[Best Veteran March/May 2011] A new professor in town - Kanto Adventure PG13

@I, Scream - Well done for winning Sean's final badge. Now we have two people who have completed the Kanto Gym challenge and qualify for the pokemon league!

Congratulations Sean won the Earth Badge

Congratulations Flareon grew to Level 24

Also, can everyone see the OOC thread

And the final route....

Route 23

Number of Posts: 2-3

Description: The route leads right up to the gate of the pokemon stadium on the Indigo Plateau... the home of the pokemon league!

What can you do in a Route?

Generally the main two things you can do on a route are capturing pokémon and battling trainers. You can do many other things, you know free will and all that... Anyways, you cannot meet any of the other RPers, and everyone have fun.

Wild Pokemon
Commonly seen pokémon in this area

Geodude

Level: 16-20
Gender: Male or Female
Type: Rock
Ability: Rock Head or Sturdy
Attacks: Tackle, Defence Curl, Mud Sport, Rock Polish, Rock Throw, Magnitude, Self Destruct (Level 18)
Nature: Random

Zubat

Level: 16-20
Gender: Male or Female
Type: Poison/Flying
Ability: Inner Focus
Attacks: Leech Life, Supersonic, Astonish, Bite, Wing Attack (Level 17)
Nature: Random


Uncommonly seen pokémon in this area

Machop

Level: 14-17
Gender: Male or Female
Type: Fighting
Ability: Guts or No Guard
Attacks: Low Kick, Leer, Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Foresight
Nature: Random


Rhyhorn

Level: 14-17
Gender: Male or Female
Type: Rock/Ground
Ability: Lightningrod or Rock Head
Attacks: Horn Attack, Tail Whip, Stomp, Fury Attack
Nature: Random


Rarely seen pokémon in the area
Onix

Level: 12-15
Gender: Male or Female
Type: Rock/Ground
Ability: Rock Head or Sturdy
Attacks: Mud Sport, Tackle, Harden, Bind, Screech, Rock Throw, Rage (Level 14)
Nature: Random


Note - the title specifying the rarity of a pokémon refers to how hard a pokémon is to catch. i.e. a much better post is required to catch an uncommon pokémon than to catch a common pokémon.
How I level the pokémon you're catching will depend on how good your post is. When you're trying to catch a pokémon, you cannot decide if you catch it. When trying to catch a pokémon you have to finish your post off when you throw the pokéball and wait for my response telling you if the capture was successful or not. You cannot continue until you know that it was caught. In battles, I will level up your pokémon depending on the quality of your battle post.

The next day, Sam woke up to a bit of a surprise. His brother, Jack, was already in his room.

"Good morning. Dad had a business call and Mom is away shopping, so I'm the only one who was available to say good bye for everyone...so good bye. I hope you come back soon. I'll watch every minute of the league!" his brother said, smiling.

"Thanks...and I will be back. Soon. But now...I need to get going. Not much time either...well...see ya!" Sam said. He was already dressed going in to bed. He was out of the door.

Outside, he was already running. He loved being back, and all, but this wasn't what he was supposed to be doing. He should have already been gone when Jack got there.

"Crap crap CRAP!" Sam yelled, running through Pallet. He had heard one piece of information that he needed before he left. The Viridian Gym leader...he was back. Sam knew that this would be his last badge. If he won this quick enough, he'd be in the league...he couldn't let down all the support he had.

Quickly, he ran through Pallet on to route one. This place really brought back memories. He was about to run in when a voice behind him stopped him.

"Hold it! Sam, I'm here to take you DOWN!" they yelled.

"Okay...seriously? Who the hell are you?" Sam asked, confused.

"SHUT UP! You haven't forgotten me, have you?" they asked.

"Okay...seriously. WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Sam yelled back.

"Great...the damn retard forgot who I am...well...maybe you'll remember when you see my POKEMON!" they yelled.

"Oh god...another opponent? I HAVE TO GET TO VIRIDIAN DAMN IT!" Sam yelled back.

"Oh, this won't take long. 2 on 2, got it?" they asked.

"...fine. You're freaking annoying, but I've got no choice, huh? Well...IGGLY!" Sam yelled. Iggly appeared, ready for its first battle.

"Seriously? It probably has no attacks! Pathetic! Go Sandslash!" he yelled.

A Sandslash appeared, the gravel it was covered in falling off.

"Wow...a Sandslash...looks strong, too! This should be good..." Sam said, already searching for he could consider a weak point to this pokemon. He found but one, and that was how sharp its claws were. They could cause huge damage...but who said that the damage was limited to Iggly?

"Go for it! Use Scratch!" the boy yelled. Sam had a plan immediatly.

"Quick! Use Sing!" he yelled. Iggly's song reached Sandslash's ears just quick enough.

"Okay...we're gonna have to be careful now! Ram Sandslash in the stomach with anything you've got!" Sam yelled. Iggly threw its weight, but to no avail, it just bounced off. The boy laughed.

"No attacks? None at all? Sheesh! I used to consider you STRONG, Sam. Well...GET UP AND CRUSH CLAW IT!" the boy yelled. Sandslash jumped to his feet and swung a claw at Iggly. Sam knew what to do immediatly.

"GO! Duck under it!" Sam yelled. Igglybuff ducked as the claw, with all its motion, flew and hit Sandslash...in the face.

"NO! YOU WIMP! THAT'S NO ATTACK!" the boy yelled.

"Your point? It hurts your pokemon while saving mine. I see no fault there," Sam said, already looking for another point at which he could strike.

"SWIFT IT!" the boy yelled. Stars flew at Iggly, but Sam had already planned for this.

"Swallow one! Then spit it back!" Sam yelled. Iggly pulled one into its mouth, then shot it back. For some reason, it reminded Sam of a video game he had once played...

"No no no! YOU ARE NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTT fighting me! You only counter me with my OWN ATTACKS!" the boy yelled.

"So? Its still causing damage. Its a way to battle, genius. Now...go and use Sing!" Sam yelled. Iggly started singing, but the boy smirked.

"You fail! Rollout!" he yelled. Sandslash curled up and started spinning, then flew forward. This looked like a move Sam couldn't counter...until he got his best idea yet. This might be enough to knock Sandslash out!

"Jump over it!" Sam yelled. Iggly jumped over it quickly, dodging it. Sandslash seemed to expect this, as it turned around.

"COME ON! HIT IT!" the boy yelled.

"Yeah...go ahead and try. Do what you will..." Sam said, trying to egg the guy on. Sandslash flew forward, but Sam was completely prepared for such an attack.

"Go! Jump it!" he yelled. Iggly jumped up quickly, dodging the attack completely. Sandslash, however, wasn't so lucky. It was moving so fast it couldn't avoid a tree right in front of it. A large amount of damage ensued. Sandslash came out, but it was severly injured.

"Now! Hit it with everything you've got!" Sam yelled. While Sandslash was dazed, Iggly charged and hit it, knocking it over and out.

"I got beat by a pokemon with no attacks...? Woooow..." the boy said, returning his Sandslash.

"Great work Iggly! Return!" Sam yelled. Iggly quickly returned to the pokeball as Sam awaited his next opponent.

"IVYSAUR!" the boy yelled. A large pokemon appeared, covered in leaves.

"Huh...an Ivysaur? Well...Vul!" Sam yelled. His firey fox appeared, burning up. It was pumped up.

"Go! Razor Leaf!" the boy yelled. 3 leaves shot out of Ivysaur's back, but Sam was ready.

"Firewall to guard, then Quick Attack right through it to attack!" Sam yelled. Vul put up a screen of flames just quick enough to avoid the damage, then charged at full speed at Ivysaur, who was hit very hard in the stomach.

"Crap...its fast. Use Sleep Powder!" the boy yelled. Ivysaur shot a cloud of green power, which Vul quickly breathed in.

"Okay! Quickly! Use Hypnosis!" Sam yelled. Vul had just enough energy left to turn its eyes purple, putting Ivysaur to sleep as well. Both pokemon were now asleep. The boy appeared content to let his pokemon sleep, then wake up, but not Sam. He pulled out one item. An awakening!

"GO!" Sam yelled, pushing the button, causing a huge sound. Ivysaur freaked out, but Vul simply woke up. He was used to this kind of wake up call.

"Ember!" Sam yelled. Vul shot flames at Ivysaur, covering him in the fire.

"GET UP!" the boy yelled. Ivysaur started running in circles, surprised by Vul's power.

"Yep...Vul's tougher than he looks! Use Will-o-Wisp!" Sam yelled. Vul shot a blue flame at Ivysaur, who was enveloped immediatly.

"Okay...now we're gonna have to DESTROY YOU! Mix Stun Spore and Poisonpowder!" the boy yelled. Ivysaur shot a lot of powder straight forward at Vul, but Sam was prepared for an attack like this after Warren.

"Time to finish you off! Use your Tail Whip after your tail is covered in flames!" Sam yelled. Vul breathed flames on its tail and drove in, hitting Ivysaur with flames and destroying the powder.

"I think not! Vine Whip, but first, this!" the boy yelled, using a Full Restore, ruining all Sam's work.

"Dang!" Sam yelled as Vul was picked up threw Vul at a tree. Vul crashed immediatly, injuring it severly.

"Okay...now Razor Leaf it!" the boy yelled. Several leaves flew out, hitting Vul in the face and body.

"Damn! Vul, get up!" Sam yelled, trying to get Vul to move. Slowly, he stood. Vul seemed angry, annoyed and dangerous all at once.

"Ha! Its pathetic! Use Vine Whip to finish it!" the boy yelled. The vine flew towards Vul quickly, but he was ready.

"Dodge it and use Ember then Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Vul dodged right, missing the vine by inches, then lit it on fire. While Ivysaur tried to put it out, Vul charged forward, hitting Ivysaur in the stomach. It flew backwards about a foot, then stopped and charged forward out of anger.

"Go! Use Tackle to knock it out!" the boy yelled.

"Fail! Use Ember, then finish it with a jumping Ember attack!" Sam yelled. Vul shot it with flames, knocking it upwards, then jumped over it, firing more flames down, knocking it out.

"Damn it! I lost!" the boy yelled.

"Huh. You talk tough...but I still don't remember who you are," Sam said.

"My. Name. Is. TRAVIS DAMN IT!" Travis yelled.

"Your name is really Travis Damnit?" Sam asked.

"NO! My name is Travis, idiot!" Travis yelled.

"Hahaha...says you," Sam said, joking around now.

"Well...I'm gonna run now...and remember, I'm going to destroy you!" Travis yelled, running away. As he ran, he dropped something.

"Huh...a disc?" Sam said, walking up to it and picking it up. It read "Water Pulse."

"Huh...looks useful. Well, don't need him getting it back before the league. Sam had noticed the boy had an earth badge pinned onto his jacket early on in the fight but didn't acknowledge it.

"Well...on to Viridian," Sam said, walking down the the route. A little while later, Sam was there and asleep in the pokecenter, ready for the day after.

@Sasuneuchiha - Only one gym to go! Good luck!

Congratulations Sam earned a TM containing Water Pulse

Congratulations Igglybuff (Iggly) grew to Level 5 and learned Defence Curl
Congratulations Vulpix (Vul) grew to Level 24 and learned Flamethrower

Chapter..um..3? lol, Chapter 3: Toxic Trainer Surprie/ Basta*d Blaine! (lol, the best I could think of)

Jasper slowly awoke, feeling groggy, and looked around the room. It was rather small, and there was only about a few feet of walking space. Trash and clothes littered the ground, along with papers and books. There was an oak desk in the corner, with even more papers, books, and a computer on it. There was a small brown dresser, and a matching nightstand, that stood next to the small orange and red bed Jasper had, apparently, awoken on.

Jasper quickly hopped out of the bed, and, forgetting to make it, ran out of the room. Here he reached a long hall, with quite a few doors. He heard noise coming from the far-left one, so he quietly walked towards it, and opened the door. He stood inside of a huge room, that could of fit about 100 of the rooms he had awoken in. The room was covered with Pokemon dolls, punching bags, papers, and other training utensils. At the far end, a man, about 50, was talking to a Magmar, looking confident.

Suddenly, a Jigglypuff ran up to Jasper, obviously excited. "Jigglypuff!" Jasper exclaimed, and the man looked up at him, along with the Magmar. Five other Pokemon ran up to jasper, and he realized that they had been training as well.

"Jasper!" The man said, walking towards him. "Thought you would never wake up! You've been sleepin' a while now, boy!" The man laughed, and held out a hand. Noticing Jasper's confused look, he added, "I'm Blaine, the gym leader. Good Pokemon ya' got here, as soon as ya' passed out the opened that door, and ran to me! Quite surprising, too, because that don't got thumbs like us."

This explanation confused Jasper even more. "What?" He asked.

"Well," The man answered. "You were knocked out cold as a Dewgong! So your here Pokemon came an' got me. Me, being the generous man I am, came and gotcha! But...what do ya' remember, before?"

"Well", Jasper started, remembering clearly now what had happened before. "I was about to catch a Koffing, but when I threw the Pokeball, it bounced right off it. Then this little kid dressed as a ninja came running out of the Volcanic Path, shouting at me. We had a battle, he lost, after explaining that the damn Koffing was his. Then, after he lost, he punched me square in the head. I guess that's when I lost consciousness...."

"Oh," Said Blaine, smiling. "Well, guess yer all right now! I've just been doin' some trainin' with ya' Pokemon. Why don't you have some breakfast? Third door on the right."

"Sounds good", Jasper answered, and he exited the training room. "Creep. But he has a point. How DID they open the door. Well, that little ninja bit-" Jasper stopped. By now he had entered the kitchen, and opened the closet to see what there was. But now he was thinking about what there WASN'T. Different types of chips and crackers lined the walls. The closet was at least two times the size of the bedroom, which Jasper now thought was the most least important room. He grabbed something to eat (the most unique cereal, and most odd shaped pieces of toast he could find), and proceeded in his thoughts.

"I must've been out could a couple days, I'm starved! But this slowed me down, The league's coming up. Less than a week now." He took a small bite of cereal, and looked down into the bowl, stirring it around. "And then there's the battle. I remember it was two on two....so who to use? The Nidorans might help....Ditto, no. Pix? I'm not sure.... And then there's Clefairy and Jigglypuff. But I think, maybe....that the Nido's can do it. There's a feeling...if I train real hard...."

Suddenly, and rather loudly, Blaine and all of Jasper's Pokemon entered the kitchen. "Ready for the big battle!?" Blaine asked enthusiastically.

"Well," Jasper started, but Blaine stopped him.

"I knew you would be! Let's go to the arena, quite the place..."

"Blaine!" Jasper said, a little louder then he'd meant to. " I need to decide what I'm doing first. A strategy, you know?" Blaine paused for a second, and then burst out laughing.

"Strategy?!" He asked, still laughing. "Who needs strategy? Pure force is where it's at! But if you must....you have a half hour, thirty minutes, to "strategize"." With that, Blaine walked out of the room, leaving jasper alone with his Pokemon.

"Well guys," Jasper said to his six Pokemon. "I think I'm using the Nido's. They seem like they can do it, and they don't get much glory these days." He nodded towards Nidoran and Nidoran. They smiled, and ran up to hug him.



"Okay, Blue, use Growl, and Guy use Leer!", Jasper shouted. They were training in the training room against PBS's, Pokemon Battling Simulators. "You guys have to lower the stats first, being at such a huge level disadvantage. So while you are using Growl, Leer, Focus Energy, or Tail Whip, you have to be dodging the attacks, while affecting the opponent! It's a double battle, so you guys have to work together. Good Growl!" Jasper was excited for the battle, but a little nervous as well. They were at a rather large disadvantage. "Okay, after the stats aer lowered, you're going to want to hit hard. Focus on your target, then fire!If you are in good range, Peck or Scratch is a good resort, other wise use Double Kick or Poison Sting." The two Pokemon continued in their training, as Jasper and his other Pokemon whooped, clapped, and cheered them on. Fifteen minutes later, Jasper decided to go check out the arena.

He and his six Pokemon walked quietly to the door at the end of the hall, and Jasper slowly opened it. He looked around, amazed. The arena was built as part of the volcano, so huge rocks were spread around the field, joined by various sized pools of lava. "Okay," Jasper said to the Nidos. "We are going to want to use the arena, and the rocks can be a big help. We have Double kick to push off the ground into the air, so we can jump a decent height. We can use this advantage to dodge, and hit with Poison Sting. Okay?" The two Nidos nodded, and smiled. "Ready? GO!"

The Female Nidoran, Blue, ran quickly into the arena, and hid amongst the huge rocks. Meanwhile, Guy, the male, had managed to jump up onto a rock, using Double Kick. He spotted Blue, and quickly jumped down, landing on all fours in front of her and using Leer, followed by a hard Peck. Blue winced in pain, but then remembered what Jasper had said. "If you're close enough, hit with..." Blue quickly flung out her claws, and swiped Guy across the face, following it with a Growl, then a Tail Whip. With Guy's stats lowered, she jumped up, and came down on him hard with a Double Kick. Guy flung back by the force of the kicks, and hit a rock with a sharp THUD! Suddenly, he seemed to glow a little, a faint white light pulsing from his body. He jumped up and pecked Blue right in the chest, followed immediately by a Double Kick. "Focus Energy!",Jasper exclaimed, as the two raged on with Double Kick's, Peck's, Scratch's, and Poison Sting's.

Then, rather quickly, Guy was thrown back by a hard Scratch, and Blaine entered, coincidentally at the same time. Jasper returned the Nidos and his other Pokemon, and turned to Blaine. Jasper hadn't realized how quick the battle had gone, even though it had taken nearly 15 minutes. Blue had obviously won in the end, leaving Guy knocked out. "Excuse me Blaine, I need to...er...heal my Pokemon." Jasper said.

"Sure thing!" Blaine said happily, and opened the door for Jasper. Apparently he thought he was going to win, if not more than that. "Heh heh, you'll see", Jasper thought as he entered the training room, where the healing machine was.


(OOC: it didn't space out when I copied it...:()

Sam woke up the next morning already prepared for a battle. He had prepared his team right as he had fallen asleep. Pika was a poor idea, as it was a ground gym. Pidg was a bad choice as well, seeing as there were rock types that were ground hybrids. Iggly simply didn't have the strength. He had Vul, Cloy and Umbre. He knew that Cloy had the types and Umbre would be good against anything that had a poison sub type. Vul had speed and no obvious disadvantage, but as it now knew Flamethrower, he had a promise to fufill. He grabbed Vul's pokeball and threw him out.

"Vul?" Vul growled, appearing.

"Hey, Vul. Remember Blaine?" Sam asked. Vul nodded.

"Yeah. I made a promise to him. I said that after you learned Flamethrower, I'd see if you were ready to evolve. Are you ready?" Sam asked.

Vul stood still for a few minutes, aparently thinking. Then, all of a sudden, Vul nodded and nudged Sam's bag. The Fire Stone fell out.

"Okay, then. HA!" Sam yelled, touching Vul with the stone. Vul started to glow. He grew in size, then two new tails appeared. Slowly, the light faded. A golden fox pokemon stood in its place.

"Wow...you evolved...into a Ninetails...I think you need a new name then. How 'bout...Nine?" Sam asked. Nine nodded, confirming Sam's name.

"Great! Well, I hope you'll be ready for our upcoming battle," Sam said, returning Nine to his ball. He grabbed another one and threw it. Cloy came out.

"Cloy?" it seemed to ask why Sam had sent it out.

"Hey, Cloy. I know its sudden, but do you want to learn a new move?" Sam asked. Cloy nodded.

"Great. I got this TM and I don't want it to be used against me, so I want to teach it to you," Sam said.

"Cloy!" Cloy said, opening its shell more so Sam could use the TM.

"Ha!" Sam yelled, putting the disc on Cloy's head. A few minutes passed as the disc seemed to gain energy. Suddenly, it cracked in two. Sam grabbed the pieces as quickly as he could. Slipping them into his bag, he returned Cloy to the ball saying, "Good. Get ready for a difficult battle."

Walking out of the pokecenter, Sam headed straight for the gym. It was large and just like before. Sam walked inside, ready for the toughest fight of his life.

"Hello?" he yelled.

"Hey. What are you doing in here? Kids aren't allowed inside!" a voice yelled back.

"I'm here to take the gym leader down and get my last badge," Sam yelled.

"Huh. Well...I guess this is a fair reason. Alright..." the voice said, jumping down a ledge.

"My name's Warren. I'm the gym leader here. Ready for the toughest fight of you life?" Warren asked.

"Sure! Let's do it...Cloy!" Sam yelled. Cloy appeared, ready for a tough fight.

"Huh. It'll be 3 on 3, so go Rhyhorn!" Warren yelled. A huge rhino-like pokemon appeared. It was made entirely of stone.

"Well...Icicle Spear!" Sam yelled. Cloy shot three spears of ice at Rhyhorn, but Warren seemed unphazed.

"Use Fury Attack!" Warren yelled. Rhyhorn used its horn to bust all the spears.

"Damn it! You're tough...use Aurora Beam!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired a beam at Rhyhorn, who again seemed ready.

"Use Horn Attack!" Warren yelled. Rhyhorn charged through the beam and broke it, then was about to crash into Cloy.

"Quick! Protect!" Sam yelled. Cloy covered itself in a green barrier just in time. Rhyhorn bounced off a couple of feet and then skidded to a stop. It had actually hurt itself with the attack.

"Wow...talk about power. It hurt itself with an attack...time for some real moves! Toxic Spikes!" Sam yelled. Cloy shot a ring of purple spikes, surrounding Rhyhorn.

"Hm...no attack's gonna get me out of this..." Warren said quietly.

"Now! Water Pulse!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired a large ball of water at Rhyhorn, who was hit dead in the face. It fell back on its side and the spikes, poisoning it.

"Now! Finish it with one more Water Pulse!" Sam yelled. One more blast flew out, hitting Rhyhorn in the face. It stood, shook a little, then fell to the ground, defeated.

"You did it!" Sam said, congratulating Cloy. Cloy simply smiled.

"Well...odd combo. Well...good match. Send out another pokemon," Warren said, realizing Cloy must be tired at this point.

"Right...return. Go Nine!" Sam yelled, throwing out another pokeball. Nine appeared in its newly evolved form. It was ready for its first real fight as an evolved pokemon.

"Hmm...I could use her, but nah. Cubone!" Warren yelled, throwing out a pokemon of his own. A small pokemon with a skull head appeared.

"Let's go! Try out your Flamethrower!" Sam yelled. Nine jumped up and shot a huge jet of flame at Cubone. It was about to hit when Cubone did something odd. It charged straight in. It took Sam a second to realize just how bad for him this was.

"Now! Headbutt!" Warren yelled. Cubone flew forward and hit Nine in the face. He flew backwards, but Nine wasn't going to give up just like that.

"Hm...this isn't going to be easy. When it does that, the skull displaces the fire causing no damage. I could probably hit it if I used a combonation, but...nah. There're easier ways. I just have to get it in a little pain...burning should do. Then if I can get it asleep..." Sam planned in his head.

"Hm? No attack? Then eat this! Bonemerang!" Warren yelled. Cubone threw the bone in its hand, hitting Nine once on the way through. Nine had just recovered when it flew through again, hitting it once more.

"Ouch...that's a painful attack..." Sam said. At this point, he was waiting for an opening that he was certain would come.

"Why aren't you fighting back?! Use Bone Club!" Warren yelled. Cubone charged forward.

"Now! Will-o-Wisp!" Sam yelled. Nine shot blue flames at Cubone, instantly burning it.

"No!" Warren yelled, confused by this sudden strategy.

"Now! Hypnosis!" Sam yelled. Nine's eyes turned purple, causing Cubone to sway, then fall asleep.

"Now! FLAMETHROWER!" Sam yelled. Nine shot a jet of flames at Cubone, who had no defense at this point. It flew back into a wall, which woke it up.

"Crap! Well...no more options. Use Bone Club with everything you've got!" Warren yelled.

"Time for a real clash! Cover yourself in flames with Flamethrower, then use Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Nine shot a jet of flame in front of it, then charged through it. Cubone flew forward, swinging its bone wildly. The two clashed and flew to opposite sides. A few seconds went by.

"Come on! Stay up!" both trainer yelled at once. They stood a little longer, then Cubone fell on its face.

"You did it, Nine!" Sam yelled.

"Damn...good job. Its been a while since I've had this much fun! Well...one more pokemon, I guess. Come on out! Nidoqueen!" Warren yelled. A huge, blue pokemon appeared, ready for a real duel.

"Huh. While I'd love to take you with Nine, that firey tackle isn't without its price. Return, Nine," Sam said, returning his latest champion.

"What kind of pokemon could you be using next? I expected something weak from you, but you haven't dissapointed me yet! Those were anything but what I expected. I just wonder what kind of pokemon you could have on you now..." Warren said, ready for a good final fight.

"You won't be dissapointed! Umbre!" Sam yelled, releasing his final and most powerful pokemon. Umbre appeared, ready for a fight at long last.

"An Umbreon? I'd be scared if it was an Espeon, but...you aren't gonna take me with that! Use Double Kick!" Warren yelled. Nidoqueen jumped forward with amazing speed and kicked out at Umbre, knocking it back into the wall.

"Ouch...use Shadow Ball!" Sam yelled. Umbre shot a black blob at Nidoqueen, who was hit yet unphazed.

"Pathetic! Use Scratch!" Warren yelled. Nidoqueen leaned in and was about to throw in a claw when Sam was ready to counter.

"Now! Iron Tail on its hand, then spin and hit it in the side!" Sam yelled. Umbre slammed Nidoqueen's hand, pushing it back into its body and immediatly spun and knocked it backwards into the ground.

"Now! Show it your Psychic!" Sam yelled.

"What?! It knows Psychic?!" Warren yelled, amazed by Sam's move variety.

"Yep! Crush it, then use Pursuit!" Sam yelled. Energy flew in, injuring Nidoqueen and Umbre flew forward and hit it, now covered in dark energy. Nidoqueen flew backwards, but it wasn't injured badly. It appeared to want revenge now.

"Go! Slam it with your tail!" Warren yelled, using Nidoqueen's hate and energy, he was preparing to take Umbre down with just a few hits. Nidoqueen slammed her tail down, causing Umbre to become unsettled and fall.

"Ouch! Stay strong, Umbre!" Sam yelled.

"I wish it luck after...this! Body Slam!" Warren yelled. Nidoqueen jumped up and fell, hard. A large amount of damage later, both pokemon stood. Both were injured severly.

"Well...time to finish it! Psychic to hold it up, then Pursuit to finish it!" Sam yelled.

Umbre's energy grabbed and held Nidoqueen up and then charged forward, covered in energy. This attack was aparently one too many, as Nidoqueen hit the ground.

"Its over...damn. Well, good fight! I'm glad I got such a good round out of you!" Warren said, smiling.

"Same! This is the last badge..." Sam said quietly.

"Yeah. Here...the Earthbadge!" Warren said, handing Sam a badge.

"Thanks...I'd love to stick around...but I need to get moving!" Sam yelled, running out the door. He would have loved to talk, but the tournament was starting any day now and he didn't want to be left out. He headed straight for the route to the league...

@King! - Good luck in your battle with Blaine!

Congratulations Nidoran♀ grew to Level 15

@Sasuneuchiha - Congratulations on becoming the third person to finish the Kanto Gym Challenge! I hope this covers everything...

Congratulations Vulpix (Vul) evolved into Ninetales (Nine) and can now learn Safeguard. However, Nine already knows 8 moves, should a move be deleted? (Reply in OOC thread)

Congratulations Cloyster learned Water Pulse

Congratulations Sam earned his eighth and final badge, the Earth Badge!

Congratulations Cloyster (Cloy) grew to Level 17
Congratulations Ninetales (Nine) grew to Level 25
Congratulations Umbreon (Umbre) grew to Level 30 and can now learn Confuse Ray. However Umbre already knows 8 moves, should a move be forgotten? (reply in OOC thread)

@I, Scream - Wow, and I thought the path to the league would be relatively uneventful... :P

"Venonat, you're up!" Warren grinned as the boy gaped at the bug's glowing blue eyes.

"Impressed? You should be...Venonat is more than good enough to take down that cactus."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Cacnea, let's start with Sandstorm!" Cacnea grinned, whipping its arms about madly as a wild stream of sand blew out of its mouth, forming into an angry yet localised storm which enveloped the entire ring. Warren looked up, blinking as Venonat glanced around blindly.

"Now, Mega Punch!" Warren just smirked, despite the fact that he could barely see Venonat and Cacnea was completely invisible.

"Dodge it, Venonat!" Venonat glanced up and jumped, timing it perfectly as Cacnea burst out of the stream of sand, only to miss completely. Venonat, thanks to its impressive eyes, had been mostly unaffected by the loss of visibility.

"Now, let's use Confusion on the sandstorm!" Venonat grinned, its eyes glowing blue. Quickly, the flying grains of sand glowed similarly, then slowed to a stop, before flying together to form a whirling ball of sand over Venonat's head. The other trainer raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive..."

"Now, take down that Cacnea!" Venonat grinned, jumped into the air, then swung its arms forwards, sending the whirling ball of sand flying at the Cactus. Cacnea squealed as it burst against its skin, sending it flying backwards before skidding to a halt, still on its feet.

"You'll need more than that to take down Cacnea. Show them your Hidden Power!" Cacnea grinned, then screeched as tiny balls of light appeared and began to circle its body.

"Fine, Venonat, use Tackle!" Cacnea just smirked as Venonat barrelled towards it, lowering its arms. The balls of light flew towards Venonat, bursting into flames, before striking it head on and throwing it back. Venonat screeched in pain and Warren cursed. Cacnea must be able to use a Fire-type Hidden Power.

"Hidden Power again!"
"Confusion!" Cacnea once again summoned the balls of light, but they froze halfway across the ring, before spinning around and striking Cacnea head on. The cactus screeched, barely hanging on.

"Alright, let's finish this! Sludge Bomb and Confusion, together!" Venonat raised its hands, a small ball of foul poison materialising between them. Suddenly, it split, becoming two, then four, then eight smaller pellets. Cacnea grimaced, knowing it was already beaten. Venonat threw its arms forwards and the projectiles catapulted towards Cacnea, Confusion guiding them to circle around it, before smashing it to strike from every direction at once. The boy gasped as Cacnea screeched, then stumbled, before falling flat on its face.

"Alright!" Warren grinned as the other boy returned Cacnea.

"Good battle."

"Yeah, whatever....Danny? Where are you?...Not again!" Warren glanced around, but Danny had once again disappeared.

"Mankey, Fury Swipes!" Warren spun around to see Danny commanding his Mankey against a Staravia. He grinned as claws flashed and the bird fell to the floor in a flurry of feathers.

"Hey, Danny!" The younger trainer glanced round.

"Yeah, we're having a six on six so this might take a while." Warren rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I reckon I'm going to head off though. I want to get settled in there and check out the battlefield and the opponents first." Danny shrugged.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, probably. See you." Warren spun, nodded to the other trainer, the headed to the door, squinting at the bright sunlight. Time to head to the league!

@Screw The Rules - Nice post, time to head for the league now!

Congratulations Venonat grew to Level 16

OOC: Okay guys I will have the league info up this afternoon... can't wait!

Sam charged back to the pokecenter. As much as he hated to admit it, Iggly wasn't ready for something like this. Immediatly, he headed for a phone. Dialing Maple's number, she picked up quicker than usual.

"Why in the hell did you stick me with this Gyarados?!" Maple screamed.

"Because...I know you're the only one can help him...he's been with me a long time...please don't let me down, Maple..." Sam said quietly.

"Very well...by the way. Why did you call?" she asked, a bit calmer now.

"I know that you're gonna hate me for it, but I need you to watch another pokemon...don't worry. Nothing like Gyara. A baby pokemon, to be exact. Iggly," Sam said.

"Ah! Sweet little Iggly? But why? You love her so!" Maple said, a look of happiness across her face.

"She's just not cut out for this kind of fighting. She's too young...and she has no attacks...I hate to say it, but she's not ready...yet. Don't worry, I'll be going in with six pokemon...there're pokemon on the way there...I'll catch the best one I see!" Sam said, smiling.

"Well...okay. I'm ready to pick up now," Maple said, killing the connection. Sam placed Iggly's pokeball in the scanner.

"I'll miss you Iggly, but don't worry. We'll have you in top shape again as soon as I'm done at the tournament," Sam said, placing the ball in the transporter. It dissapeared and Sam left the pokecenter.

He was about to take off when suddenly, Pika's pokeball burst open.

"Pika!" Pika cried, appearing.

"Hey, Pika. Looks like you aren't gonna settle for being in the ball...well, hop on," Sam said, lowering his shoulder. Pika jumped up and climbed to his head, sitting down.

"Let's go, then!" Sam yelled, charging forward. Together, the two made their way through the entire grassy route to a more rocky path.

"Okay, Pika...I guess we're gonna have to go up this way. Well...I'd love to keep you out, but I don't think its for the best...so return," Sam said, shooting Pika's pokeball light out at it.

Sam was now running up the rocky path looking forward to the league. This would be the biggest challenge of his life...and he was ready. The path was long and arduous, but Sam persevered through it all. He was almost there when he...tripped.

"What the hell?" he asked aloud. He had tripped over a rock, which was connected to another rock...connected to another rock...connected to about 50 more rocks. Suddenly, Sam realized what he had done. He's woken a huge Onix up.

"Oh crap...back away...slowly...RUN!" he yelled, but it was too late. The Onix was up and roaring.

"Well...hey. You're pretty tough. I promised Maple I'd be ready...so UMBRE!" Sam yelled. Umbre flew out of the ball, ready for a battle.

"ON!" Onix screeched, bringing its tail down towards Umbre. Sam realized the only way to defeat Onix was to use a combonation of physical and special attacks, which would give it little chance to cause damage if done properly.

"Go! Use Psychic to hold off its tail!" Sam yelled. Umbre focused its energy just quick enough, grabbing the tail with psychic energy and using it to toss Onix helplessly backwards. Onix, however, appeared to be ready. It twisted and turned, causing it to spin like a tornado.

"Crap... this is gonna hurt..." Sam said, realizing Umbre couldn't stop an attack this big. Instead, he realized that it wasn't gonna be dodgable, so he would have to be setup for an attack right after it.

"Take the hit, Umbre, but be ready for Iron Tail as soon as you have!" Sam yelled. Umbre stood her ground, but she was obviously ready. Onix crashed into Umbre, crushing her, but it was short lived. Sam heard a sharp slash, then Umbre flew out from under Onix. A few seconds passed, but then, Onix collapsed.

"Good job, Umbre!" Sam cried, but Umbre couldn't hear him. Onix had smashed the ground, kicking up a lot of dirt.

"OOONNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIXXXXXXX" Onix screeched, as Sam realized what was happening. Onix was using Screech. Umbre flew backwards, obviously injured by this attack.

"Crap...that's a tough move there...I love this thing even more now! Come on, Umbre! Show it an Iron Tail combo! Use Iron Tail, then charge through with Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Umbre's tail started to glow, then she charged forward. While normally a physical attack wouldn't have done much to Onix, but the extra speed gave it quite the edge. Onix was hit powerfully, falling over once more.

"Great move Umbre!" Sam congratulated happily. Umbre seemed to smile for a second, but it was quickly cut off by a flying rock.

"Umbre...ON!" Umbre screeched, charging forward with Quick Attack. Onix brought down its tail, but it wasn't fast enough to hit Umbre, who was flying across the turf at high speed.

"Hmm...that's a good move...switch to Pursuit now!" Sam yelled. Umbre immediatly coated itself in darkness. It charged up towards Onix's face and hit it, knocking it backwards.

"Yeah! Good job...whoa!" Sam yelled as Onix quickly reacted. It gripped Umbre with its tail and started squeezing it mercilessly.

"Crap. We're done if we don't do this right. We've got one shot, Umbre! Use Shadow Ball to hit it, then wriggle free!" Sam yelled. Umbre charged, then fired a blob of dark energy. Onix was hit and then fell over. Umbre, however, got free.

"Great! Use everything you have to hold it still with Psychic, then hit it once more with Pursuit!" Sam yelled. Umbre stood and focused. Suddenly, Onix flew a couple of feet off the ground, helpless.

"Now finish it!" Sam yelled. Umbre flew forward and hit Onix one last time. The mix of the hit and the fall made Onix fall over, extrememly injured and tired.

"Now! Pokeball!" Sam yelled. He threw the red and white ball at the injured Onix. Onix flew in as Sam waited to see if things worked out. While he waited, he noticed something. A boy his age was making his way towards him.

@Sasuneuchiha - The ball slowly wriggled from side to side, before stopping and letting out an audible 'ping'... signifying a succesful capture.

Congratulations Sam caught a Level 13 Onix

Chapter 4: Nidoran, Nidoran, Nido-WHAT!?



Jasper stepped up onto the large battle field, and stared at Blaine about fifty yards across from him. It was the biggest of the seven battling fields Jasper had battled gym leaders on so far, and covered with lava pools and giant rock pillars. "Are ya' ready to lose thar', Jasper?" The gym leader, Blaine asked, chuckling to himself.

"About as ready as a Miltank with no MooMooMilk!" Jasper answered, smirking.

"Alrighty then!" Blaine replied. "Now, it's a two on two battle, no switching in or out, only two Pokemon may be used, once one trainer's Pokemon are both knocked out, the other is the victor! Got it? GOOD!" At that moment, Blaine threw out two Pokeballs. One contained a Ninetails, a fox like Pokemon with, well, nine tails. The other was the Magmar Jasper had saw earlier, a red and yellow Pokemon with flames all over its body.

"Sure thing, Blaine!" Jasper said as he sent out two Pokemon- both of his Nidoran's, codenamed Blue and Guy, that he had trained about five minutes prior. Both of Blaine's Pokemon fired a long beam of fire straight at the Nidos, but they quickly jumped out of the way. "Remember what I said!" Jasper called. Both of his Pokemon used their stat-lowering move, Guy with Leer and Blue with Tail Whip. Then both used Double Kick and jumped up into the air onto a rock pillar, both just missing a Confuse Ray. Jasper couldn't see them anymore, and he hoped they were okay....

Meanwhile, up on the pillars, the Nidos were discussing their plan. "You try to hit them with Poison Sting, and keep moving around." Guy said. "I'll charge up Focus Energy, then I'll join you. Eventually, they'll find us, so when they do, use physical attacks. If one of us gets hurt to badly, hide. Okay? Oh, and, try to hit Ninetails, you have Rivalry. Good luck." Guy jumped off of the pillar he was on and on to another.

"Okay," Blue said to herself. She glanced down at the opponents, who were firing Ember's and Flamethrower's every which way. "Well, here goes." She fired small blue pellets out of her mouth, and they rained down on the two Pokemon, who paused in pain for a moment, then looked up. Blue jumped out of eyesight just in time.

"Hmmm..." Blaine said aloud. "Smash down the pillars!"

"Oh no!" The Nidos and Jasper all thought at once, as one of the pillars came smashing down. Guy jumped off his pillar, fully charged up, and just in time, for the pillar he was on came crashing down almost as soon as he had jumped. He looked down at the opponents, who were quickly smashing down all of the pillars with Fire Pucnhes, Quick Attacks, and Faint Attacks. Soon enough, all of the pillars would be gone- and then the real battle would start. As Guy started thinking of plans, Blue jumped on his pillar. He looked around, and to his horror, realized what had happened. They were stuck on the last pillar, 50 feet from the ground, and about to fall to their doom.

Suddenly, they were hit. Two hard attacks smashed into the side of the pillar, and it came crashing down. Jasper looked up at his to Pokemon, rushing towards the ground, holding on to each other, about to call them back and forfeit the match, when suddenly, they started shining. 'What the-?" Jasper muttered, as the big ball of light landed on the ground, fading away to reveal two completely different Pokemon. He smiled. They had evolved, and had grown at least twice their original size. But before Jasper could say anything, the large pillar crashed down in front of them, blocking his view.

Meanwhile, the four Pokemon were brawling hard. Poison Stings and fire flew everywhere, Scratches, Pecks, Kicks, Quick and Faint Attacks. Everything kept missing the swift Pokemon, though, until finally, a Quick Attack jammed into Nidorino's side, and Nidorina hit Ninetails with a powerful Double Kick. Nidorino toppled over, Ninetails winced and ran away, and Magmar followed. Nidorina bent over Nidorino.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Nidorino jumped up, smiling. "Poisoned."

"What?" Nidorina asked confused.

"Poison Point, Ninetails is poisoned." Nidorino answered. "Guess we have to chase after them." Nidorina looked up, towards the way the had run.

"A maze. That's what this is, now. The stone pillars have made a maze, and surely there'll be lava pools to get over", Nidorina said, heading after them. Nidorino followed, and the two of them walked forward until they reached a fork in the maze. "I'll take left." Nidorina said. Nidorino obeyed, and headed towards the right. He walked on until he reached another fork. He took right again, and kept going. This time, though, when he reached the end, there was a pool of lava. Using Double Kick, Nidorino jumped over the lava pool and reached some-what of a clearing.

It was a little circle, surrounded by more pillars. To Nidorino's surprise, the small figure of Ninetails lay, slumped on the ground. "Poison'" He muttered. Suddenly, something grabbed him from behind. Magmar. "Let go!" Nidorino yelled, but Magmar pushed him up against the wall.

"It ends here, little guy." Magmar said, grinning. He raised a closed fist, a fist on fire, and was about to swing when a flash of blue hit him square in the chest, knocking him down. It was Nidorina.

"Well talk about fancy entrances." Nidorino said, amazed.

Nidorina rolled her eyes. "Not time for that, the Magmar'll eventually dye of poison, but you stay here and fight it. I'll go get the two trainers." She said, and ran off.

Surely enough, after a few minutes, Magmar twitched. It stood up. "HOW DARE YOU LITTLE!!!" He lunged at Nidorino with a Fire Punch, but Nidorino ducked and kicked him hard, twice, with Double Kick. He jumped up and turned towards Magmar, coming in for a Peck, when suddenly, Magmar turned around and launched a big Flamethrower, straight at Nidorino. Nidorino was thrown back, flames engulfing its whole body, and slowly lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, Nidorina was leading Jasper and Blaine back to the area with the pool of lava, following a trail she had made with small poison needles. Eventually, about ten minutes later, Nidorina, Blaine, and Jasper reached the clearing. There lay Ninetails, Nidorino, and Magmar, all unconscious. Jasper privately smiled to himself, realizing he had won. Blaine and Jasper recalled their Pokemon, and ran out of the maze.

Twenty minutes later, Blaine and Jasper were sitting at the dining table, their Pokemon resting in their pokeballs. "I'm impressed." Blaine said, smiling. "I seriously thought this 'training' was a bunch of Bologna. You deserve this." He held out the badge in and set it on the table in front of Jasper.

"Thanks..." Jasper said, staring at his seventh badge.

"And now, I owe you one. You saved my Pokemon, or at least your little Nidorina did. So, is there anything I can do for you?" Blaine asked.

"Well, there is one thing....." Jasper replied.

@King! - Wow, that was an intersting way of presenting a Gym battle... very unique :)

Congratulations Jasper earned a Volcano Badge

Congratulations Nidoran♀ grew to Level 17 and evolved into Nidorina
Congratulations Nidoran♂ grew to Level 17 and evolved into Nidorino

@I, Scream - Hmm... questionable ethics on Sean's part... but, meh :P

Yay, the first one to reach the Indigo Plateau!

OOC: joint post from me and sasuneuchiha :D

Sam looked up. There was a boy coming his way. Normally, he'd have been off without a word, but this was different. This was a boy he'd seen before.

"Long time no see...Warren," he said. Warren glanced at him, trying to decide whether to greet him in a friendly or insulting manner. Eventually, he settled for friendly.

"Oh, it's you." Or at least, friendly for him.

"Yeah. Me. So...I assume the reason you're here...the league? By the way...are you worried about something? You just have a...look in your eyes that makes me think you're worried," Sam said. Warren shrugged dismissively.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look it. Come on, you can tell me. If it's about a pokemon, I can feel your pain. You remember Gyara, right?" Sam asked. Warren glanced at him.

"No, I actually forgot about the giant terrifying water dragon," he replied sarcastically. Glancing down the path, he gestured down the route.

"Shouldn't we be going?"

"I suppose. Well, Gyara's sick. He got attacked by a Tentacruel and got Toxic Spikes in places they should never be. Anyway, he's undergoing treatment now. He'll be good to go...right after the league. In the meantime, I did find a replacement..." Sam said, starting down the path again. Warren raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"I suppose I could show you. Cloy! Come out!" Sam said, throwing out the Pokeball Cloy was held on. His Cloyster came out, ready for battle.

"Calm down, Cloy. This isn't a battle. This is Warren," Sam said, introducing his pokemon to his companion. Warren eyed it up.

"I'm guessing the shell's pretty good for defence, huh? That probably makes up for the low mobility...hey, that reminds me, I've made a capture as well." Dipping his hand into his pocket, Warren released Elekid onto the path. It glanced around, stretching.

"Ele?"

"An Elekid...interesting. So. I'm guessing some of your other pokemon have evolved? I'm certain your Ghastly has...though I'm not sure about your other pokemon. Poliwag...maybe. Anyway, not much on my team has changed...other than this!" Sam said, throwing out Nine's Pokeball.

"Remember my Vulpix? Well he got a hell of a lot stronger now..." Sam said happily. Warren glanced at the large, elegant fox.

"I'm not worried. Poliwag destroyed Blaine's Ninetales and that was before he evolved. Gastly's a Haunter now, and then, of course, there's my main powerhouse..." Warren tossed another Pokeball, releasing a giant pitcher plant.

"Victreebel!"

"Nine is nothing like Blaine's Ninetales. It took Blaine's Ninetales as a Vulpix. As a Ninetales, it knows many more powerful attacks. Your Victreebel, though it looks quite powerful, wouldn't have a chance against Nine. So. You've revealed...4 of your team members? I've shown two...to keep it fair, I'll show you two more...including their strength! Go! Umbre! Pidg!" Sam yelled. His two pokemon flew out of their balls, but they were followed by another. Pika.

"Dang. That's 5, huh? Well, this is the team you remember with a new member..." Sam said. Warren glanced around the rest of Sam's team.

"Yeah...It's Elekid, Victreebel, Poliwhirl..." Warren released the tadpole, "Haunter..." with a swirl of gas, the huge ghost appeared, "and you remember these two. Cubone and Venonat!" With two final flashes of light, the bug and the rodent appeared. Warren glanced around at the eleven pokemon.

"Go on, then. Who's your last team member?"

"I'd love to tell you, but that's kinda a secret now. I just attempted a capture, but I'm still waiting...I need something to do while I wait...ideas?" Sam asked. Warren glanced around. Sure enough, a ball was still rocking madly back and forth on the ground.

"Damn, that pokemon does not want to stay still...I'm guessing you've got all your badges now?"

"Yeah. A rather impatient Onix in my opinion. That's what it is. Anyway, I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I had an Igglybuff on me not long ago, but I left it with Maple since it has no attacks...anyway, yeah. I still need ideas for while we wait, assuming you want to stick around," Sam said. Warren shrugged.

"I've got nothing else to do...an Igglybuff suits you, though."

"Why do you say that?" Sam asked. Warren rolled his eyes.

"You know, I'm not sure if it's worth making witty banter if no-one ever gets the joke."

Sam laughed. "You know, that was funnier than your joke. Sorry, but it's true. Anyway, that stupid ball's still shaking! God! How long does it take to seal a pokemon in a Pokeball? Grr...so. Bored. Need. Something. To. Do," Sam said, getting sick of the never ending hell that Onix was giving him. Warren sighed.

"Well...how about a contest of some kind? Not a battle, but a competition instead."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Of what sort?" he asked. Warren shrugged.

"I dunno. Like... a race...a strength competition...you know, that sort of thing."

"Well. We could have a race, but since 3 of my pokemon know Quick Attack, that wouldn't be fair. By the way. If you have a Poliwhirl and I saw before you have a Water Stone, why haven't you evolved it?" Sam asked. Warren grinned.

"Who said anything about the Pokemon? Anyway, I'm waiting for the same reason you didn't evolve Vulpix the second you could. If I evolve Poliwhirl now, he'll never be able to learn Hydro Pump or Mud bomb."

"Hm. Good point...anyway, if you really wanna get your Victreebel ready for the league and all the fire types you're bound to see, how about a practice round against my Nine? He's lacking battle practice in his new form...wanna have a 2 on 2 battle?" Sam asked. He was sick of waiting and needed a distraction. Warren glanced at Victreebel.

"I guess so. But if I'm pitting Victreebel against your Ninetales, then the second round should be Elekid against Cloyster, to make it fair."

"Sure. Cloy needs training...so let's go!" Sam yelled. Nine stepped forward, ready for a battle. Sam picked up the Pokeball and moved it, as it could be destroyed as it shook.

"Let's do this, Warren! I'm here to show you that I am NOT afraid to finish a match!" Sam yelled, remembering their last battle. Warren rolled his eyes.

"No need to be all confrontational... Victreebel, you're up first." The giant plant hopped forwards, its leaf flapping up and down. Warren glanced over to Sam.

"You ready?"

"Yeah! Let's do this! Show 'em your Flamethrower, Nine!" Sam yelled. Nine fired a jet of flame dead at Victreebel. Sam was excited when he noticed something. The Pokeball had just pinged.

"I DID IT!" Sam yelled, grabbing the now motionless Pokeball. Ignoring the small melodrama, Warren barked out an order.

"Drop and roll, Victreebel!" The plant flattened it self against the floor and spun to the side, missing the main jet but still suffering a thin streak of flame that licked against its yellow side. Victreebel spun back upright, hissing in pain.

"Nice dodge! Now, let's use Sleep Powder!" Victreebel bent down, pointing its mouth at Ninetales, then exhaled deeply, sending a thick cloud of blue powder gusting out of its throat.

"Er...quick! Safeguard!" Sam yelled, remembering Nine's new move. A green light enveloped Nine, causing the blue powder to simply stop right there, not getting to him.

"Great work! Will-o-Wisp!" he yelled. Nine shot a blue flame down its throat at Victreebel, who was obviously ready for such an attack. It easily got out of the way without Warren saying anything.

"Dang...thing's strong..." Sam said, not realizing that Nine's green barrier had gone down and the powder was now entering his system.

"Go! Flamethrower!" Sam yelled. Nothing happened.

"What the hell?" he asked, looking at Nine. Suddenly, he realized that the barrier was down and that Nine was asleep.

"Crap...it got through..." Sam said quietly.

"Alright, great work, Victreebel! Let's use its rest to our advantage - use Stockpile!" Victreebel screeched, then bent down to the ground and began to chow down on the greenery, hoovering up plant life at a huge speed before rearing back up, a bulge in its throat.

"Now, Stockpile again!" Once more, Victreebel attacked the shrubbery, the bulge of food in its neck growing with each passing second. Warren grinned. The longer Victreebel could keep doing this, the more powerful its attack would be when it came.

"NINE! Wake up! NOW!" Sam yelled to no avail. Nine remained asleep with no change.

"I can't believe I have no choice," Sam said, grabbing the awakening he'd used before out of his bag. Plugging one ear, he pulled the button. A huge noise ensued. Nine jumped up, ready for another round now.

"Let's go! Flamethrower!" Sam yelled. Nine shot a jet of flame directly at Victreebel, who was still stockpiling. Warren gasped as Victreebel was struck head on and thrown backwards, barely hanging on to consciousness. What to do now? He could order Victreebel to swallow and heal up, but that might not get it completely ready, leaving him at a disadvantage. On the other hand, if he ordered a Spit Up, he could do some decent damage after two stockpiles, but Victreebel would be left in serious trouble.

"Alright...Victreebel...use.....SPIT UP!" Victreebel screeched once more, then bent down and quickly squeezed its throat muscles. With a wet popping sound, a large ball of half-chewed vegetation fired from the plant's mouth and sped towards the fiery fox.

Sam got in two words before all hell broke loose. "Damn it" he whispered. After this, the ball of vegetation flew dead at Nine, hitting it dead on. Nine flew backwards into the dirt.

"Crap! And no bushes to heal up with. Time to really fight, then! Light your tail up with Flamethrower, then charge with Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Nine flipped its head and tails around and lit them up immediately. Then, it charged right at Victreebel. Warren, by rights, should have been swearing a blue streak. Except, there was one little thing.

"I've seen this trick before, Sam! Victreebel, Vine Whip yourself out of there!" Victreebel, cornered, flung out its vine, wrapping it securely around a handily placed rock before reeling it in quickly to go flying across the battlefield. Unfortunately, Ninetales were renowned for their huge, bushy tails and even Victreebel's acrobatics couldn't keep it completely out of the way. As it flew through the air, Victreebel's trailing leaves dragged through the fox's flaming tail and began to smoulder dangerously. Warren cursed.

"Alright, Stockpile!" Victreebel gave Warren a withering glare from its position in the middle of an empty grassy field. It had already chewed up all the bushes. Warren groaned, then grinned.

"Never mind, Razor Leaf, into the air!" The pitcher tilted its leaves, then flung them forwards, sending dozens of tiny leaves flying high into the air, before levelling out and beginning to drift back down.

"Now, Stockpile and Swallow!" Victreebel leapt high into the air, using its leaf to guide the small pieces of greenery into its cavernous mouth. Landing, it winced painfully from its burns, then swallowed and shook itself, eyeing up Ninetales with new energy. Warren grinned.

"Alright, bring it on!"

"Dang...no luck for me. Nothing to burn...ah well. Let's do this! Nine! Use Quick Attack to run a circle around Victreebel and use Flamethrower to kick up any fire you can!" Sam yelled. Nine charged forward and then in a circle, making a low circle of flames.

"It'll work! Now get inside!" Sam yelled. Nine charged through the flames into the circle. Sam laughed. Nine had freedom of movement with his ability, but Victreebel couldn't get out anyway short of jumping, which would put him in danger due to lack of mobility.

"Now! Give it everything you've got! FLAMETHROWER!" Sam yelled. Nine's body seemed to come alive with flame. Sam knew that this was the strongest fire attack he'd ever seen.

"GO!" Sam yelled. The jet of flame flew forward out of Nine's mouth at Victreebel. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl. Warren knew that there was no time for him to shout an order. Victreebel was on its own. But it wasn't even looking at Ninetales. Instead it was staring at the clouds, as if waiting for something. The jet of flame was just inches away when suddenly...the sun peeked out from behind the cloud. Dazzled, Warren glanced back to the battle to see Ninetales torching...the ground? Warren glanced up again as he heard a screech, seeing Victreebel flying high into the air. As it peaked, it fired a Vine Whip down towards the rock it had used earlier and swung down, barely missing the flaming grass. Releasing its vine, it landed safely on the grass a little way away from Ninetales, grinning widely as its three leaves glowed a fain green. Warren grinned. With the sunlight streaming down from above, Victreebel could use its chlorophyll for an extra boost of speed. With that, it had jumped out of the way with barely a second to spare.

"Now, time to go on the offensive, Victreebel! We need to muzzle that dog so let's use Vine Whip again to close its snout!" Victreebel grinned, firing forwards its green whip once more.

"Dang..." Sam said as the attack got through, grasping Nine's snout.

"We've got one option! Looks like you forgot, Warren! This isn't your average Ninetales! Use Hypnosis!" Sam yelled. Nine's eyes turned a deep purple colour as it locked eyes with Victreebel. Warren groaned as Victreebel blinked, its pupils shrinking to dots.

"Don't let go of that Vine Whip!" he shouted desperately. The plant turned round, nodded to him...them collapsed face first onto the ground. Warren groaned.

"Wow...your pokemon really has will power. Its kept a firm hold on Nine this whole time...I can't really use attacks like this...I guess I have no choice. Nine...its time. Quick Attack!" Sam yelled. Nine got up and charged. It was moving so fast that Victreebel, who was sleeping, was pulled behind it.

"NOW! Stop and throw it!" Sam yelled. Nine stopped immediately and threw its head around. Victreebel was whipped around and flew. Sam, despite this great attack, had miscalculated one thing. The vine was still wrapped firmly around Nine's mouth. Both went flying and crashed into the ground simultaneously, looking extremely injured. Warren gritted his teeth. Victreebel was slowly struggling and with a great effort, it pulled itself back upright.

"Alright, nice one!" he shouted. Victreebel gave a quiet little squeak, then fell over backwards. Warren smacked his palm into his forehead. The only question now was whether Ninetales could get up or not...

"If you're waiting for Nine, it's not going to be getting up. Your pokemon did much better with survival...return," Sam said, brining Nine back into its ball.

"Now, you said you wanted Cloy next? Let's go!" Sam yelled. Cloy appeared out of the Pokeball and the air got slightly colder. Sam loved the ice type, it had strength and defence. Warren was grinning too. With Elekid on his side, he should have an easy battle but, as Victreebel had just proved, type didn't mean everything.

"Alright Elekid, left's start this battle! Quick Attack and Low Kick!" Elekid grinned, then sprung forwards, charging towards the shelled pokemon at a huge speed before jumping into the air and flying forwards in a double-footed dropkick.

Cloy was hit in the face and fell backwards.

"Dang...this isn't gonna be fun...use Tackle to get up!" Sam yelled. Cloy threw its weight up and got ready to fight again.

"Great job! Now use Icicle Spear to take it out!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired off 5 spears. One dead at Elekid, then 4 more around it to prevent escape. Elekid, with no room to dodge, ducked down low and shouted out in shock as the fifth icicle flew right into the holes on its prongs and stuck fast. Warren raised an eyebrow as Elekid slapped at the freezing icicle stuck on its horns.

"Get that Cloyster with Thundershock!" he shouted and Elekid began to spin its arms...but no charge built up. Warren grimaced as he realised that the icicle was short-circuiting Elekid, preventing it from using any electrical moves.

"Never mind, Quick Attack it!" Elekid lowered its shoulder and charged once more, but Warren was worried. With Cloyster's massive shell and the big size difference, Elekid was never going to take down Cloyster with physical moves.

"Hold it!" Sam yelled. Both pokemon stopped.

"Its no fair if I did that...I don't intend to do this during the league, but don't expect something like Cloy in the league. Let me get rid of this..." Sam said, walking forward and removing the icicle from Elekid's horns.

"There. Much better...now, shall we continue? Stop its speed with Toxic Spikes!" Sam yelled. Cloy shot a few purple spikes out of its shell at the ground, where they sat, an obstacle to physical attacks. Warren looked at Sam.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Setting up the ultimate defence and making sure that there's a way for me to still get fun out of it, that's what."

"So when we get to the league, are you going to carry around a Burn Heal, just in case Flamethrower has a more lasting effect? You have to take whatever you can get in a battle and if luck throws you a chance, you take it, you don't willingly sacrifice your advantage. Besides, Toxic Spikes is hardly an ultimate defence. Watch this. Elekid, Thundershock!" The electrical type spun its arms once more, but this time, a jet of lightning flew from its horns, straight towards Cloyster.

"You know...there's this wonderful thing about water. It conducts electricity. It absorbs it all. Which means if I use Water Pulse like this...go!" Sam yelled. Cloy shot a sphere of water out, hitting the other attack and exploding, nullifying both moves.

"The attacks cancel each other. And this is nothing less than training for me. In the league, I have no mercy planned. For now, I'm working on countering electric attacks. Just had to make sure that move worked..." Sam said. Warren raised an eyebrow.

"You overlooked one thing though. In midair, the attacks will cancel each other out. But that Water Pulse splashed water all over the ground and right now, Elekid and Cloyster might as well be connected by electrical wires. Thundershock onto the water!" Elekid whirled its arms once more and shot a bolt of lightning into the water at its feet.

"See? That's a good move...the kind of thing I need to get ready for. Thing is, I know how to counter something like this. Protect!" Sam yelled. Cloy covered itself in a green barrier. The attack got there, but did nothing thanks to Sam's well timed counter.

"Now! Aurora Beam!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired a multi coloured beam at Elekid, who was no longer the one on the offensive.

"Jump, Elekid!" The small electric type leapt into the air as the ground beneath it glowed, then froze into hard, white ice. Warren growled. This was going to be difficult, especially with those spikes still littering the floor.

"Okay, Use Thundershock again! That barrier can't hold forever!" Elekid once more whirled its arms and the familiar jet of lightning soared towards Cloyster.

"Okay then! Let's use Icicle Spear to hold it off!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired 3 spears forward, each hitting the bolt, slowing it down a little.

"Now! Use Tackle to get out of the way!" Sam yelled. Cloy threw its weight, now out of harm's way, but Sam knew the water on the ground wasn't going to help.

"Okay! Freeze the ground with Aurora Beam again!" Sam yelled. Cloy shot the beam across the ground, freezing every wet spot.

"Now! Use Water Pulse!" he finished. Cloy fired a sphere of water at the now falling and helpless Elekid.

"Low Kick!" Warren yelled and Elekid spun, swinging its foot at the ball of water and smashing it before it could hit its target. Growling, the small electrical pokemon landed, glaring angrily at the Cloyster. Warren grinned again.

"Using Aurora Beam to freeze the water was a nice trick...but you've frozen over your Toxic Spikes as well." Warren gestured to the floor, which was now an irregular mess of bumps and curves in the ice.

"Elekid, use that ice to fuel your Quick Attack!" Elekid nodded, then sped forwards over the slippery ice, the smooth surface allowing it to gain extra speed. As Elekid neared Cloyster, it leapt, shoulder forwards to barge the large shellfish.

"Heh...you know, you're pretty smart. You're doing a good job. You got me on the ropes...except you fail now. Toxic Spikes dead at it!" Sam yelled. The purple spikes flew out of Cloy's shell, dead at Elekid.

"Now, just to make sure you can't lose, close your shell!" Sam yelled. Cloy closed its spiky shell.

"Are you so sure your plan'll work, Warren?" he asked, mockingly.

"Shut your face," Warren replied, "Your Cloyster hasn't landed a hit yet, remember?" He glanced at Elekid as it flew through the air. Spinning, it gracefully avoided most of the spikes, but one scratched its leg, leaving a faint purple smear around the wound. Warren grimaced. He had to finish this quickly.

"Alright, Cloyster can't use any moves while it's hidden in its shell and it's not going to stop a Thundershock! Go!" Elekid nodded, then dashed forwards, skidding to a halt directly in front of the hiding shellfish. Grinning maliciously, it began to whirl its arms, sparks flying between its horns before condensing into a jet of lightning that flew straight at Cloyster.

"Well...not gonna be dodging this," Sam whispered, as the attack hit its mark. Sam could hear Cloy screeching from inside its shell.

"Well. As you said, I haven't scored a hit yet. Time to change that," Sam said. Cloy knew what this meant. Its shell opened and an almost evil look was on its face.

"Fire! Use Water Pulse three times, then freeze one!" Sam yelled. Three balls of water flew from Cloy's mouth, then a beam of energy that froze the third.

"Now! No escape! Use Icicle Spear!" Sam yelled. Cloy fired a row of icicles dead at Elekid, who was having trouble moving due to the Toxic Spikes.

"Now! Use Tackle and shoot Toxic Spikes!" Sam yelled. Cloy propelled itself forward and fired several more spikes from its shell.

"Well...you said I hadn't hit...time to see if that holds!" he yelled. He knew Cloy wouldn't be able to use Water Pulse much more. He'd nearly depleted his water supply, but he had to keep going for just a little while longer...

"Low Kick on the ice ball!" Elekid swung its foot around as the frozen Water Pulse approached, smashing it into tiny shards. Seconds later, though, it screeched as it was struck by three of the icicle spears. Warren gasped as Elekid stumbled, but simply sank to one knee, unable to move thanks to the fresh layer of Toxic Spikes. There was only one way this was going to end now. Both Pokemon were clearly exhausted and as they locked gazes, Warren let out a sigh.

"Swift and Thundershock together!" Elekid stood up, breathed in, then exhaled, sending a barrage of miniature star-shaped rays. As they circled its head, Elekid quickly spun its arms, then sent a powerful shock into the Swift attack, electrifying it and sending it flying straight at Cloyster. Warren grinned.

"That's the thing about Swift!" he shouted cockily, "You can always count on it to hit!"

"True, true. It's a great move...but only if it isn't stopped. Swift can't miss...but it can be blocked! Protect!" Sam yelled. A green light covered Cloy once more, blocking the attack completely.

"Well...I believe that it's the end...this is my last move, no matter how you put it. Cloy! Put all you've got into this Water Pulse, then fire off all the Icicle Spears you can, then follow up with AURORA BEAM!" Sam screamed. Cloy fired a huge sphere of water, then several missile-like icicles at the sides, then swept a beam across the area. This attack would either finish off Elekid or screw Sam for the match. Warren blanched. Elekid was going down for sure, no two ways about it. There was only one thing left to do - go kamikaze!

"Elekid, use Swift and Thundershock again! Protect won't work twice in a row!" Elekid growled as the attacks flew towards it, before once more firing out the starry rays of light, entwined with electrical energy. The beam struck Cloy's attacks dead on and a huge explosion erupted in the middle of the battlefield, sending up a cloud of dust that obscured the entire battlefield. Warren glanced around blindly, looking for Elekid and Cloyster. What was going on? Who was still standing?

A couple of minutes passed, though nothing appeared to happen. This was a huge cloud of smoke. Sam was about to run in himself when he got an idea.

"Pidg, come on out and use Gust!" Sam yelled. Pidg flew out of the ball and flapped its wings quickly, blowing part of the smoke away. Cloy was what it revealed and there was no doubt that it was knocked. Elekid appeared, though the smoke still obscured Sam's view. He decided to announce Cloy's defeat.

"Return, Cloy. Good fight," Sam said, returning Cloy to its Pokeball. Now, he was just waiting for Warren to announce what Elekid's condition was. Warren grimaced as the smoke cleared, revealing Elekid lying on its back, clearly unconscious. He grinned as he returned it, then glanced up at Sam.

"Two double knockouts? I'd say we're pretty evenly matched, huh?"

"Good match...and yeah. Much more so than before, anyway. So. We're gonna need to get moving to the league. My Onix is used to this kind of terrain...you up for a ride?" Sam asked, throwing out Onix's Pokeball. The huge rock snake appeared, screeching across the land. The league wasn't yet in sight, so Sam knew it would be easier to ride than walk. Warren eyed up the large serpent.

"Yeah, I guess so." Hopping onto the snake's back, he sat next to Sam.

"Alright, let's get going!"

"Awesome. Onix. I know you're new here, but I have a favour to ask. Can you get us to the big gathering of people nearby?" Sam asked. Onix sat still for a minute, which Sam assumed was it trying to find a small tremor which would be the people. Suddenly, he started to move and they were off.

"Onix isn't exactly slow...so yeah. It's been a while since we met last. Meet anyone worth your time since? Not to say I was before...and then the Andy situation...well, we won't be seeing him again unless he has a personal vendetta. I came to terms with my family. By the way...you mentioned losing a pokemon of yours last time we met...care to expand on that?" Sam asked. A shadow passed over Warren's face.

"It's nothing," he said again, but his teeth were clenched. Sam frowned, but decided not to press further. Glancing up, he called out,

"Hey, we're almost here!" Warren looked up. Sure enough, the gates to the Indigo league were now visible. Onix sure could move fast. Slowly, they came to a stop and the pair of them hopped off outside the gates. Sam glanced at Warren and the pair of them nodded to each other.

"I guess I'll see you later...good luck." Warren nodded, grinning.

"Well, if you're going against me, you're going to need all the luck you can get!"

@Screw The Rules - Nice post, a very close battle between Warren and Sam.

Congratulations Victrebell grew to Level 27
Congratulations Elekid grew to Level 18

@Sasuneuchiha -
Congratulations Ninetales (Nine) grew to Level 26
Congratulations Cloyster (Cloy) grew to Level 18

Chapter 5: Do It Ditto!



Here he was again. He had not even had any time to train, and just twenty four hours ago, he was standing in almost the same position. Nidorina had saved Blaine's Pokemon, so Blaine had lent Jasper a ride through the underground. The gym leaders, officers, and other important people used the underground to get to places a lot faster, and so Blaine had took Jasper to Viridian, where he came up at a Pokemon center and stayed the night. Now he stood, facing Warren, the Viridian gym leader that specialized in ground types.

When Jasper first heard that the gym leader was Warren, he thought it was an old acquaintance of his, who Jasper has half-annoyed with. Now, he faced a different Warren, an older, bigger, and maybe more mature one. All that had happened when Jasper had walked in was a big speaker said, "Please step FORWARD!" Jasper had, five minutes ago, and now he was here, about to face one of the last challenges on his journey. The battle arena was simple, a small stadium with boulders spread around it. It was a three Pokemon single battle, with no switching out. Jasper hadn't had much time to choose which Pokemon he was using, let alone a strategy for them.

"You ready?" Warren said calmly, tossing out a Pokeball. In a flash of red, a Rhyhorn stood in front of Jasper. It was a grey, tough looking Pokemon, with a body like rock.

"Yeah!" Jasper replied, tossing out a Pokeball of his own. "You ready Pix?" Jasper's Vulpix, Pix, stood on the field, and although it looked a little scared, it nodded. "Good! Start off with a Quick Attack, get on a boulder!" With Pix's built up speed, it easily hoisted itself up onto a large rock, missing a silent Horn Attack from Rhyhorn. "Tail Whip!" At the same time, both Pokemon used Tail Whip. "Again!" Jasper said, and both Pokemon kept going, lowering and lowering the other Pokemon's defense. When Jasper thought it was good enough, he made a different command. "Roar!" Pix let out a mighty screech-like sound, and the Rhyhorn burst out laughing. "Ha, good, Confuse Ray!"

This, apparently, took Warren by surprise. "What!?" He said in shock, as small circles of light raced around Rhyorn's head. Rhyhorn charged, every which way, bumping and bashing into boulders, when finally, it calmed down.

'Quick Attack Pix!" Jasper ordered, and Pix closed in on Rhyhorn, when suddenly, Warren loudly said,

"Horn Attack!" It was to late. Pix was thrown into the air, hit over and over again by Rhyhorn's hard horn. "Fury Attack!" Rhyhorn kept hitting Pix over and over, and then, finished with a huge, "STOMP!" Pix was thrown to the ground, and Rhyhorn landed on top, hard, knocking Pix out.

"Pix!" Jasper said, returning his Pokemon. He grimaced.

"Ha! Your Vulpix didn't even last five minutes." Warren said happily. "Who's next?"

" Come on out, C. R. Head!" Jasper said, tossing his pokeball into the air.

"What is that?" Warren questioned, but got his answer quick enough. Clefairy stood, smiling, on the field. This, caused another fit of laughter from Warren and his Rhyhorn. "I thought Vulpix was bad!" He snorted, turning back to his Rhyhorn. But before Warren got to speak, he realized it, Clefairy was standing next to Rhyhorn, slapping the shizzle out of him. Rhyhorn cried out, then hit Clefairy back with it's horn. Rhyhorn would have hit again, too, if he actually knew where Clefairy was, she had seemed to have disappeared. And then, Rhyhorn collapsed. "Is it dead!?" Warren shouted.

"Nope!" Jasper answered, smiling. Suddenly, Clefairy appeared right in front of Rhyhorn. "It's just sleeping. See, Clefairy used Minimize when Rhyhorn hit her, clinging on to its horn. Then she used Sing, sending it to sleep." Jasper smiled again, as Warren looked amazed, and then angry. "Keep using Pound!" Jasper said to Clefairy. And so that is what Clefairy did. Clefairy pounded, and pounded. "Sleeping as hard as a rock!" Jasper added cheerfully, as Warren called back his fainted Pokemon.

"Alright, kid, I've had enough of your jokes. Come on, Cubone!" Warren grunted. A Pokemon that was sandy colored, about the size of a squirrel on its tip--toes, with a white, bone mask covering its head appeared on the battle field. "Start with Focus Energy, Cubone!" he said, smirking.

"Alright, Encore Clefairy!" Clefairy started clapping its hands wildly.

"Ugh! Now you just...ugh!" Warren muttered, helplessly, as his Cubone pumped, but then kept failing afterwards. Jasper took this as a stat lowering opportunity.

'Keep using Growl!" He said, and while Cubone was building up energy, its Attack was lowering and lowering. Eventually, the Encore wore off, and Cubone stood, looking weak, but confident. He ran at Clefairy and hit her lightly with his bone, a small but hard thing is his hands. However, as he did this, and kept trying to do it, he was slapped multiple times by Clefairy. The two Pokemon continued, slapping and hitting, and the critical hits of Cubone made up for the attack stat lowered. After both of the Pokemon's fit of attacks, Cubone jumped back onto a boulder.

"Okay, Bonemarang!" Warren ordered, and Cubone threw its bone out, like that of a boomerang. Clefairy jumped, just in time, but seemed to have forgotten it was boomerang, because as the bone came back to Cubone, it whapped Clefairy on the back of the head. Clefairy fell forward, and looked up at the laughing Cubone.

Cubone threw its bone again, still chuckling to itself. "Use Pound on the bone!" Jasper said quickly, and Clefairy jumped out of the way of the bone, then knocked it to the ground. Cubone looked horrified. "Encore!" Clefairy clapped, once more, and Cubone was helpless, with no bone to throw.

"Cubone, snap out of it!" Warren cried, but Cubone kept making a throwing motion with his arm.

"Okay, Clefairy, get up there and Pound!" Clefairy jumped up on the boulder, glanced at Cubone, the pounded him hard. Cubone threw off the rock- which was a big mistake. Cubone had landed on the ground right next to its bone. Cubone smirked and picked up the bone, then jumped up onto the boulder with Clefairy and started beating her with it.

"Clef-Clef-CLEF!" Clefairy cried, and then she started slapping Cubone. Hit then slap then hit then slap. This pattern continued, until both Pokemon fired a huge hit, sending the other flying backwards off the rock and landing on the ground with a THUD!

The two trainers looked stunned, and then realized what had happened. "Return!" They said in unison. It was tied, both trainer's would be sending out their last Pokemon now.

Warren grinned. "We've come this far, haven't we? Well, that ends now, kid!" He tossed out a Pokeball, and with a loud cry, a Nidoqueen stood on the field, looking confident. It was a huge blue Pokemon, that looked a bit like a mom bear.

"Let's go Ditto!" Jasper said, as he tossed a pokeball as well, leaving his cute purple blob on the field. "Okay Ditto, Transform!" Ditto started shining a bright white light(lol), and started re-assembling itself. But instead of growing to the size of Nidoqueen, it stayed about the same, forming into a blue-green, dinosaur-like thing standing on four legs, that had a huge bulb on its back.

"What!?" Jasper and Warren said, eyeing the Pokemon.

"That's impossible." Jasper said. "I've never seen anything like that before!"

"But how?" Warren questioned. "That is a Bulbasaur, a Grass and Poison type Pokemon. And there isn't one around here...Where did you get this Ditto, Jasper?"

"I..I..." Jasper stuttered, confused. "Someone gave it to me, back in Fuchsia."

"Well, well...Keep battling! Nidoqueen, Scratch!" Warren said.

"Okay, Ditto, do what ever you can. I don't know what Bulbasaur's do, so show 'em what you got!" Ditto dodged the Scratch quickly, and aimed its bulb at the Nidoqueen, releasing a few black seeds. The black seeds flew at Nidoqueen, who knocked them out of the air with Scratch. She tried to, anyway, but they latched onto her hand, sappng energy from her.

'QUEEEN!" Nidoqueen boomed. She hurled her huge body at Ditto, who looked scared, and hit him, dead on. Ditto flew backwards and hit a boulder.

"Ugh!" Warren said. 'Nidoqueen, Poison Sting!" Small blue pellets shot at Ditto, but Ditto dodged them by using its vines, pulling itself up onto a boulder. Ditto launched a gray-ish powder, that flew down on Nidoqueen, who had no way to defend herself. Jasper knew this was a Sleep Powder, and sure enough, Nidoqueen sat on her butt, fast asleep.

"Nice going, Ditto!" Jasper said, as purple spores flew down at Nidoqueen, a Poisonpowder. Now Nidoqueen was basically helpless, getting hurt by poison, getting her health sapped, and sleeping. Jasper grinned. "Keep it up, Ditto!" Ditto hit Nidoqueen repetitively with his vines, until the huge Nidoqueen growled and stood up. It staggered, then glared at Ditto- which wasn't to hard, because Ditto had launched himself forward with his vines, using a supercharged tackle, that hit Nidoqueen straight in the face.

Both Nidoqueen and Ditto flew back, both hitting separate boulders, and in one second, Ditto was his old, purple self, and Nidoqueen was looming over him, angrily. Just when Ditto was about to smashed, however, a white and purple light flashed over Nidoqueeen-poison and leech seed- and it collapsed.

"NO!" Warren yelled, and jasper smiled widely. He had won. The last badge was his.

"Great job Ditto, you were brilliant." Jasper said as he put Ditto back in its Pokeball to rest. Without words, Warren flung the small metal badge at Jasper, and Jasper turned to leave. Tomorrow he would be at the Pokemon League. The last leg of the race loomed nearer.