From: Brian (bbd127@aol.comikaze)
Subject: [PW!] Showdown
Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon
Date: 2000/06/02
Last time:
Procyon and Taron, two wandering companions, decided to have a little friendly
match. Suikuaktu provided the gong, and the two began their duel. Taron led
with his Sandshrew, Tumbleweed, and Procyon with Blueberry, his Chansey.
Though the Chansey put up a valiant effort, in the end Tumbleweed was
victorious. Now the score was one to nothing with Taron in the lead as Procyon
reaches for his next Pokeball....
"It's your turn, Pleiades!"
With the flourish and practiced hand of a magician, he cast his second sphere
into the hastily-scratched ring. It popped open, shooting out a red beam of
energy which assembled itself into a five-sided figure.
"Staryu!"
"Tumbleweed, don't let it get you wet! Use your Sand-Attack!"
"Shrew!!!"
A blast of sand and dust flew at the Staryu, scratching its jewel and making
it look around uncertainly. "Yu?"
"Don't let that stop you, Pleiades! Water Gun!" It shot out a blast of
water, but Tumbleweed ducked, narrowly missing the spray.
"Great job, Tumbleweed! Now Scratch it!" It ran up and dug its claws into
the Staryu again and again, prompting a cry of pain from the Staryu. It
wobbled around faintly, on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness. Taron
laughed. "That's it, Tumbleweed! Keep this up and we'll win this battle in no
time!"
Procyon smirked. "Pleiades, Recover."
A shining aura enveloped the Pokemon, swirling around it and making it sparkle
brightly, sliding through a rainbow of colors before fading away to reveal a
Staryu with no signs of fatigue, ready for more.
Taron had been expecting this, but that didn't make it any better. He gritted
his teeth and pointed at his opponent. "Tumbleweed, Dig! Get it NOW!" The
Sandshrew nodded and burrowed quickly underground, ready to destroy the Staryu
on a moment's notice.
"Pleiades! Quick, while it's underground! Get over to that hole and use your
Water Gun. Fill it up with water, don't let it escape!" It hastily carried
out its trainer's command, and when Tumbleweed emerged a moment later, it
collapsed immediately on the ground from the moisture.
"Tumbleweed, return," commanded Taron. "Good job. But I still have two in
reserve. Borealis, GO!"
"Seel seel!"
"Borealis, Headbutt!" The icy creature launched itself headfirst into the
other Pokemon, sending it flying. It collapsed to the ground with a crash, and
got up weakly once more.
"Pleiades, Tackle!" The Staryu threw itself at its opponent as hard as it
could, but Borealis casually smacked it away with a flick of its tail.
"Finish it! Aurora Beam!" commanded Taron. The Seel reared up and fired a
beam of swirling liquid light at Pleiades, freezing it on contact.
"Pleiades... return." He sighed, thinking to himself for a moment. "Hm...
Blueberry and Pleiades are gone... Avalanche wouldn't stand a chance against
that Aurora Beam... Bulletwing is weak to ice too, but it's my last shot. Go,
BULLETWING!!"
With a loud screech the three-headed bird arrived in the ring, staring warily
at the Seel before it. "Bulletwing, Agility!" It nodded its middle head at
him, and began running around the Seel, faster and faster, kicking up dust as
it went. Soon it was little more than a black and brown blur, screaming by
Borealis and leaving behind a flurry of feathers.
"Borealis, try and hit it! Sweep your Aurora Beam around the area! You're
bound to hit something!"
"Bulletwing, dodge it! You're quick enough! Now get in there and Drill
Peck!"
Scurrying around blast after blast of arctic wind, dodging and scrambling, the
Dodrio made its way ever closer to Borealis. Just as it was getting close, the
Seel turned and fired an Aurora Beam straight at Bulletwing. It Drill Pecked
right then and drilled straight through the solid ice, connecting powerfully
with the Pokemon and sending it flying.
"Borealis!! Get up quick, before it hits again! Headbutt it now!" It rose
weakly to obey its master's command, but against a Dodrio with an Agility under
its belt, it was far too slow. Drill Peck after Drill Peck impacted into the
creature's body, leaving it limp at last.
"All right... Borealis return. Good job, you weakened it. Now all I have to
do is finish it off." He grinned at Procyon. "Fight fire with fire, they say.
Or in this case, flying with flying. Talon, take it down!!"
The Fearow emerged from its Pokeball flying, flapping its giant wings
gloriously, as if to mock the Dodrio's lacking. With a tremendous cry it flew
up high into the air and then shot back down again, whizzing by Bulletwing and
shrieking challenge. Taron scarcely had time to say "Peck!" before the battle
was on.
Refusing to be intimidated, Bulletwing took to the air on its own, no longer
with the cautious, fluttering flight it had managed as a Doduo but now with the
practiced grace of an animal that is at home in the air, wings or no wings. It
circled the Fearow, dodging its attempts at Pecking and twisting its left head
around to to Drill Peck once more. But Talon was not so easily defeated. It
turned its body in midflight and shot back towards the ground, turning up at
the last moment with a flurry of feathers. It set its sights back on
Bulletwing, aiming a powerful Fury Attack in its direction. The Dodrio
skillfully dodged blast after blast from its adversary and came around the
opposite side, talons scraping across the dirt and kicking up dust where the
Fearow had been just seconds earlier.
So the battle progressed for some time, circling, swooping, dodging,
attacking, pecking, and dodging once more, in an aerial combat arena for which
the sky was no limit. Each was trying to prove its supremacy of the air to the
other, moving and twisting with a grace beyond belief, sparring for the sheer
love of flying and battling that they both possessed. Finally, Procyon decided
to risk distracting Bulletwing to utter a command, in an attempt to end the
stalemate. "Bulletwing, Fly! Fly up as high as you can go! End this!"
Without missing a beat Bulletwing jumped up into the air, shooting like a
feathery projectile into the stratosphere. The clouds were swept away by the
furious speed of the creature, flying ever higher as if determined to prove its
rights to the kingdom above.
Talon began to follow the Dodrio, but Taron stopped it. "Just wait, Talon,"
he said. "It has to come down, and when it does, you can be ready for it.
Just be patient, and keep your eyes open." It nodded and dropped back down to
earth, keen eyes piercing the wispy clouds above, searching for any sign of its
enemy.
A minute dragged by, and then another; and even Procyon began to get worried.
What was wrong? Why was Bulletwing so late in returning? He knew that League
rules would disqualify him if his Pokemon did not show itself, and Taron would
surely stick to those rules. Taron began tapping his toe impatiently. Still
another minute dragged by. At last Taron said something.
"Look, I don't know what happened, but it looks like your Dodrio is gone. I
think it's only fair to say that if there's nothing for my Pokemon to battle,
it is the winner."
Procyon sighed. "I suppose you're right. We might as well-"
Suddenly the pair heard a massive sound, like thunder but much louder. Taron
jumped, Suikuaktu looked around anxiously, but Procyon just smiled. He knew
what that sound was. It was the sound of something passing the sound barrier
and achieving Mach 1.
And then, tearing out of the sky, coming down from the clouds, with the speed
of an arrow and the precision of a guided missile, screaming its name and
heralded with the sounds of thunder and the power of lightning, swooping down
out of the heavens at speeds most jet pilots did not dare to reach for,
Bulletwing came. Its talons gleaming and beaks shining, at speeds well over a
thousand miles per hour, it tore across the ring, a brown and silver blur that
left a whirlwind in its wake. And then, living up to its name, it shot into
the Fearow, Drill Pecking with all its might and ramming it through a nearby
tree branch and into the trunk of another. A terrible crack was heard, and
then a victorious shriek, and then all was silent.
Taron blinked. "Er... Talon, return." He looked at Procyon. "Not bad. I'd
say you won."
Procyon smiled. "Thanks. You weren't bad yourself."
"Sure. Only..."
"Yeah?"
"Watch yourself. Because I'm training too, and when we have a rematch, you
might find me a little tougher."
He smiled again. "I look forward to it."
The three of them, followed closely by Bulletwing, walked onward towards their
next destination, obscured by the long shadows of the setting sun.
TBC
