Chapter 16

<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>   |   <A HREF="mim15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 15"><U>Chapter 15</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 16</B>   |   <A HREF="mim17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 17"><U>Chapter 17</U></A></div> <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 16</I></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making: Part 16: Spirit of the Game Part II</B></div> <bR> <div>     {I still can't believe that I managed to knock out that Magnemite,}  Florio commented, while Aqua rinsed the last bit of mud off of him.  The Ivysaur had won the battle at the last second, sending them onward to the third round.  Now the team relaxed back at the pokémon center, cleaning off and taking a break after their difficult victory.  {I guess it was tired or something,} Florio continued.</div> <bR> <div>     {Sure it was,} Aqua remarked.  {It used up all it's energy zapping me!  I <B>still</B> feel twitchy from that jolt!}  The Shellder spun around in a slow circle, finally stopping in his original position.  {Where's Blaze?  I was going to wash him off next.}</div> <bR> <div>     "Good luck finding him," Zeth said, setting down the pokéball he had just finished cleaning off.  "I think he's hiding in a closet or something.  You know how much he hates water."</div> <bR> <div>     Following one of Nurse Joy's Chanseys around, Eva overheard the comment and giggled, {You should have seen him after the first match, Zeth.  He confiscated every towel in the pokémon center for his personal use in the time it took you to put on a dry shirt.  I've never seen him move so fast.  Anyway, I just saw him in the back.  I'm not sure, but I think he's trying to find where Nurse Joy hid all those towels after she got them back.}</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth winced, "Now she'll be after me for letting him get mud all over the center.  Could you go find him and tell him that I said to come here."  The Eevee nodded and ran through the double doors leading to the center's bedrooms and dining room.  While they waited for the two to return, Zeth showed Aqua and Florio the pamphlet that mentioned the next two arenas. "Looks like Blaze gets to fight in the next battle too, so he'd better get prepped.  The next round is held in the Fire Field.  I'm not sure what exactly that will be like, but from the sound of it, you won't be a contestant, Florio."</div> <bR> <div>     Florio rolled his eyes, {They sure don't like to make this tournament easy for Ivysaurs, do they?}</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth patted his friend's head, "That's ok, Florio.  I might be able to use you for the last environment field or the final battle after that."</div> <bR> <div>     {You're assuming that we'll win.} Aqua interjected.  {If our last battle was any indication, this next battle may just end in a loss for us.}</div> <bR> <div>     "We'll see," Zeth murmured, "We'll see..."  Suddenly The double doors shot back open and an orange-brown streak shot out, skidding to a halt in front of Zeth.</div> <bR> <div>     {You wanted me for something?} the mud-covered Growlithe asked excitedly.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth smiled, winking at Florio and Aqua.  "Why yes, I did.  Get him, guys!"  The Ivysaur quickly grabbed the unsuspecting fire dog in his vines and held him down so Aqua could clean him off.</div> <bR> <div>     {Hey!  That's foul play!}  Blaze protested, as the clam doused him thoroughly.  {Is this any way to treat a winner!?}</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>    Day Four: Feel the Burn!</B></div> <bR> <div>     "And it's another beautiful day in Topaz City as the trainers begin their third round of competition.  Today's events will be held on the dangerous Fire Field.  Now we'll see who's hot and who's not!  Our first two contestants are Zeth Raltier in the red box, and Danielle Mason in the blue.  Both have shown amazing skill in the last two events, so this should be an excellent match."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth, sweating from the heat, stared down at the inferno of the Fire Field.  Flames shot randomly from dozens of holes in the ground, leaving only a few small areas untouched.  Torches ringed the perimeter of the field, each with a warning sign on it reminding trainers not to enter the field because of the risk of being burned.  The precaution hardly seemed necessary, since no trainer in their right mind would venture out into the flames.</div> <bR> <div>     From the sidelines, the referee signaled for the two trainers to begin.  Seconds later, the field flashed with bright white light as each trainer released a pokémon.  The light faded to reveal Blaze and Danielle's pokémon, a Slugma.  "Spitfire, use Flamethrower!" she ordered.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth lost sight of the slug pokémon as the flames shot up higher than usual.  "Blaze, find that Slugma and use Dragonbreath!"  Blaze barked in acknowledgment, then disappeared into the inferno.  The flames died down just in time for Zeth to see the Growlithe release a stream of blue fire to block Spitfire's Flamethrower.  Reacting quicker than Zeth expected, the Slugma followed up with a powerful Body Slam, slamming Blaze to the ground.  Trying to regain his footing, the Growlithe rolled away through one of the fire jets to cover his escape.  Spitfire followed, but was suddenly thrown back as Blaze hurtled back through the flames, running straight into the fire slug.</div> <bR> <div>     The maneuver hurt more then it helped, however.  The brilliant-looking tackle had actually been nothing more than an accident, which was revealed a second later.  Blaze had been in the middle of a jump when he hit the Slugma.  As a result, he tripped in the air, and landed ungracefully on his face.  Spitfire, although surprised, had only received a glancing blow, and was already on the offensive again.  Before Blaze could recover from his misfortune, the Slugma had curled into a ball and bowled him over again with its Rollout attack.  One final hit knocked Blaze out his senses and out of the match.</div> <bR> <div>     "Blaze, Return!" Zeth called, choosing his second pokémon.  "Ok, Aqua, it's your turn!  Douse that slug!"  The Shellder quickly teleported behind the Slugma, hitting it with a powerful Water Gun and teleporting away before it could respond.  Spitfire spun around in confusion, trying to find what had hit it.  A moment later, Aqua repeated his tactic, using an Ice Beam on the bewildered pokémon, freezing it in a block of ice.  The Slugma broke out quickly since the ice melted too fast in the heat, but it was obviously getting weak.  When Aqua reappeared and hit it with a second Water Gun, it slumped over, too worn out to continue the fight.</div> <bR> <div>     "Nice job, Spitfire!  You've earned a break." Danielle called.  "Now it's time for you, Magic!"  As the second pokéball flashed open, the flames around it suddenly shot out sideways, reflecting off of some sort of barrier.  A split second later, the fire jets died down, revealing a Kadabra who was projecting a psychic screen to counter the flames.  "Use your psychic powers to keep that Shellder from teleporting!"  Magic nodded, then raised its spoon and fired off a powerful Psybeam.  Aqua tried to teleport, but somehow his psychic opponent had found a way to block other psychic's powers.  All the clam managed was a small flash of light that had absolutely no effect.  Unable to escape the Psybeam in time, the Shellder was flung back into one of the fire jets just as it went off.</div> <bR> <div>     Aqua flipped out of the fire, mostly uninjured because of his hard shell but looking a little crispy around the edges.  "Aqua, try Double Team!" Zeth suggested.  The Shellder split into "three" copies of itself in an attempt to fool the Kadabra, but the psychic ignored the deception, picking up the real clam in a Psychic grip, then slamming him into the ground.  The moment Aqua hit the ground, the copies vanished; but he had enough time to fire off an Ice Beam while he was falling.  It had little or no effect, however.  Magic easily deflected what was left of the freezing attack after it flew though the flames.</div> <bR> <div>     "Keep going, Aqua, use Supersonic!" Zeth ordered.  The Shellder quickly let out a loud screeching sound that made everyone nearby cover their ears.  Magic winced, then began to lift up Aqua for another psychic slam.  This time, though, the clam was picked up much slower than before, dipping in the air as the Kadabra tried to concentrate in the high-pitched noise.  Suddenly, the psychic pokémon began to glow brightly.  Aqua fell to the ground, no longer in the shimmering psychic grip.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth suddenly realized what was happening.  "Aqua, it's evolving!  Quick, teleport over to it and use Clamp!"  Aqua flashed away, able to use its Teleport attack once again, and pinched down on Magic's head as it finished evolving into an Alakazam.  The psychic growled in anger, pulling at the clam until it managed to free itself from his grasp.</div> <bR> <div>     "Magic, Seismic Toss!" shouted Danielle.  The Alakazam lifted the Shellder high above his head, preparing to smash him into the ground.</div> <bR> <div>     "Aqua, use Explosion!" Zeth shouted.  Aqua started to glow brightly, powering up for the dangerous attack.  Magic hurled the clam toward the ground, but was too late.  Aqua released a huge explosion the moment he hit the cement.  Then the whole scene was covered in smoke, and Zeth lost sight of the two opponents.</div> <bR> <div>     As the haze cleared, the devastation of the attack was revealed.  A large hole had been carved in the arena floor, and the nearby fire jets were bent and twisted, shooting off long, thin streams of fire instead of the wide flames they were supposed to.  In the very center of the chaos, Aqua and Magic  were laying side by side, both unconscious from the blast.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth barely heard the announcer exclaiming over the turn of events.  Aqua and Blaze had been the only two pokémon that had a good chance to win in the Fire Field.  Now that they were gone, he would have to take a risk.  <I>But after all, risk is part of the game...</I>  Making his decision, Zeth threw his last pokéball.  "I choose you, Talon!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Go, Slash!  Finish this battle!"  A Sneasel shot out of its pokéball, ready for action.  "Knock that bird out of the sky with Faint Attack!"  The dangerous-looking pokémon swung a claw in the air, releasing a shadowy attack that seemed to bend the air itself as it shot toward the flying Spearow.  Talon tried to dodge, but the Faint Attack shifted course, smashing into the bird and throwing him into the flames.</div> <bR> <div>     "Talon!  Watch that fire!" Zeth warned frantically, trying to spot the Spearow inside the inferno.  Suddenly, a burnt Talon shot from the flames, crashing into the Sneasel with enough force to knock it back into one of the columns of fire.  With his opponent distracted, Talon took the time to put out a growing fire on his back.  The Sneasel halted its attack for the same reasons, giving both pokémon a short break in the battle.  Once both had put out their last flames, they returned to the battle.  Slash used its Slash attack, slicing away a few feathers from the dodging Spearow.  Talon had decided to stay closer to the ground for the rest of the match, so he could hide among the flames; but that also had its disadvantages.  He managed to light himself on fire again, forcing him to fly higher in a tight spin which put the flames out.</div> <bR> <div>     "Keep going Talon!  Use Drill Peck!"  The Spearow dove down at the Sneasel, but Danielle had other plans.</div> <bR> <div>     "Now, Slash!  Use Icy Wind!"  The Sneasel grinned wickedly, blowing an icy gust of wind that froze the tips of Talon's wings.  Burdened by the weight, Talon fell to the ground short of his target.  Flapping the icicles off of his wings near one of the flame jets, he tried to fly away; but Slash was able to knock him back down to the ground.  All it took to finish off the battered bird was one good Ice Punch...</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>    Day Six: Epilogue</B></div> <bR> <div>     Zeth proudly stood among the contestants as the winners were given their trophies.  He had not won, but he felt a little better after Danielle had managed to beat all other opponents to win first place.  As the closing ceremonies concluded, he was given a golden star-shaped badge for competing in the tournament.  He took a moment to congratulate Danielle for winning, then slowly walked back to the pokémon center, reflecting on the previous days.  Reaching his destination, he found Nurse Joy and Talon waiting for him.  "Hello, Nurse.  Feeling better, Talon?"</div> <bR> <div>     {I was feeling just fine yesterday.} Talon grumbled, still a little upset that Zeth had left him and Aqua in the pokémon center while he went to the closing ceremonies.  {I may be a bird, but I can take my fair share of shocks and freezes.}</div> <bR> <div>     In a flash of light, Aqua appeared, dripping wet.  Realizing that he was soaking some of Nurse Joy's papers, he quickly apologized, {Oops, sorry Nurse Joy.  I should have remembered to dry off after I finished my swim.}</div> <bR> <div>     "That's all right, Aqua." the Nurse said, picking up the wet Shellder.  "I'll just have to make another copy."  Handing Aqua and two pokéballs to Zeth, Joy started picking up the dripping papers.  "Well, Zeth, your pokémon are fully healed and ready to go, although I'm sure you'll be back here again soon.  The gym leader just came back and he's taking on challenges again."</div> <bR> <div>     "Really?" Zeth asked.  Recalling Aqua back to his pokéball, he motioned to Talon.  "What are we waiting for?  Let's go!"</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>