Chapter 17

<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>   |   <A HREF="mim16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 16"><U>Chapter 16</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 17</B></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 17</I></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making: Chapter 17: The Clap of Thunder</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div>     Zeth waited impatiently in front of a set of fancy double doors.  When he had run off to fight the gym leader, he had not expected to have to wait in line for an hour while other trainers from the tournament battled.  Fortunately, he had run into Richard Callegh again, so he had someone to chat with while he waited.  Now Richard was in the arena, battling against the gym leader.  Other trainers were not allowed inside during the match, so Zeth was forced to wait outside.</div> <bR> <div>     The doors opened, and Richard walked out, looking downcast.  "He's pretty tough.  I almost had him, but he managed to finish off my Sandshrew with a lucky hit."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth winced, "Ouch.  Are you going to try again?"</div> <bR> <div>     Richard nodded, "Yeah, I'll try again, and I'll win next time!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Good for you!  Now let's see if I can win <B>this</B> time."  Pushing past the double doors, Zeth called back, "Wish me luck!"</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     After all the tournament events, Zeth was relieved to find that the Topaz Gym used a normal arena.  <I>No mud, no fire, no obstacles... Just the way I like it!</I>  The gym leader, Keaton Clark, wasted no time with small talk, most likely because of the crowd still waiting for a match.  "Two on two battle, no time limit.  Are you ready?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Yes, I'm ready."</div> <bR> <div>     Keaton flashed a quick smile, "Good, then let's begin."  Reaching into a large wooden box that was sitting beside him, he pulled out two pokéballs.  "I'll start of with one of my favorite battlers.  Go, Flaaffy!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Time to battle, Florio!"  Zeth called, releasing the Ivysaur.  "Let's start off with Razor Leaf!"  Florio barreled towards the electric sheep, firing off a flurry of leaves.  Leaping into a defensive stance, the Flaaffy was immediately surrounded by a Light Screen, which deflected the attack.</div> <bR> <div>     "Good work, Flaaffy.  Now use Thunder Wave!"  Rings of electricity rippled from the sheep,  passing over Florio.  The Ivysaur shivered, trying to ignore the paralyzing effects of the attack.</div> <bR> <div>     "Keep going, Florio!  Use Vine Whip!"  Still twitching slightly, the Ivysaur extended his vines and smacked the Flaaffy hard.  Continuing the attack, Florio wrapped up the sheep in a tangle of vines and squeezed it.  In retaliation, the sheep bit down on one of the offending vines, causing Florio to release it with a yelp.  The Flaaffy ran towards the pained Ivysaur, smashing into him with a Head Butt.</div> <bR> <div>     "Use Thunder, Flaaffy!"  Keaton ordered.  The electric pokémon glowed for a second, with sparks flickering from its wool.  A moment later, all that stored electricity was released directly into Florio.  The Ivysaur fell over, twitching.  Zeth reached for Florio's pokéball, intending to recall him, but Florio somehow managed to pull himself back to his feet.</div> <bR> <div>     "Ok, Florio!  If you're still up to it, then let's win this battle!  Use Body Slam!"  The Ivysaur rushed at the Flaaffy, which started firing off the glowing stars of a Swift attack in an attempt to slow him down.  The attack obviously hurt, but Florio kept going until he reached the electric sheep.  Throwing himself on the Flaaffy, the Ivysaur violently pinned his opponent to the ground.</div> <bR> <div>     However, the attack was not without it's dangers.  With Florio right on top of it, the Flaaffy was able to deliver a much more effective attack.  It did so, shocking Florio with another Thunder Wave attack.  This time, however, Florio was not able to just shake off the attack.  Unable to bring his twitching muscles under control, the Ivysaur could not summon the strength to get up again, which left the Flaaffy pinned under him.  The sheep squirmed, trying to free itself from the predicament it had accidentally gotten itself into.</div> <bR> <div>     "Florio, try to use Poisonpowder!"  Zeth called, hoping that his pokémon would still be able to use the attack.  A moment later, the Ivysaur released a small puff of glittering powder.  Usually, the opponent would be far enough away that most of the cloud would scatter, requiring more Poisonpowder for the desired effect.  However, the Flaaffy was right under Florio, so it was covered with a good amount of the poison.</div> <bR> <div>     "Good job, Florio!  Return!"  On the other side of the gym, Keaton also recalled his pokémon. Zeth tossed a second pokéball to the floor, calling its occupant out to battle, "Let's go, Eva!"  </div> <bR> <div>     Keaton watched as the Eevee appeared, then threw down the other pokéball he had picked from the box.  "It's your turn, Jolteon!"</div> <bR> <div>     As the spiky electric pokémon appeared, Zeth overheard Eva mumbling something about déjà vu.  <I>She's probably thinking back to that Flareon disaster again.</I>  "No time for flashbacks, Eva.  Use Quick Attack!"  The Eevee nodded and shot toward the Jolteon, darting from side to side to avoid any counterattacks.</div> <bR> <div>     "Jolteon, use Thundershock!"  In compliance with the order, the electric pokémon let loose a barrage of electricity that filled the air around Eva.  The little fox shot through the shifting arcs of current, finally slamming into the Jolteon.  Diving to the ground, Eva bit at her opponent's legs, jumping away before it could retaliate.  "Not bad, but we have more firepower.  Jolteon, Pin Missile!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Eva, use your Reflect attack!"  Zeth ordered.  A split second before the energy needles hit the Eevee, a shining barrier appeared to deflect them.  "Good job!  Now use Double Team!"</div> <bR> <div>     As two more Eevees flashed into existence,  the Jolteon mimicked the maneuver.  Now there appeared to be three Eevees and three Jolteons battling against each other.  As the "six" pokémon shot past each other, one of the Jolteons hit one of the copy Eevees with a Thunderbolt, causing it to flash out of existence.  A moment later, both of the false Jolteons disappeared as Eva rammed into the one that had used the electric attack.</div> <bR> <div>     The Jolteon quickly spun around and kicked Eva with its back legs, knocking her back.  The half-stunned Eevee still had the sense to hit her opponent in the face with a Sand-Attack as it turned back to finish her off, giving her enough time to get back to her feet and knock the Jolteon down with another Quick Attack.</div> <bR> <div>     "Jolteon, finish the match with Thunder!"  Without getting back up, the electric pokémon released its most powerful attack, filling the arena with lightning.  Zeth flinched as a bolt smashed into the ground before him.  The two pokémon were nowhere to be seen, since both were in the center of the chaos.</div> <bR> <div>     Then, just as quickly as it began, it was over.  Blinking from the sudden change in light, Zeth looked for Eva.  Spotting her lying motionless on the ground a few meters from the Jolteon, he reached for his pokéball to recall her.  Just before he picked up the sphere, however, she suddenly moved, looking out from underneath the paw she had been shielding her eyes with.  A moment later, she jumped to her feet and crouched into a fighting stance, untouched by the powerful but random attack.</div> <bR> <div>      Jolteon, however, was looking a little drained from using so much electricity.  It also climbed to its feet, awaiting its next order.  "Ok, Jolteon, try a Head Butt attack!"  The electric fox charged at Eva, lowering its head for as it neared her.</div> <bR> <div>     "Eva, jump out of the way!"  Zeth expected the Eevee to jump to one side, but instead she jumped straight up, coming down on the Jolteon with a fairly effective Body Slam.  Twisting around quickly, the Jolteon bit down on her fluffy tail and yanked her back before she could escape.  Eva yipped in pain, trying to pull away; but her opponent just smacked her down with one paw and Thundershocked her.</div> <bR> <div>     "Hold in there, Eva!"  Zeth called.  "Try to get away!"  Quickly, the Eevee twisted, biting down on the paw that held her to the ground.  As the Jolteon recoiled, Eva jumped to her feet and tacked it to the ground.  The electric pokémon fired off a round of Pin Missiles, but the Eevee simply jumped through the middle of the attack, ignoring the stinging needles.   She knocked her opponent over again as it tried to stand, then bit it a few times, dodging its confused flailing.  By the time Zeth realized that Eva was using the Rage attack, she had pounded the Jolteon until it curled into a spiky ball to keep from being attacked further.</div> <bR> <div>     Keaton ordered his pokémon to use Pin Missile again, but the Jolteon ignored the order, remaining in its protective position until Keaton was forced to recall it.  "Well, Zeth, since Jolteon won't battle any more, you've won the match.  Now I would like to present you with the Shock Badge."  The gym leader handed Zeth a round, green badge with a jagged topaz thunderbolt down the center.  "Congratulations, you put up a great fight."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     The mysterious being known as ShadowWalker had quietly slipped into Topaz City posing as the usual tourist.  Leaving his conspicuous black attire back at the hotel he had checked in at, he wore instead a less recognizable pair of jeans and a dark blue shirt.  Since no one had ever seen his face behind his mask, no one connected him with his sinister alter-ego.  As a result, he was free to come and go as he pleased while he searched for his quarry.</div> <bR> <div>     The mercenary had tracked Zeth to Topaz, finding to his satisfaction that the youth had been delayed by the recent tournaments.  Now, all he had to do was come up with a good trap, and the Rocket's reward would be his...</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>