowd, until he could see what was going on. A very large man stood on one side, and his choice of Pokemon, a Hippowdon, waited before him. On the other side, a tall kid mentioned something to the Pokemon in his backpack, and then reached to his belt for one of his other Pokeballs. I wonder what'll happen here, Mike thought as he waited eagerly.

[Sacrificial Hero]

"HEY! Calm down asshole. Look at the kid you're picking on." Sean couldn't stand for this, plus it was a good chance to show off before the tournament and make a name for himself. He grabbed at his belt and picked the first pokeball in the line. "Snover, let's take care of this spaz." Clicking the ball, he dropped it and watched as a 3 foot tall pine tree emerged and stared into Hippowdon. The air cooled and a stiff breeze filled the open area.

"Hippowdon, crush this little menace." Sean smiled, entirely aware of how this battle was going to turn out. By the size and the complexion of the creature it was fairly obvious how it could be disposed of.

"Snover, hit it with a grass knot!" Snover sidestepped the creature and shot a pair of vines into its path. The Hippowdon landed on the tendrils and the burly man smiled.

"My Hippowdon is too heavy to be affected by attacks like that!"

"And that's exactly why you're going to regret picking on this kid." The man looked at Sean quizically, incapable of comprehending what he meant until it was too late. The vines knotted themselves around Hippowdon and lifted him from the ground. The entire group of people gave a unanimous gasp as the creature rose through the air. Snover struggled to keep his balance as he lifted the beast.

"Finish the technique Snover." Hippowdon growled and struggled in the air as Snover rotated it and unknotted the vines, dropping it helplessly on its back. The older man growled and returned his dazed Hippowdon.

Sean smiled and returned his Snover. He approached Matt with a grin. "I saved our spot like you asked me to man. Don't pay any attention to the idiots." He winked and walked back to his spot in line.

Lilith had seemingly ignored the entire event but had actually been watching intently and taking mental notes of each trainer. She was sure that the Snover would be no problem for Gardevoir and that a trainer who couldn't even understand type dominance would stand no chance in a battle against the complexities of a Ditto. She reached the front of the line and gave her information, still wondering why no one had bothered to register her ahead of time. She checked her watch, it was 6:45, only fifteen minutes until she had to be somewhere.

[rudeboy]

Toto had migrated down from his spot on the bleachers, and now that she was fully rested, a happy-go-lucky Miltank marched along at his heels. Along what seemed like a fruitless journey towards the exit, Toto stopped to stare a young girl sitting in the shade... She was cute he thought, but his coy smirk wasn't towards her; she seemed too lost in thought to notice even if it was aimed at her. In reality, he stopped to glimpse the Absol that sat patiently above her. Absol is a pokemon who is rumored to herald a great tragedy and Toto hoped that the great tragedy this Absol was marking wouldn't be the quality of his competition.

Just as he made his way outside he saw nearly half the waiting trainers dash of the line and crowd around what had to be a battle. His suspicions were confirmed not 5 minutes later as vines lifted an enormous Hippowdon into the air and dropped it squarely on its back.

Toto handed Miltank a sweet poffin from his bag and the little cow happily munched on the treat. When the dust had cleared the defeated Hippo tamer angrily walked away and Hippowdon's conqueror was revealed. A three foot little yeti stood on the other side of the crowd for a second and disappeared back in his pokeball. Though Snover was not unheard of in Dyrim it resided exclusively to the tops of Mt. Rage and the outskirts of Frostown; this was the first time Toto had seen one up-close. This Snover was obviously no pushover; Toto looked worried. As if knowing what he was thinking and wishing to reassure him, Miltank pulled on Toto's pants to get his attention, face still full of poffin, Miltank bent his arms down and then up again imitating a body builder and let out a confident "Miru...Miiiirrruuuu!"

Toto smiled and patted the little hamburger on her head, "You're right, we'll be fine" he thought, "after all, we still have your secret weapon"

Miltank smiled and pumped her fist.

Featured Pokemon:

Absol

Hippowdon

Snover

[ohemgeeitskc]

Absol pointed his head towards the boy that stared at him, and then towards the fight that had broken out. Figures the tall boy wouldn't be able to beat such a large man, and indeed it seemed intelligent that he not attempt to do so. Such a character was unruly to say the least - drunk on the high that comes with thinking you may beat the best, be the best, still jaded into thinking that such a dream could be obtainable. It was a lesson that most had already learned, although this man still had a long way to go - With greatness comes the ability to suppress the urge to fight anyone that got in your way, judgment accompanied power the same way that brains accompanied brawn.

Skitty frolicked happily towards the fight, while Absol loped after, keeping ever vigilant eye over his over-eager charge. Krys stood and walked after, keeping an eye on the pair, with Houndour close at her heels. Just outside the skirts of the crowd, Krys shielded her eyes from the sun as she watched Skitty run laps around people's feet, obviously unaware of the dangers of getting crushed. Absol had vanished from sight for the moment, and Krys took up his guard duty, chasing the little creature - yet staying a step slower, and considerably less graceful, than it. It skidded to a stop at the foot of what appeared to be a large bovine, although the likes of it, Krys had seen only once. "A Miltank?" she questioned silently. "Who brings a Miltank to a tournament like this?" Skitty happily plopped at its feet and stared up at it, as Krys's breath snagged in her throat. Watching it, Krys rolled her eyes "Probably the same type of person who brings along a Skitty..."

As the crowd thinned, Krys eyed the winner. A snover, apparently, much larger, much stronger than Krys's Skitty, or Houndour. But that was okay. Lovingly, she stroked the pokeball at her hip, and smiled a sigh of relief. There was only one thing that she needed now, and the rest of her journey would be fine. Her team could carry her up until her breaking point; but once there, there was one last stone to throw. Perhaps she could bring the whole damn house crumbling down. The sudden appearance of Absol at Skitty's side made her feel a slight bit better - Skitty was still a baby, at only level twenty, and had no buisiness running around a tournament like this. Absol was considerably stronger, and far, far more powerful - he was lean and calculating, and at level thirty five, had far more experience. Houndour, on the other hand, was somewhere between the two, and having a far more mild nature, tagged along, a comfortable level thirty. She had much more attachment to the other two members of her team, however, the Pokeball at her hip was a comfortable weight, one that she was accustomed to carrying - light, airy, and yet still blatantly obvious. She had carried it there for a long time. It had never failed her, not yet at least.

Krys raised an eye to the sky, thankful for the beautiful day. She only hoped it stayed that way. It would be appreciated. As she stopped a few steps behind Skitty and Absol, Krys offered the trainer a smile. In her mind, a little voice muttered "oh... this should be fun."

Indeed it would be.

[Billy Shears]

Matt couldn't express his relief with mere expression or diciton. Though he did seem to lose a few inches, as he descended into a state of 'mush.'

"Thanks man," Matt said weakly, "That was a real smart move using Grass Knot."

Matt's Slakoth's nose protruded from the open portion of his backpack. It sniffed the air for a moment and retreated back.

"I'm proud of my Pokemon," Matt muttered, slightly embarrassed, "but I'll tell you, I really doubt any of them could've taken that Hippowdon down like that."

It was really quite sad how true the statement was. Matt's Pokemon were skilled in their own ways; he'd trained them to be so. What worried him was their strength. The three Pokemon Matt had come to own were not exactly very powerful.

Considering this stranger's Snover was still a first-form Pokemon and no doubt stronger than all of Matt's... well, it certainly didn't comfort him.

Matt knew he'd have to rely on other things to come out victorious. Sadly, his confidence in these 'things' was waning.

Of course, the hardest of all his challenges, the feat he may fail: getting his Slakoth out of his damned backpack.

[Sacrificial Hero]

"No worries man. My name is Sean by the way. To be perfectly honest I wanted to show off a little before the tournament anyway. Plus, Hippowdon's an easy target for me, I've seen a few of them in battle at the gym back home so I know what they're capable of for the most part." Sean smiled and stepped up to the counter. He filled in his registration sheet quickly, still anxious and eager to get the show on the road.

"So are you staying in the accommodations they provide or have you found something nicer?"

Meanwhile, Lilith had found a place in the bleachers of the stadium. Her contact would show up soon hopefully. She released Eevee from her Pokeball and the furball cuddled up to her. She leaned back, a single strand of red hair falling in her face. She blew it away nonchalantly and shut her eyes, absentmindedly stroking her Eevee.

"I hope you're not planning on using that thing in the tournament." Her eyes shot open and looked back.

"They should be so lucky. So where am I staying?"

"Uptown in the place with the Dragonite statues out front." The mysterious figure dropped a wallet at Lilith's side. "You're assignment is inside, along with all your documents. Oh, and let me know when you want a stone for that runt." Lilith's ground her teeth beneath her painted lips and decided to choke back the venom for now. By the time she turned around her contact was already gone.

[rudeboy]

Another early morning, waking with the sun had been commonplace on the farm; when there was work to do you got up, worked your ass off, and finished when the work was. It was just the way things went, but Toto had been off the farm for almost a year now and these habits hadn't faded. He jostled himself from bed and woke up his pokemon: Three red flashes from pokeballs; light materialized in front of him to reveal his friends. Miltank, his loyal sidekick and ever giddy bovine pal, and two newcomers: Standing just under 3 ft tall, the black and pink pig pokemon called Grumpig sat before him holding its feet and rocking back and forth.

Grumpig was an interesting pokemon, Grumpig, or more likely this Grumpig in particular seemed unjaded by its powers, in fact Grumpig preferred not to use his powers at all, Grumpig preferred to crawl on four legs and to act like a normal pig, as such Toto seldom used it in battle.

The second beam of light molded and shaped into a proud black bird pokemon, nearly the same height as Grumpig, the pokemon Honchkrow was a jet black bird with a white tuft of hair and red feathers on its tail and the inside of its black wings. Atop its head sat what appears to be a hat-like protrusion which seemed to act as a symbol of its aviary royalty. It is rumored that each Honchkrow is in charge of their own pack of Murkrow that do its bidding and bring it food. In the world of bird pokemon, Honchkrow is the Don. This Honchkrow is the evolved form of a Murkrow that spent its early nights on Toto's farm picking off loose or left behind crops.

While clearing the field of rocks, Toto accidentally dug up a dusk stone that hit Murkrow in the head and caused his evolution.

Both of these pokemon, along with Miltank stood for roll call today. Satisfied with their presence, and after they had all been washed and groomed, Toto set out for the days events. The P3 tournament would start tomorrow and Toto was anxious to introduce himself to some of his fellow trainers.

With an earnest look on his face and his trusty Miltank marching enthusiastically behind him, Toto set out for the Marketplace...


Featured Pokemon:

Honchkrow

Grumpig

[ohemgeeitskc]

Krys scooped up Skitty with an apologetic nod, and seemingly exhausted by it's ventures, Skitty tiredly batted at her hair. "you little devil" she muttered at it, and it offered a very human look back up at her, which said very clearly "what? New people to chase!" Once more Krys patted the pokeball at her belt, and sighed, thank goodness for her partner. She would be completely out in the cold without it.

Seated in the shade under her tree once more, Krys pulled all of her Pokemon back into their balls. It was becoming a hassle to tend to all of them at once, and indeed, it was high time for them to rest up before the tournament. That being done, she pulled the Pokeball out of the folds of her clothing, pushed the button once to expand it, and then once more to release its contents. Happily, she leaned back into the tree and absentmindedly stroked the Pokemon. Her Growlithe tilted his head at all the new sights and smells around him. He twirled in a circle, nose going, and then happily blasted a small stream of fire up into the air, as if to say "I'm here! Finally!" Gently, she pulled his ear, and he flipped onto his back, more doglike than like a fire pokemon, but indeed, this little creature was fully able and aware of his powers. She had three Pokemon that she intended to use, although she held more in her party than she needed. She really only needed these three.

Her houndour, Absol and Skitty were amusing additions, and indeed, showed potential unbounded, but Starmie, Chickorita and Growlithe were the cornerstones, who's potential was completely apparent at that moment. Six Pokemon, all of them her partners, each of them strong in their own right, all of them with her, serving their purpose while offering companionship and strength when needed, and laughs when applicable.

As the sun drifted behind a shining silver cloud, the branches of the tree were silhouetted, and the world was cast into sharp relief. Sighing and stroking Growlithe, she smiled. But for the actions of certain people, and hidden motives of others, the world really was a quite remarkable place.

[Billy Shears]

The next day was an exciting one, or at least, it began as such.

Matt woke up to find his Pokemon running around the room, each more maniacal than the next. Crying and screaming, and seemingly attempting to knock everything down in their paths, they created enough ruckus to wake all the Pokemon at the Day-Care.

"What's going on?" Matt yelled, still a bit too groggy, "How'd you get out of your Pokeballs!"

Togepi tripped over it's small feet and rolled onto the bed, beside Matt.

"Will someone give me a clue as to what the HELL is happening?"

Shuckle turned his long neck to look at Matt, and nodded - obviously some gesture to follow him. Matt got to his feet, still drowsy, and left his room, as well as the crazed Slakoth and Togepi behind him.

Shuckle led Matt out into the hallway, and into the yard where the Pokemon were taken care of. Following him into a small batch of shrubbery, Matt's Shuckle finally stopped and waited for Matt to observe.

On the ground, whimpering quite a lot, was a Mime Jr.

"Oh man, who's Pokemon is this?" Matt asked his Shuckle, only to receive a very confirming "I Don't Know" head shake.

Most of the morning was devoted to the Mime Jr. Matt couldn't figure out who it belonged to, and nor could his grandfather. It wasn't dropped off by a trainer, and when he'd asked it if it had one, it shook it's head.

Luckily, the Mime Jr. seemed to take a liking to Matt and his Pokemon. Later in the afternoon, whilst doing some last minute training, the Mime Jr. seemed to like copying the movements of the rest of Matt's team.

When Shuckle retreated into his shell, Mime Jr. rolled up into a ball. When his Togepi used Sweet Kiss, Mime Jr. concentrated for a moment and did the same move, obviously using Copycat.

Then, when it was Slakoth's turn, Mime Jr. fell onto his back and began snoring loudly, just as Slakoth had done.

Though the training session was a bit uneventful, it had still proven quite fun. Matt decided to make a quick trip to the PokeMart, with Mime Jr. beside him, and then he'd call it a day.

[Sacrificial Hero]

Lillith had read the documents over a dozen times, still completely incapable of believing what she saw. Her list was long, too long for her to accomplish. How was she supposed to monitor all of the trainers on the list on her own? She flipped through the profiles, looking for anything that could help her put the trainers in order of importance. Gordon's brother, a few foreigners with some unknown gyms under their belts, and the crown jewel, the organization's top prospect. Lillith gathered her things and left for the first round pairings. With Eevee on a leash at her side, she strolled through the streets of Villa Grovia, ignoring the stares. She arrived in time for the posting and scanned the crowd for some of her targets. Sean was there, holding a peanut bag for Tyrogue, waiting for the line to clear out so that he could get a good look at the pairings. Lillith stood off to the side as well, eying Sean to study his Tyrogue. It would be an easy target for Gardevoir should they be paired against each other.

Once some of the crowd departed, Sean hurried to the board and checked his opponent. He had never seen the name of course, but he copied it down to check out in the registration computer. Lillith wandered over a few minutes later and spied her opponent. From the small picture beside the name she recognized the kid with the Slakoth from the day before. Lillith smiled and checked out a few of her targets before realizing that Sean's opponent was the prospect that her organization had been watching. She wondered whether the pairings had been fixed before she shrugged and went to check out Matt's full team on the registration log.

[rudeboy]

Grabbing his purple cloak from the rack in the corner, Jack fled out the door. It was 7:58pm only two minutes until the meeting. When he arrived at the location described in the message he stopped to catch his breath. Looking up he heard the flutter of his partner above his head. Cree was WAY faster than he was and had been waiting in the rafters for some time now. Flapping violently, the purple bat pokemon met its trainer at eye level and they exchanged looks as if to say "let's get this over with."

The truth of the matter was, Jack didn't much like meetings. They were an excuse for those who liked the fame to seek it and for street corner deviants to gloat. Those members that truly loved Dyrim and respected the cause of The Society sat quietly in the corner with a combination of boredom and disgust at the glitz and lip service that the group's new leaders had given it.

As Jack and Cree walked and fluttered in respectively they could tell they were just in time. The meeting started the same as always: greeting one another in their traditional way... a tight gripping of the lower arm followed by one clean shake, followed by a hug to display brotherhood. These rituals were commonplace now, a symbol that had followed down from the group's conception. When the group's greetings had finished it was time for the pledge ...

Jack recited as customary: "To protect and serve the land I love, from the land and sea to skies above, we bear the feathered mark of sacred grandlark"

"Let the meeting come to order!"

The gray man in the corner stepped up from the crowd, "As you know, it has been 13 years since the land of Dyrim saw any foul play, the Society has guarded it well, you should all be commended for your efforts." The compliment was met by enthusiastic yelping and cheering the crowd over, Jack remained calm... he knew the compliment was only a precursor to a warning. He was right, the old man continued, "Now however, that which we have gathered to protect begins to stir, and with its wakening, evil forces will no doubt gather in Dyrim."

"If the Society wishes to protect order in Dyrim, we must remain ever vigilant, the Society must fan out, our new goal will be to reach the four corners of Dyrim and any chance for evil to gain control of our prize is thwarted before it becomes a threat."

That said, the leader disappeared and the crowd began to murmur. The shadow that took over the stage where the master stood was interrupted by red eyes and a spark... This was customary after large meetings...

The leader's pokemon, an Alakazam was mentally communicating with each individual member of the Society. It was important for the group's mission, that their individual goals were kept a secret even from each other. This protected anonymity in case a member was compromised. As such, Alakazam, an extremely powerful one at that, channeled each members mind individually and gave them their missions. As a further security measure, a team of Kadabra, also owned by the leader, wiped the Alakazam's memory of the event.

*********

Some time later, Jack locked the door to his home set out for the next mission, Cree fluttered around and made sure all the bags were secure and zippered. As the sun set, Jack set out with it... he would leave home and this time, he just wasn't sure how long.

As he walked to the town gates he reflected on Alakazam's mission. The psychic's deep voice echoed in this head "[I]Go to Villia Grovia, and protect the tournament... Evil looks to new talent to flagship its new desires..." Jack wondered why the old pokemon was always so cryptic...

Either way... he knew his mission.

Bag in hand, he set out for Villia Grovia

[Billy Shears]

Matt hadn't been to Dyrim in quite some time. His uncle was always quite busy, and in previous years, he was something quite larger than just "the Day-Care Man."

Now that that was over, Matt was able to return to Dyrim for the first time since he was six years old. It had changed significantly; growing, evolving.

He'd remembered it as a very rural place, full of wild Pokemon. Matt could've sworn he'd seen a Mew, flying feather-like over the treetops. Considering Matt was six and that at the time he'd always had his nose in an 'Ancient Pokemon' book, he wrote it off as "seeing things." So did his entire family.

Of course, if there was any time to return to Dyrim, it was certainly now. The cities were bustling with anything anybody could ever want to see. Even the smaller towns and villages were lively with marketplaces, contests, and parades. It was as if Dyrim was holding it's "Grand Opening" to the entire world. So, needless to say, Matt was happy to be where he was.

The PokeMart's in Dyrim were built quite different compared to those in Sinnoh. They were larger, and seemed to stock a great deal more than the essentials. There was a berry stand beside the entrance, where Matt bought a handful of rather rare ones - for Poffin experimentation. Inside, Matt bought a few potions, some back-up Pokeballs, and an unusual box that he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of.

The box was made from a dark, heavy wood. It was engraved with many things, all of which looked readable - to those who knew the language, of course. It intrigued Matt a great deal, so much so that he spent the rest of his pocket money on it.

The day was finished and the tournament was to begin tomorrow. Was Matt ready for it?

Or more to the point, was his Slakoth?

[Sacrificial Hero]

A single uniformed man stood on a platform, pasting up the pairing posters behind him. He explained the rules clearly. The tournament was separated into Eight groups of eight trainers and a single winner would be decided from each group to advance to the next round.

[ohemgeeitskc]

Krys stood on her tiptoes to see the pairings posted behind the guard. She eagerly scanned for her name, and didn't see it. Her heart dropped, she scanned it again, and finally saw her name. Scared, she let her eyes wander over to the other name, and read it out loud. "Mike?" Hm... She shrugged it off and moved to let everyone else struggle to read.

Finally, now that the postings were up, it was a real tournament, it seemed real, concrete. It was finally time to get down to work. Growlithe looked up at her lovingly, and shot a short blast of fire into the air. "Thats right. We'll be fine. Lets just have fun, okay?" Growlithe jumped at her, wiggling at her chest like a magicarp. "okay okay! I get it!" She pulled a poffin out of her pocket and tossed it to the fuzz ball, who devoured it in almost one bite.

She searched for another place to sit, and collapsed on the ground. The tournament finally felt tangible.

[rudeboy]

Toto was asleep again, and it didn't take long for Miltank to realize that the fight to wake him up was futile... Even the pokeflute in Toto's bag wasn't working, although it did seem to make a trainer's Abra VERY uncomfortable, enough to angrily throw its trainer into a wall.

Miltank eventually gave up and went over to the pairings board, the group C poster finally held her trainers name and having found it on only her 3rd try she let out a confident, accomplished "MIRU!!"

Toto's name was posted just below a girl named Ophelia, the girl and cow had never met, and Miltank figured that Toto hadn't met her either...

As Miltank wandered over to Toto still asleep, she wondered to herself how she would tell him what she knew when all she could say was her name...

[rudeboy]

Another beam of water shot passed Cree's head, this one seemed slower than the last from what Jack could figure... even the marks in the wall behind him weren't as deep as they could have been, not as round. Obviously, Cree's opponent was getting weaker; the Will-O-Wisp attack was taking its toll. Unfortunately for Jack, this battle was taking far too long. The enormous whale pokemon in the lake in front of him was getting tired, but not fast enough. the whale pokemon closed its eyes and lowered itself in the water... the reason the battle was taking so long became clear, the secret revealed, Jack shouted to Cree...


CREE, IT'S RESTING! THE WAILORD IS RESTING, STOP IT NOW!!

Knowing full well the time consuming effects of rest, Cree darted at its foe. As the small bat's wings molded back into it to increase speed, the area around him began to fade into one large blur... a white glow formed the outline of the Crobat and knowing the time was right Jack shouted out the command:

CREE!!! BRAVE BIRD ATTACK!!

Cree knew the call and with a ear-splitting crash the bat collided with Wailord, knocking it far under water. When Wailord resurfaced, it was clear who had won. Returning the great fish with a blue beam from a net ball, Wailord's trainer sighed and handed over the prize money.

Jack finally, had enough money to eat, after handing a Sitrus berry to his partner to recover wounds, the two made off for the Villia Grovia market place, as he walked in Jack tightly clenched the other half of his prize:

His brand new free ticket to the P3 Junior Pokemon Tournament, 1st row - Midfield

If something really was going to happen like Alakazam had predicted, Jack couldn't have a better vantage point....

[Sacrificial Hero]

The opening bout of group C was of great interest to Lilith. She poised herself in the stands and watched as Sean stepped into his position. On the other side was Lilith's number one target, Vlad, a well known trainer who had built a reputation of leaving his opponents' completely agape at their own inability to keep up with his pokemon. Most notable was his Scizor, who was known for staggering speed combined with strong defense to create a formidable force.

Sean knew his opponent's reputation well and was fully prepared for the staple of Vlad's team. Sean smiled as he reached at his belt at produced a pokeball with a fist sticker stuck to it. He paused for a moment before reaching back on slot further. He drew the next ball and tossed it with a grin. With a flash , Sean's Sudowoodo appeared and stretched, touching its non-existent toes. Vlad's empty expression remained so as he balanced a pokeball on his fingertip, then flung it into the arena. With a similar flash, there was a deafening cry as Vlad's Rampardos screeched and stamped its foot. Sean stared at the beast.

"Alright Sudowoodo. Nothing to fear. Go with our strategy." The Sudowoodo hopped and took an offensive stance.

"Charge." Vlad's voice was nearly monotone and barely audible to all but his impeccably trained partner. Without another prompt, the raptor took off headlong for Sudowoodo, but met with harsh resistance as a stone foot crashed into its jaw. Rampardos hit the ground on its side. The ground shook beneath it with the force of the fall. It hadn't a moment to stand before Sudowoodo descended upon it with a series of fierce punches and kicks. The deceptive pokemon mounted the fallen Rampardos' side and pummeled its ribcage relentlessly. The Rampardos began slowly wobbling to its feet and it pushed Sudowoodo aside with a mighty tail swipe. Sean grinned again. He pulled Sudowoodo's pokeball from his side and returned his pokemon as Rampardos staggered to its feet.

The audience looked on perplexed as Sean's hand found the pokeball with the fist sticker. He through it and watched as Tyrogue emerged.

"Charge." Vlad repeated and as he did the Ramprados took off again, this time much more clumsily. Tyrogue stood still in the face of the charging behemoth, showing not one ounce of fear and not moving a muscle until his trainer called for him to do so.

"Tyrogue now! Sweep the leg." With Rampardos bearing down upon him Tyrogue knelt and spun, pushing off with his hand to the ground and leaving his foot out. The slight impediment was too much for the monumental foe and Rampardos soon fell face first into the dirt. "Your turn Tyrogue. Take care of this guy." Tyrogue took its cue and lept upon the Rampardos in similar fashion to the Sudowoodo. He dropped a series of vicious elbows and punches to the weakened ribs and spine of his enemy Rampardos before a horn sounded and the referee lifted his flag in favor of Tyrogue.

Vlad returned his Rampardos without a word and chose his next pokemon, but as he threw his pokeball, the flash was overshadowed by an eerie glow emanating from Sean's side of the field. Tyrogue was glowing, and in fact, it was no longer Tyrogue. Sean's smile grew.

"Timed it perfectly." He beamed and took a look at his new pokemon, a powerful, level 20 Hitmonchan. "Return Hitmonchan, that's enough. Go Sudowoodo." Sudowoodo took Hitmonchan's place and stared at his enemy, Vlad's legendary Scizor.

"Scizor...cease his paltry resistance." With that simple command, the Scizor was a blur of red and then he was nothing. Sudowoodo hadn't the time to react before a glint of metal caught his eye and he turned to receive a metal claw directly to his face. The attack sent Sudowoodo sailing through the air until he crashed some ten feet backward. Sudowoodo struggled to stand, and as he did he caught another flash of metal, however, this time, he spun and avoided the strike, at the same time, locking Scizor's outstretched arm and slamming it to the ground.

"PERFECT! Sudowoodo, Low kick him and don't let go of that arm!" Sudowoodo followed his trainer's orders perfectly, locking Scizor's arm and applying pressure while he delivered a series of vicious kicks to his incapacitated foe.

Lilith looked on with great interest as Sean plowed through Vlad's team without a problem, something no one in her organization had anticipated. She was equally shocked when Vlad withdrew his Scizor without flinching. He was down to a single remaining pokemon and he looked as though he wasn't worried in the slightest.

"Metang...handle this." Vlad's final pokemon choice was a shocker. Lilith had read his profile carefully and it hadn't mentioned any steel types beside Scizor, let alone a powerhouse such as Metang. She considered the possibility that Metang was a recent acquisition but it appeared too simple, and she thought, instead that Metang had been hidden purposefully. She suddenly regretted not having checked his trainer card in the registration logs.

"Sudowoodo, Earthquake!"

"Magnet rise Metang." Sudowoodo beat the ground furiously, but found it in vain as Metang rose and hovered toward him at a speed that rivaled Scizor. "Bullet punch." Vlad's voice was calm as it had been the entire time. Metang seemingly disappeared, and before anyone had a hint of where he had gone, Sudowoodo was sent reeling once again. This time, he didn't even attempt to stand again. A flag was raised in favor of Metang.

"Good job against the other two Sudowoodo." Sean returned Sudowoodo and sent Hitmonchan back in. "I know you're at a massive disadvantage here big guy, but I think you can hold on long enough to help me out." Hitmonchan stared down the enemy's metang before cracking his neck and throwing a few warm up punches. "Give him a fire punch Hitmonchan!"

Hitmonchan charged immediately, ready to take on his enemy, but he hadn't moved more than ten feet when he suddenly hit the ground and lay still.

"Good psychic attack Metang." Vlad's cold expression became a smirk for just a moment before the flag was raised on Metang's side of the field. Sean gaped before returning his Hitmonchan to it's home. He stood, contemplating for a moment. Metang was the only one of Vlad's pokemon that he hadn't been able to devise a good counter for, and so he had to go with what he knew could pack a punch. With a trembling hand he reached for the second pokeball on his belt and produces from it, his Froslass.

"Froslass, hit him with Shadow ball before he can pull anything off!" Froslass cooed and released a volley of crackling dark spheres toward her enemy. Metang didn't react, it remained entirely motionless as Vlad smiled again. When the dust cleared, Metang had already been returned to his pokeball, and Vlad was already headed back to the prep room. He turned his head and gazed into the stands, giving Lilith a cold stare before disappearing back stage.


((Alright, the next battle is going to be Toto versus Ophelia, I've decided to allow Toto to write the entire thing. For any battle that is two players against each other, a judge will be assigned to say when Each pokemon has fainted, and if a trainer is stretching the limits of their team.))

[rudeboy]

Toto waited in the locker room before his match, from what he’d seen in the first fight; the competitors at this junior class tournament were anything but juniors. He was a little nervous, yes, but it had never been Toto’s style to shy away from a challenge and if the first round was any indication, this would certainly be a challenge.

Toto reached into his bag and pulled out a few items he’d purchased that he figured would help if the situation got dire, calling his pokemon from their balls he asked Miltank to delve out the toys. The pink cow pokemon wandered over to Toto’s satchel and pulled out three little sacks and three items; a jar of white liquid, a glowing black talon, and a pair of glasses with a blue iridescent shine to them, Toto’s bovine buddy put each item into one of the sacks and called over his friends.

A purple and black pig pokemon waddled its way over to Miltank followed shortly thereafter by the regal black bird called Honchkrow, Miltank placed the bag with the talon around Honchkrow’s neck and it shone just a bit brighter. She then put the pair of glasses around the neck of an oblivious purple pig who seemed rather preoccupied with the small elliptical egg that it had noticed some dust on and thusly began to scrub said egg. After adding the items to his team, Toto placed the jar of “MooMoo Milk” lovingly around his partner’s neck. When the gang was all set, Toto made his way to the arena grounds with pig, cow, and bird in tow.

As he came up to the arena crowds the sun his eye and blinded Toto momentarily, when his vision returned he saw his opponent, Ophelia, the pretty young girl standing near the trainer’s box at the far end of the stadium couldn’t have been more than 15 years old but she had the calm, collected stare of an experienced and battle-hardened trainer. As both trainer’s bowed and stepped into the trainer’s boxes the PA rang out to announce the rules:

“THIS SECOND ROUND OF THE VILLIA GROVIA JUNIOR TOURNAMENT GROUP C WILL NOW BEGIN! THE MATCH WILL BE A 3 ON 3 KNOCKOUT POKEMON BATTLE, THIS MEANS THAT BOTH TRAINERS WILL HAVE TO DEFEAT THE OPPONENT’S POKEMON ENTIRELY. TRAINERS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO SWITCH THEIR POKEMON BETWEEN FIGHTS HOWEVER, WHEN EACH POKEMON IS KNOCKED OUT THE FIELD WILL ADJUST TO BETTER ACCOMMODATE THE TRAINER AT THE CURRENT DISADVANTAGE.”

Both signaling that they understood the rules, Toto and Ophelia bowed to the referee and to one another and the center of the field slowly shifted and lowered to reveal that a solid portion of the map had become a make-shift lake; again, the PA blared “IN ORDER TO BETTER SUIT THE CHALLANGER OPHELIA’S POKEMON, THE ARENA HAS BECOME 50% WATER” Ophelia thanked the judges and tossed her first pokemon into the water, the ball popped open just inches above the lake and the light materialized to reveal a rather angry, rather large, blue shark pokemon. To announce her choice the PA shouted: “Ophelia opens the round by choosing SHARPEDO! What will Toto counter with?!”
Toto smirked, “Sharpedo huh? That’ll be tough.” Toto waved his finger and a proud bird pokemon stepped into the ring, upon seeing his opponent Sharpedo began to psych himself up and race in a figure-eight pattern around a series of little islands in the lake.
When Honchkrow hopped his way into the ring, he raised his left wing and bowed his head, almost to give the pokemon version of a tip of the hat. Seemingly unimpressed by Honchkrow’s display of showmanship, Sharpedo launched a fierce blast of water at the bird, Honchkrow easily evaded and took to the air.

“LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!!”

Ophelia gave the first command; “Sharpedo! It can’t hit you if you’re under water, DIVE NOW!” Following suit, Sharpedo dove underwater to bide its time…

‘Toto, mirroring his opponent directed to Honchkrow to fly higher up, giving himself some time to think. While the pokemon felt each other out, Toto thought to himself: “By choosing a pokemon that can dive underwater, Ophelia has really picked the perfect counter to Honchkrow, I can’t get near it under water… Hrm… I’ll have to stay as far away as possible, Honchkrow’s speed is the answer… ‘Sharp Skin’, Sharpedo’s ability will prevent too much physical contact... but up there I can figure out how to get around him as well as easily dodging…

Toto’s spell of thought was broken as Ophelia directed Sharpedo to speed up, obviously trying to jump Sharpedo into the diving and rising Honchkrow. Toto still needed more time, Sharpedo and his trainer were a mystery…

“Honchkrow, slow it down… try a whirlwind attack!!!”

Gale force winds beat down from Honchkrow’s wings as the stadium and the lake below became filled with massive gusts of wind, Ophelia was not impressed by this tactic, she knew it well, and she knew how to beat it…

“SHARPEDO! That funnel is harmless, but they gave us an elevator… SURF NOW! Ride up that tornado!!

In a burst of water, Sharpedo began racing up the funnel towards Honchkrow, spiraling up and up to meet the bird, Toto began rapidly running out of time to think, and his time was about to be cut again…

Ophelia brilliantly directed her Shark; “Sharpedo! Follow up the surf with a waterfall… KNOCK THAT BIRD OUT OF THE SKY… DO IT UP!!!”

A huge spout of water began to follow Sharpedo in time, straight up the funnel with him, if Honchkrow got hit that hard … it would be over before it began, fortunately, Toto had an answer.

“HONCHKROW, THAT’S YOUR WAY OUT!!”
“MIRROR MOVE!! SURF DOWN THAT WATERFALL!!”

Honchkrow began to glow and creating a phantom image of Sharpedo, raced down the waterfall right past Sharpedo

Ophelia was stunned, recovering from her shock, she noticed the rules reversed… it was time for an attack, she had to put the bird to bed.

“Sharpedo! Take it down… Crunch!”

Sharpedo’s fangs began to grow enormously and the whole shark began to glow with a faint black light as it raced toward Honchkrow.

Toto in a daring move gave Honchkrow a head-on counter, “Honchkrow! It wants to play chicken with us!! Meet it half-way! Drill Peck!”

Honchkrow’s black talon in his bag began to glow with a faint light and his beak grew exponentially… Racing toward Sharpedo, Honchkrow extended its beak and folded its wings to increase speed. Colliding fiercely with the angry shark, Honchkrow’s beak hit it squarely on the left fin and sent Sharpedo sprawling into the ground several feet from the lake.

Honchkrow landed as Ophelia recalled her pokemon, back on Toto’s side of the field, Honchkrow once again dipped its head and raised its wing in salute, this time, the crowd roared more than before. Miltank even began to wave large foam fingers that read “Honchkrow #1!!”

Ophelia called over to Toto, “Hey, I’m impressed, using my moves to beat me… that was smart, I mean especially if yours aren’t good enough… But lets you and me make a deal ok? From now on, fight me with your pokemon’s skills huh? I mean, I know how strong I am but I’d like to see how good you are… Cool.” Ophelia smiled and waved as she twisted the knife…

“Nice…” Toto thought to himself, clearly appreciated the young girl’s clever jab, Toto’s first assumption was indeed correct… Ophelia was no little girl…

The field they were battling on dried out and had shifted to reveal a grassy plain, well-kept and groomed. Ophelia smiled as her second pokemon choice was tossed into a tail-spin above their heads…

Smirking, Ophelia cheered; “GO GET’UM FLOR!!”

With a morose moan, a purple flower pokemon hit the field, Ophelia’s second choice, Gloom, stood just above three feet tall with large red orbs and thin crimson leaves hanging off each bud, from its red lips there was a constant stream of toxic saliva, the downside was that in Gloom’s presence an infectious odor seemed to fill the area, some fans even had to leave in order to prevent from being sick…

Gloom teetered back and forth to its own rhythm as it aimlessly glanced at Honchkrow, the skeptical bird pokemon tilted its head quixotically and let out an intrigued “Kroo?!”
The PA came on once again to announce the trainer’s choice: OPHELIA MEETS TOTO HEAD ON WITH HER SECOND CHOICE, THE GRASS POKEMON, GLOOM! FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW… THAT VAPOR EMITTED FROM GLOOM’S BUD IS A TOXIC VAPOR THAT IT USES AS A DEFENSE MECHANISM TO REPEL PREDATORS…”

“He’s right ya know!” Ophelia shot over, “That silly bird of yours won’t be able to get close to Flor’s vapors without taking a beating… and just so you know, powder attacks don’t work on Grass pokemon, so you won’t be able to return my moves this time smart guy!”

“Fine.” Toto countered, “you wanted to see what Honchkrow could do by itself, well you’re about to…”

“Honchkrow! Get up there…”

Honchkrow rose into the air and began to circle the field, but Ophelia knew the tactic all to well by now and directed Gloom immediately.

“Flor! Now! POISON POWDER!”

“Honchkrow!” Toto shouted up, “You can’t rush it when its blowing powder like that, blow it away with a Razor Wind!”

Honchkrow began to beat its wings furiously, blowing every spec of the powder back at Gloom. “I told you already,” Ophelia chimed in, “Powder attacks don’t work on Grass pokemon.”

Just then, Miltank pulled on Toto’s leg and began furiously scribbling on a pad from Toto’s bag, he glanced at it and it read:

MILTANK!!?!

Below was a picture of a Bird followed by a greater than sign and a flower…

Miltank was trying to remind Toto that for whatever reason, flying pokemon like Honchkrow have an advantage over Grass types. Toto suspected it was because birds lived in trees, Miltank suspected Toto was an idiot.

Either way, reminded of his type advantage, Toto took Honchkrow in a new direction, “Honchkrow!” He called, “ End it quick, hit it with the Brave Bird!”
Honchkrow began to glow and dove toward Ophelia’s partner; little did Toto know this was the chance she had been waiting for. More than that it was the chance Gloom was waiting for. Without even a direction from his trainer, the flower pokemon kneeled down on one leg and tilted its bud toward the dive-bombing bird. Just then, Gloom began to rapid fire bursts of a purple liquid in all directions around the bird. Several bursts of poison hit Honchkrow hard and knocked it out of the air… The battle was over before Honchkrow hit the ground.

“What the hell was that!!!” Toto shouted.

Ophelia smiled, “That was the Acid Mortar attack; it’s the special technique of my sister’s gym in Arborcrest City. The pokemon shoots out a toxic gel that confuses and paralyzes the opponent.”

Ophelia’s confidence and prowess suddenly made sense, her sister was Judy, the Arborcrest City gym leader. Arborcrest City’s bottling plants were the principal buyer of the Milk produced on Toto’s family farm. Judy had been down to the farm on many occasions, and at a younger age Toto actually had quite the crush on her, that was neither her or there, the point was that no one in Acretown or Arborcrest dared to question the power of the Grass pokemon in the Arborcrest Gym. Judy received her warrant as a Gym leader after the news coverage that she had trained her Bellossom to spin so fast in a Petal Dance attack that it could deflect fire attacks. A feat that was both true and never a tiring trick for Judy to show off as she did by making short work of anyone packing a fire type that came to her gym. It was also rumored, yet never confirmed, that the friction caused by Bellossom’s intense speed melted ice attacks as well.

“Alright, if Ophelia is Judy’s sister, we can’t take any chances, get in there Miltank!”

Miltank rushed into the ring and readied for battle. Gloom seemed unmoved, Miltank stood there staring down the flower.

“Alright Miltank, finish this quick, give it a rollout attack!”

Miltank curled up in a ball and began to race toward Gloom, “You really aren’t that creative are you kid?” Ophelia shouted. “One more time Flor! Give it an Acid Mortar!”
Gloom bent down once more and shot a massive poison barrage at the impeding cow. Miltank just kept racing however, Toto finally had a witty counter…

“So, who’s using the same old moves now huh little lady?” “Come on, your sister had to have told you by now, moves like that won’t work once Miltank goes into a rollout, she moves too fast for any kind of gel or liquid to stick, what are you … new?”

The last part of the ribbing may have been overboard, because Ophelia seemed to get very angry, and directed her gloom to hit with the strongest of grass attacks… Solarbeam.

Gloom began to store energy as the cow grew closer… the bright sun that day charged Gloom almost instantly and it fired off a massive burst of yellow light. To Ophelia’s dread, even after being hit by the beam Miltank didn’t seem to slow at all, and as the cow crashed into Gloom the little flower was rocketed into the wall of the arena.

The referee raised a green flag in favor of Miltank and it skillfully jumped back to its side of the field. Just then the arena began to shake knocking the round little cow onto its back where it playfully rolled to its feet.

The new arena revealed itself as a rocky mountain terrain which was perfect for Ophelia’s next choice, and as she threw the ball into the ring and the pokemon materialized, the entire stadium became filled with a huge bellow of smoke.

The smoke cleared to reveal an orange and slate black turtle pokemon, who, after letting around another, much smaller bellow of smoke announced his name with a roar: “Toooorrrrrrkoooooaaaalll!”

Torkoal was a fire pokemon, and from the sheer size of the smoke bursts coming out of its nostrils, it was Ophelia’s trump card. The strategy behind Ophelia’s team was clear, Torkoal was designed to protect gloom and Sharpedo against ice and grass types.

Torkoal started off strong with a huge smokescreen attack at Ophelia’s command, Toto soon realized why, Torkoal’s razor eyes could see through the smoke but Miltank could not, rollout would be useless if Miltank couldn’t aim.

The battle continued as Toto foresaw for what seemed like forever, any time Miltank got close, Torkoal would easily evade, and for a turtle pokemon, Torkoal was fast.

“This is no good”, Toto thought to himself, “Torkoal is just wearing Miltank down until its no faster than he is, this has to stop.”

As the smoke cleared it appeared that Miltank was on a direct course for the turtle and Ophelia reacted without thinking…

“Torkoal, now’s your chance, it doesn’t know there’s no smoke, EARTHQUAKE now!”

Torkoal stomped to the ground and almost at point blank, rocketed the rolling cow-ball into the air.

Toto smiled and whispered to himself, “exactly.” Ophelia looked confused, but her questions were answered when Toto gave what would be the final command.

As Miltank bounced into the air it appeared to jump over Torkoal’s head, and suddenly grabbed the sides of Torkoal’s shell.

“Miltank! NOW!” Toto shouted, “Reversal!”

Miltank grabbed Torkoal into the air with it and flipped it into the ground from mid-air.
Crashing to the ground and landing on its back, Torkoal, like most turtles became useless.

One last time the announcer came on the PA: “TORKOAL IS UNABLE TO BATTLE, TOTO AND MILTANK WIN!! THAT’S IT FOLKS THIS SECOND ROUND OF GROUP C IS OVER! TOTO ADVANCES!!” He then calmed down to say “ There will be a short intermission before the next two rounds, the Villia Grovia stadium thanks you for attending day 1 of the P3 Junior Tournament.

As the two combatants met each other in the middle of the ring, Ophelia shook Toto’s hand and congratulated him on the win, as she turned away, she tossed a small gray box over to Toto.

Ophelia turned and smiled and said “That’s TM95, Acid Mortar.” “I figured you could use a new move so you don’t have to steal everyone else’s all the time.”

Toto smiled and with two fingers on his brow saluted her as she walked off.

Toto started the other direction with bird, pig, and cow in tow.