Chapter 15

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="14800640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="mim1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 1"><U>Chapter 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 2"><U>Chapter 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 3"><U>Chapter 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 4"><U>Chapter 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 5"><U>Chapter 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 6"><U>Chapter 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 7"><U>Chapter 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 8"><U>Chapter 8</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 9"><U>Chapter 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 10"><U>Chapter 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 11"><U>Chapter 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 12"><U>Chapter 12</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 13"><U>Chapter 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 14"><U>Chapter 14</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 15</B>   |   <A HREF="mim16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 16"><U>Chapter 16</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 17"><U>Chapter 17</U></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/oldnews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Old News</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrfic/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanfics</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrart/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/a-j/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors A-J</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/k-z/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors K-Z</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/art/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Fanart List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/ffsubmit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit a Fanfic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/fanart_submit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb"><U><B>Message Board</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Chapter 15</I></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making: Chapter 15: Spirit of the Game</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>    Day One: Prologue</B></div> <bR> <div>     "What do you mean, the gym leader isn't here?  Where else would he be?" Zeth complained to the young trainer who had given him the bad news.</div> <bR> <div>     "Sorry, but he's out of town for a week," explained the junior trainer.  "He's on his annual vacation at the Seafoam Islands.  You'll just have to wait until he gets back."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth scowled, "What am I supposed to do for the next week while I wait for him to come back?"</div> <bR> <div>     The junior trainer shrugged.  "It's up to you.  You could check out the museum if you want.  Or you could do what everyone else does this time of year, and join the annual Topaz City Tournament.  That's why the gym leader isn't here, after all.  He always takes his vacation during the tournament so that visiting trainers will have something to do while he's gone."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth considered this new piece of information for a moment.  This was even better than a gym battle, and he had no intentions of the opportunity slip away.  "Ok, where can I sign up for the tournament?"</div> <bR> <div>     "At the Topaz Pokémon Stadium, of course. I would give you a map, but I don't have any."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth nodded distractedly, pulling his pokédex out.  Bringing up a map of Topaz, he located the stadium at the other end of the city.  Thanking the trainer for the information about the tournament, Zeth left to find the stadium.</div> <bR> <div>     When Zeth found the stadium, he was amazed at the amount of trainers that had come to compete. There were about a hundred twenty contestants in all, divided into three divisions based on the number of badges each trainer had earned.  The minimum number of badges required for the advanced trainers competition was four badges.  Fortunately, the requirements were not limited to only the Obsidian League badges, and Zeth's Boulderbadge was counted along with his other three badges.  He was given a pin with the number 83 on it, and assigned a match the next day.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth stuck around for the opening ceremonies, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the huge crowds that were cheering for the various contestants.  Returning to the pokémon center, he ate a late dinner, while studying a tournament flyer he had found.  Like many other large-scale tournaments, there would be multiple fields to fight on, and only three pokémon were allowed for the early matches.  The first set of matches would be held on the Grass Field, the tamest of the multiple environments. After that, the fields would get more interesting...</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     <B>Day Two: First Match</B></div> <bR> <div>     The next day, Zeth arrived at the stadium early enough to catch the first match of the day.  It was only a Junior division competition, but Zeth wanted to know what to expect in his match.  There were no major surprises, however, so Zeth gave his pokémon a pep talk while the next two matches were fought.  </div> <bR> <div>     When his match finally came two hours later. Zeth was as ready as he could be.  He ascended the steps to the trainer's box, feeling a mixture of extreme nervousness and overwhelming excitement as the announcer introduced him.  "This is the first time either of the two contestants has competed at the Topaz Tournaments. In the red box is Zeth Raltier, a pokémon trainer who has traveled all the way from Valencia Island to compete in this year's tournament.  In the blue box is Richard Callegh, from Garnet Town." Zeth's opponent was just a kid, but he seemed determined, reminding Zeth of the time he had met Ash Ketchum at the beginning of his journey.</div> <bR> <div>     The referee signaled for the match to begin, and Zeth threw down his first pokéball, "Go Sting!"  At the opposite end of the field, Richard sent out a Ledian, giving it an order that Zeth was not able to hear. "Ok, Sting, size it up, then hit it with a poison attack when you get a good shot."  The Beedrill nodded once, then shot toward her opponent, pulling to the side a split second before the Ledian could hit her with a Comet Punch. Sting suddenly flashed, and two more Beedrill appeared as she spun around and slammed into the overwhelmed Ledian.</div> <bR> <div>     "Ledian, Zap Cannon!"  The "three" Beedrills broke formation and shot in triangle formation.  The Ledian let loose a huge surge of electricity, hitting one of the copies dead center and skimming the other one.  Both copies vanished, but a second later, Sting hit the Ledian from behind, spraying a stream of toxic purple goo in the ladybug's face as she shot away again.  The Ledian shook its head frantically, trying to clear its eyes from the stinging poison, as Sting came around for another pass.  It cleared its eyes just in time, to hit Sting with a glancing Ice Punch as she slammed into it again.  The Ledian fell to the ground, stunned.  Sting shook off a few clinging icicles as the referee announced the first victory for Zeth's team.</div> <bR> <div>     Richard threw out a new pokéball.  "Your Beedrill is good, but it can't beat my next pokémon! Go Xatu!" The psychic bird appeared in a flash of light and awaited instructions. "Use Psychic!"  Sting suddenly glowed blue and slammed into the ground.  Getting back up, the Bee launched a Sludge Bomb at the Xatu, but the bird dodged most of the attack. "Now use Future Sight!" The Xatu glowed for a second, then shot a blue beam of light at the Beedrill. A split second later, the beam vanished as if it had never been there.</div> <bR> <div>      "Sting, use Swift!"  The bee shot out little star-shaped blasts of energy that tracked down and crashed into the dodging Xatu.  Sting was just about to fire off another round when the air in front of her seemed to waver, and a blue beam shot out and flung her into the ground.  The Beedrill tried to get up, but failed.  A moment later, one of the scoreboard lights blinked out, marking Zeth's first loss.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth recalled Sting, quickly considering what pokémon he should use next.  "I choose you, Blaze!  Use Flamethrower!"  The Growlithe blew a stream of fire at his airborne foe.  The Xatu countered with a Night Shade attack that intersected with the flames and detonated, flinging the bird back.  Taking advantage of the psychic pokémon's brief lack of defense, Blaze caught it on the side with a Flame Wheel.  The Xatu's feathers lit on fire, and the bird was forced to land while it tried to put out the flames.  It rolled around in the dust in a panic,  leaving Blaze free to hit it with a devastating Rock Smash attack.  Richard recalled the smoking bird, giving Zeth his second win.</div> <bR> <div>     Richard sent out his last pokémon, a cute little Squirtle.  Without hesitation, Blaze tacked the turtle and hit it with a body slam.  Although the Squirtle was knocked head over heels, it jumped back up and shot a blast of water in the Growlithe's face, driving him back.  "Blaze, use Dig!" Zeth called.  The puppy easily burrowed into the muddy ground, but the Squirtle just ran over to the hole and started filling it with water.  Suddenly, the ground erupted under the turtle, and it was thrown into the air.  A very soggy Blaze emerged from the hole and fell over in exhaustion.  Zeth began to command the Growlithe to return, but the fire puppy climbed to his feet again, and attacked the Squirtle.</div> <bR> <div>     The Squirtle had landed on its back, and it was having trouble getting back on its feet.  Blaze rammed into it with a Head Butt, followed by another Body Slam.  The Squirtle weakly blew a stream of bubbles at Blaze, but they barely had an effect.  Blaze finished the Squirtle off with an Ember attack, obviously pleased that he had managed to beat a water type by himself. Zeth ran down the steps to congratulate the triumphant Blaze, and immediately regretted it as the drenched canine bowled him over.  Zeth hugged the Growlithe anyway, and suddenly realized that the crowd was cheering wildly.  "We did it, Blaze!  We're on our way to the top!"</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     <B>Day Three: Stuck in the Muck</B></div> <bR> <div>     "Welcome to the beginning of the second round of the Topaz Tournaments, as the challengers get ready to battle on today's playing field!" the loudspeakers boomed.  "The first match will begin in just ten minutes, so please find your seats..."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth ignored the advice, looking over the railing into the new arena he would have to battle on.  "What a nasty looking field," he complained to his pokémon, who were waiting for the match to start.</div> <bR> <div>     Florio nudged Zeth with one of his vines.  {Do you mean nasty as in difficult, or as in disgusting?} he joked.</div> <bR> <div>     "Both," remarked Zeth.  "Who would have thought that they would use a huge mudpit as a battlefield?  That mud has to be at least a quarter meter deep..."</div> <bR> <div>     Sting watched as the two challengers entered their trainer's boxes, which had thoughtfully been placed at the very edge of the swampy arena.  {I would guess that most pokémon would be weighed down by the mud. Rock pokémon are obviously not a good idea here.  As for us, Florio's way too heavy for this one, and Eva would disappear in there.}</div> <bR> <div>     {I could still do some major damage, even if I couldn't move,} Florio interjected. </div> <bR> <div>     "Maybe, but you'd be a sitting duck.  Not the best idea.  That leaves just Sting, Blaze, Talon, and Aqua." Zeth said, nodding to each of his four choices.</div> <bR> <div>     {Not me} Talon disagreed.  {If I get knocked into that mud, it'll gum up my feathers and I'll be an easy win.  You'd be better off with Wonderplant over there.}  Florio made a face at the Spearow, and shot a Razor Leaf past the side of his head.</div> <bR> <div>     "Now's not the time for fighting, you two.  I'll pick who battles when the time comes.  Now let's watch the match, they're about to begin."</div> <bR> <div>     The seven of them watched the first few matches, noticing the difficulty that most of the trainers were having with the field.  The junior trainers were going first again this morning, so Zeth had expected to see some difficulties with the field.  Now that the matches were underway, he could see that even the experts would probably have trouble.  During one match, a trainer foolishly let out a Hitmonlee, which sank down to its knees in the ooze, and was unable to use its powerful kicking attacks.  Another time, both of the two contestants' pokémon were unable to battle in the mud and had to be recalled without an attack even being used.  One trainer actually managed to win with an Onix, but only because his opponent's Raichu couldn't affect the rock snake with its electric attacks.  <I>Luck is definitely a factor on this field.  I just hope I have enough of it!</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     ShadowWalker watched in annoyance as the work teams slowly cleared the entrance to Echo Caverns.  The Rockets had done too good of a job blocking the Pearl City side, and it was taking far longer than the mercenary had hoped.  He had heard that the far side had been mysteriously cleared four days before, but no one had started clearing this side until yesterday.</div> <bR> <div>     The workers called a lunch break, and ShadowWalker seethed at the new delay.  Choosing a pokéball, he called out a Graveler.  "Show those idiots the correct way to drill through that rock," he ordered.  The workers jumped in surprise as the huge rock pokémon shot past them with a roar.  The Graveler immediately started hurling huge boulders left and right, until it finally broke through to the cave beyond.  ShadowWalker strode through the remaining debris, favoring the workers with a sharp comment. "<B>That</B> is how you clear a rockslide."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     "Blaze, I choose you!"  The pokéball Zeth threw hit the soggy ground and just sank for a second before it popped open, releasing his Growlithe.  Cautiously, the puppy stumbled through the thick mud toward his opponent, an Ekans which appeared to have minimal trouble navigating the swampy ground.  "Blaze, fry that snake with Flamethrower!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Growlithe shot a powerful stream of fire at the Ekans, but the agile pokémon dove down into the muck before it could hit.  The snake rocketed back to the surface beside Blaze, twisting into him with enough force to throw him down into the ooze.  The fire dog struggled to his feet, plastered with mud.  Before Zeth could give an order, the puppy shook himself off, spraying mud everywhere.  A big glob hit the Ekans right in the mouth as it lunged to bite the Growlithe.  As it spat out the offending substance, Blaze jumped on it, shoving it into the muck with a Body Slam that had less than the desired effect. </div> <bR> <div>     Acting quickly, the Ekans wound the canine up in its coils and squeezed hard.  Blaze yelped and tripped over the snake, falling in the mud again.  "Don't give up, Blaze!  Use Flamethrower again!"  With a facefull of mud, Blaze shot a stream of fire that somehow managed to singe the tip of the Ekans' tail.  The heat of the flame also dried up the nearby mud, allowing Blaze to regain his footing.  Shaking the grime out of his eyes, the fire dog bit down on the Ekans' coils.  Hissing in pain, the snake spat a mouthful of acidic venom in Blaze's face.  The Growlithe stubbornly held on, however, shaking the snake around violently until it stopped struggling and its trainer recalled it.</div> <bR> <div>     The trainer released a Muk next, which plowed through the mud toward Blaze.  The Growlithe was still busy clearing the stinging venom off of his face, so he was taken by surprise as the Muk slammed into him.  Blaze fought back with a badly aimed Flame Wheel which missed the toxic pokémon completely.  Tired from the previous battle, the fire dog was unable to escape as the Muk began to pile on top of him, smothering him between itself and the mud.  Zeth had a flashback to the Indigo tournaments he saw on television before he began his journey, when he had seen Ash Ketchum's Muk defeat a Bellsprout in the same way.  Deciding that Blaze was out of the match, Zeth recalled him, choosing his next pokémon.  "Go, Aqua!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Shellder almost immediately sank down into the mud, disappearing from sight.  Zeth smiled to himself before giving his orders, "Use Ice Beam!"  The battleground was still for a moment, the Muk looking around in confusion wondering why it had not been attacked yet.  Suddenly, the clam shot out of the ground, slamming into the slimy pokémon with a passable Dig attack.  Zeth's smile widened:  Although Shellders could not actually learn the Dig attack, they were used to burying themselves in wet sandy ground.  As a result, Aqua was able to half-swim through the mud.</div> <bR> <div>     As the clam hit the ground, he shot a powerful ice beam into the Muk, leaving icicles hanging from its moist body.  Although surprised, the Muk attacked back, smacking the Shellder hard.  Aqua landed in the mud, unharmed because of his strong shell.  Teleporting behind the Muk, he unleashed another Ice Beam, freezing the Muk in a large block of ice.</div> <bR> <div>     With his Muk out of the fight, the trainer was down to his last pokémon.  He threw his last pokéball, revealing a Magnemite.  The floating pokémon immediately shot a Thunderbolt attack at Aqua, who was not able to close his shell fast enough to avoid the shock.  "Shake it off, Aqua!  Teleport, then hit it with Aurora Beam!"  The clam teleported, but as it reappeared, the Magnemite teleported as well, dodging the following ice attack.  Aqua acted fast, shooting another beam that knocked the Magnemite into the mud and froze it there.  Instead of pulling itself free, the Magnemite simply used a devastating Thunder attack that traveled through the wet mud right into the half-buried Shellder.  Aqua was instantly knocked out by the power surge.  A moment later, the scoreboard marked up the loss, showing that both contestants only had one pokémon left.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth considered his options, finally deciding to take a chance.  Pulling out his third pokéball, he flung the sphere as precisely as possible.  The ball hit one of the dried-up patches that's Blaze's flames had made, releasing Florio onto the semi-stable ground.  The Ivysaur sank only a few inches, but he was on precarious ground, so the match would have to end quickly or Zeth would lose.  The Ivysaur eyed the Magnemite, which had freed itself from the mud and was now hovering around, awaiting its orders.  "Ok, Florio, hit it with a Vine Whip!"  The Ivysaur tossed the metal pokémon back down into the mud with his vines, releasing it before it could shock him.  The Magnemite teleported out of the mud, glowing as its trainer ordered it to use Lock On.  Zeth considered that to be a pointless attack, since the Ivysaur had nowhere to go.</div> <bR> <div>     "Quick Florio, charge up and hit it with Solarbeam!"  The plant pokémon started drawing in sunlight as the Magnemite stopped glowing and shot a barrage of lightning bolts at him.  The Zap Cannon singed Florio badly, but it also allowed him to charge up his Solarbeam, which he released dead-center into the magnet pokémon.  "Good job!  Keep it up!" Zeth called.  The Ivysaur began drawing in more sunlight, preparing to charge another powerful Solarbeam.</div> <bR> <div>     The Magnemite's trainer had other plans.  Even as Florio began charging up, Zeth's opponent ordered the electric pokémon to use Rain Dance.  As the Magnemite buzzed around in a complicated pattern, the clear skies suddenly grew very cloudy, slowing down Florio's progress.  To make matters worse, rain started to drizzle down from the skies, starting off slow, then turning into a heavy downpour.  The Ivysaur began to sink as the dried dirt became mud again.  Trying to step onto a firmer patch of ground, Florio only managed to sink faster.  A few meters away, the Magnemite sparked as it prepared to use its dangerous Thunder attack to finish off the sinking Ivysaur.  In one last, desperate move, Florio released his half-charged Solarbeam...</div> <bR> <div>     <B>To be continued...</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>