Chapter 35

<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="mim27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 27"><U>Chapter 27</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 28"><U>Chapter 28</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 29"><U>Chapter 29</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 30"><U>Chapter 30</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 31"><U>Chapter 31</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 32"><U>Chapter 32</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 33"><U>Chapter 33</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 34"><U>Chapter 34</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 35</B>   |   <A HREF="mim36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 36"><U>Chapter 36</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 37"><U>Chapter 37</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 38"><U>Chapter 38</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 39"><U>Chapter 39</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 40"><U>Chapter 40</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 35</I></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making: Chapter 35: Second Wave</B></div> <bR> <div>     Zeth glanced up at the Obsidian Stadium suspiciously.  Noticing him, Destiny shook her head, "Come on, Zeth, you know they didn't find anything yesterday.  It was just an empty threat like they thought."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, maybe," Zeth responded.  "I don't like the thought of being in a building that could possibly have a bomb in it, though."</div> <bR> <div>     "This from the person who's faced Rockets, Dragons, and deranged Mews..." Destiny teased.  "Zeth, you're getting paranoid."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shrugged, "Well, you would be too if you'd gone through the kind of stuff I have."</div> <bR> <div>     "I have," she reminded him.</div> <bR> <div>     "True..." Zeth said.  "But you don't have any old enemies that can come back to cause trouble."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny chuckled, "You've handled them once.  You can do it again."</div> <bR> <div>     "Okay, I'll give you that." Zeth agreed.</div> <bR> <div>     "Good.  Then let's go.  Richard and Janice are waiting for us."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth nodded and followed Destiny into the stadium, knowing she was right.  The four of them had agreed to meet in the trainer's lounge, and he and Destiny were running a little late.  He had a feeling that their friends would be starting to get a little impatient by this point.</div> <bR> <div>     He was right.  "There you are!" Janice Patton said in a slightly exasperated tone of voice as she spotted them.  "It's about time you got here!"</div> <bR> <div>     "There was a line at the pokémon center," Zeth explained.</div> <bR> <div>     "Excuses, excuses," Richard teased.  "You've already missed one match.  We thought you were going to miss the next as well."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth grinned, "I don't mind missing that match too much.  Whichever of the two trainers that won will probably have to beat one of you before I face him."</div> <bR> <div>     "Her," Janice corrected.  "And no, we won't battle her before you do."  The girl handed him a sheet of paper.  "If you take a look at the tournament ladder, you'll see that you would battle her, or whoever beats her, in the same round Richard and I battle each other."</div> <bR> <div>     "Assuming you all last until that round," Destiny pointed out.  "The competition's tough.  Any one of you could lose to another trainer before then."</div> <bR> <div>     "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dest..." Richard said.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny shrugged, "Sorry, Rich.  Didn't mean to sound so negative, but it's true."</div> <bR> <div>     "Not in my case," Janice claimed.  "No one's going to be beating me here.  I plan to win this time around!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth chuckled.  "So do the rest of us, you know."</div> <bR> <div>     "Of course you do," Janice agreed.  "Every good trainer does.  But I'm determined to win and have nothing stand in my way.  So, Zeth, you'd better watch out.  I'm going to be gunning for you!"</div> <bR> <div>     "And then, once you beat Zeth, I'll finish you off," said a trainer standing nearby.</div> <bR> <div>     Janice laughed, "In your dreams, Kevin!  So are you going to keep lurking over there, or are you going to come meet Zeth and Destiny?"</div> <bR> <div>     "I generally try not to get too attached to people I'll have to battle later." the other trainer said in a serious voice.  "Can't ruin a friendship by beating them when you don't have a friendship to begin with."  Then he smiled and stepped closer.  "Just kidding, of course.  I'm Kevin Carter, from Lyndale."</div> <bR> <div>     "Zeth Raltier, from Valencia Island," Zeth introduced himself.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny did likewise, "And I'm Destiny, from Garnet."</div> <bR> <div>     "I don't believe I've seen your name on the list," Kevin told Destiny, glancing at the tournament sheet Janice held.  "Are you battling too?"</div> <bR> <div>     "No, I'm just an observer," Destiny said.  "I don't really like to battle that much.  I'm not that good at it anyway.  Zeth is the one that knows all about pokémon battling.  I'm more interested in the pokémon themselves."</div> <bR> <div>     At that moment, a loud cheer could be heard from the spectators outside watching the current match.  The five trainers stopped their conversation to glance at the screens showing the two current contenders and their pokémon.  "Hey, who won?" Richard asked.  "I missed it."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shook his head, "How should we know?  None of us were paying any attention either!"</div> <bR> <div>     "I say we all find seats and watch some of these matches," Janice suggested.  "I want to know who I'm going to be up against in the next few rounds."</div> <bR> <div>     "I thought that wouldn't matter to you," Destiny teased her.  "That you're going to beat them all anyway."</div> <bR> <div>     "I am," Janice insisted.  "But I'm going to do it by being prepared for anything."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     Zeth walked up the stairs into his trainer box as the announcer called out his name, "For this match, we have Zeth Raltier in the red box, and Sean Darking in the green.  Both trainers have proved themselves to be experts in the first round, as well as in previous tournaments.  This could be a close match."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth's hand hovered over his pokéballs, "Not nearly as close as some might think," he said quietly, determined to win this next battle.  "Let's get this battle going!" he called to Sean, who was glancing up at a group of spectators cheering for him.</div> <bR> <div>     The other trainer turned back to the playing field.  "Right.  I'll start with Seel!"  Sean tossed down a black-and-green pokéball to release the sea lion pokémon.</div> <bR> <div>     "I choose you, Teak!" Zeth countered, throwing his Jolteon's pokéball.  "Use your quick attack!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Protect, Seel!" Sean called to his pokémon.  The water pokémon glowed white as Teak slammed into it, deflecting the attack.  "Now use your Aurora Beam!"</div> <bR> <div>     Teak darted away as the Seel sent a rainbow-hued beam flying after him.  Teak tried to dodge away from the beam, but the ice attack slammed into his side, throwing him off balance.  His opponent switched to a Pay Day attack, which knocked him to the ground before he could recover.  "Come on, Teak!"  Zeth yelled.  "Use Thundershock!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Jolteon scrambled to his feet, releasing a blast of electricity at the Seel.  The water pokémon, slow outside of its usual aquatic habitat, didn't have the speed to get away.  The lightning washed over it, doubly effective against the water pokémon.  Teak tried to hit it again with a stronger attack, but the attempted Thunderbolt attack lost its focus and scattered in multiple directions, missing the Seel completely.</div> <bR> <div>     "No time for experimentation," Zeth muttered to himself.  Then he called out a new attack, "Use Double Kick!"  That was an attack that the Jolteon was excellent at, even if he still couldn't pull off most electric attacks.  Teak darted towards the Seel, taking the full power of an Ice Beam as he darted in and delivered a rapid series of kicks to the water pokémon.  As he tried to jump away from the Seel, however, the sea lion knocked him flat with a Water Gun attack.</div> <bR> <div>     "Thunder!" Zeth called as the Jolteon rolled across the wet ground, pushed by the force of the water.  The Seel quickly halted its attack, but the overwhelming electricity still hit it, running through the puddle of water that now surrounded the two pokémon.  The Seel was knocked out cold, but as Sean recalled it to its pokéball, Zeth could see that Teak wasn't in much better shape.  The Jolteon was still lying in the shallow water, panting hard, as Sean released his second pokémon, a Magnemite.</div> <bR> <div>     Teak looked up at the magnet pokémon coming for him and dragged himself out of the water, shaking himself off.  Zeth shook his head, "Not this time, Teak.  Return!"  Selecting another pokéball, Zeth tossed it down, avoiding the water.  He didn't want the Magnemite to use it as Teak had, and he suspected that his current pokémon would want to avoid the puddle anyway.  "Go, Blaze!  Use your Flamethrower!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Magnemite, Screech!" Sean called out.  The floating magnet pokémon emitted a deafening high-pitched tone that even forced many of the spectators to cover their ears.  Blaze's good hearing just made the attack more effective on him, causing him to halt his attack before he could even get started.  As he tried to cover his ears with his paws, the Magnemite switched to a Thunderbolt attack, shocking the fire dog violently.</div> <bR> <div>     "Agility, Blaze!" Zeth commanded, hoping the electric attack hadn't done much damage.  Blaze complied, darting back and forth, slower than Zeth would have liked, but better than before.  "Now try Flamethrower again!"</div> <bR> <div>     This time, despite a second painfully loud screech from the Magnemite, the Growlithe managed to use his Flamethrower, covering the magnet pokémon in a sea of flames.  It flew out of the flames, covered with burn marks and sparkling with electricity.  Blaze, still using Agility, dodged a series of Thundershock attacks the Magnemite attempted to hit him with.  "Don't waste your energy, Magnemite." Sean said.  "Lock-on first!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Magnemite stopped moving, its single eye watching Blaze as he darted around the arena.  "This is your chance, Blaze." Zeth called out.  "Use Fire Blast!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Thunder!" Sean shouted, almost at the same time.</div> <bR> <div>     Time almost seemed to slow as the two pokémon prepared for their strongest attacks.  Blaze took a deep breath, then spat out a huge five-pointed star of fire.  The Magnemite sparked wildly, then unleashed a devastating blast of electricity.  Then both attacks hit, throwing both pokémon back with their amazing power.</div> <bR> <div>     There was a moment of silence then, as Zeth and Sean both stared down at their battered pokémon.  "Return, Blaze." Zeth quietly said, holding up the Growlithe's pokéball.  "You did a good job."  Across the field, Sean returned his Magnemite as well.  The pictures of both pokémon dimmed on the scoreboard, indicating that they had both been defeated.  Zeth picked his last pokéball, and released the pokémon inside.  "Talon, finish this match."</div> <bR> <div>     There was a second flash of light as Sean released his third pokémon, a Pidgeotto.  "It looks like we're taking this battle to the sky," Zeth declared.  "Talon, use Drill Peck!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Spearow chased the Pidgeotto into the sky, both birds circling each other for a brief moment before Talon turned sharply and brought his beak crashing down on the other bird's back.  Or, rather, attempted to, as the Pidgeotto wheeled away before the blow could connect.  The Pidgeotto spun back, smacking Talon sharply with a wing as it passed.  Talon pecked at it again, hitting it, but without enough force to do any real damage.  Then both birds flew apart again, circling once again.</div> <bR> <div>     "Fury Attack," Zeth called.  Talon swung towards the Pidgeotto again, raking the other bird's side with his claws and then spiraling toward the ground in a wild spin.  Zeth wondered for a moment if the Pidgeotto had countered in some way, when Talon pulled up, flashing past the Pidgeotto again and scratching up its other side.</div> <bR> <div>     "Two can play at that game," Sean yelled.  "Pidgeotto, use your Mirror Move!"  Suddenly darting straight up, the Pidgeotto passed Talon and grabbed him in its claws.  The bird tore at Talon with its claws and beak, tearing feathers from the Spearow.  Talon fought back, slashing the Pidgeotto's head with his beak before yanking himself free of the other bird.</div> <bR> <div>    Zeth winced at the savage assaults the two birds utilized on each other.  "It always gets messy when I get Talon out," he muttered.  "Okay, Talon, use Steel Wing!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Spearow arced toward his opponent, but before he even finished the turn, the Pidgeotto slammed into him with a Quick Attack, knocking him sideways.  Talon fell like a stone, nearly hitting the ground before he regained control of his flight.  He started to rise again, but the Pidgeotto hit him with a Gust attack, knocking him into the ground he had just avoided plowing into.</div> <bR> <div>     Talon rolled across the field, coming to a stop on his back, staring at the Pidgeotto that spun in a slow circle above him, waiting to see if he would come back to the fight.  The Spearow rolled onto his side, breathing hard.  "Come on, Talon, come on!" Zeth encouraged the bird.  "You can still win."  But he had a sinking feeling that the Spearow was out of the match, and that the weary Teak would never be able to pull off a victory against the agile Pidgeotto.</div> <bR> <div>     The referee held up a flag, "The red team's pokémon is unable to -- wait a minute!"  The referee brought the flag back down to his side as Talon began to glow.  "The pokémon is still in the match!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Pidgeotto!  Whirlwind!" Sean called out.  The Pidgeotto continued circling over Talon, but increased its speed until it started to create a whirling funnel of wind that reached down to consume the Spearow.</div> <bR> <div>     Or rather, the Fearow that Talon finished evolving into as the whirlwind surrounded him.  Talon shot back into the air, using the miniature tornado as a boost to build up his speed.  By the time he reached the Pidgeotto at the top of the funnel, he was traveling faster than Zeth could keep track of.</div> <bR> <div>     The Fearow crashed into the Pidgeotto with so much force that it looked like a feather pillow had exploded.  Both birds crashed to the ground, knocked out by their powerful collision.  Zeth grinned, and shouted even though he doubted that his pokémon could hear him, "Great job, Talon!  That's the way to go out in style!"</div> <bR> <div>     The referee proclaimed both pokémon out of the match, and declared Zeth the winner, since he still had Teak.  Zeth recalled his new Fearow to his pokéball and clipped it to his belt, starting down the steps of the trainer box.  As he reached the bottom and was about to walk inside, he suddenly changed his mind and turned around to jog across the field toward Sean, who was slowly walking away, looking shocked that he had lost.</div> <bR> <div>     "Hey, wait up!" Zeth called, catching up to his former opponent.  "That was, without a doubt, the most spectacular battle I've ever had with another trainer." he told Sean.  "One of the most challenging too.  I thought you had me until Talon evolved."</div> <bR> <div>     Sean turned away, "Yeah, sure.  You don't have to rub it in."</div> <bR> <div>     "No, wait, you misunderstand." Zeth said, hurrying to catch up with Sean as the other trainer went inside the stadium.  "I came to congratulate you on how well you've raised your pokémon."</div> <bR> <div>     Sean glanced over at him, "Oh, really..."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah," Zeth told him.  "Your Magnemite didn't go down until it had finished off my Growlithe.  Your Pidgeotto wasn't defeated until Talon went kamikaze, and your Seal all but finished off my Jolteon despite its weakness to electricity.  I don't think I've ever had a match that close before.  I don't know if or when I'll see you again, but if we ever cross paths, I'm going to want a rematch."</div> <bR> <div>     The other trainer stopped and flashed Zeth a strange expression, "Well, uh...  Thanks, I guess.  Next time I'll win, though."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shrugged, "You might at that."  Then he tapped his pokéballs, "I guess we'd better send our battling pals to the pokémon center.  They might get mad at us if we take too long.  Trust me, you wouldn't want to see my Spear -- uh, I mean, my Fearow -- in a bad mood."</div> <bR> <div>     "What?" Sean asked.  "You mean he wasn't in a bad mood back there?"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shook his head and grinned, "No, he liked that.  That was a good mood moment.  Bad moods are much worse."</div> <bR> <div>     Sean rolled his eyes, "If he can get worse than that, I'm lucky my Pidgeotto is still breathing."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yep, probably," Zeth agreed solemnly, earning him an incredulous stare from Sean before he burst into laughter.  "Just kidding, of course.  At least, I hope so..."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     Zeth stood on the balcony outside of his hotel room, staring at the stadium in the distance, still lit up, even though it was nearly ten in the evening.  The last few matches of the day were probably just about over, he thought, wondering how his friends had done in their matches.  He knew Richard had won, since his match had been before Zeth's, but he had no idea how the rest of them had fared.  He hadn't stayed after his battle was over, having been anxious to check on his pokémon at the pokémon center.  He had been glad to hear from Nurse Joy that even Talon, who had taken the hardest beating, would be able to continue battling, although he would be a bit sore for the next few days.  Zeth knew that wouldn't bother him at all, though.  Or if it did, he wouldn't let anyone else know it.</div> <bR> <div>     The room's front door swung open, and Zeth glanced back to find Destiny and Richard entering.  "Hey, you two," he called over to them, "How'd we do?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny flashed him a teasing grin, "Well, let me put it this way.  Janice said to tell you that she's one step closer to beating you."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah," Richard confirmed, "And Kevin added that he's one step closer to beating both of you."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shook his head, "In their dreams!"  Leaving the balcony door open, Zeth joined his friends in the main room.</div> <bR> <div>     "Anyway, you missed some spectacular matches while you were gone," Destiny told him.  Then she frowned, "A couple of them are probably better off missed, spectacular or not...  I've noticed that these League matches can be a lot more violent than most other battles are.  There's a bunch of pokémon that got really beat up today.  Some of them had to be rushed straight to the pokémon center before the match was even over."</div> <bR> <div>     "I guess it's because this competition has such high stakes," Zeth said.  "It's not just the trophy you get from winning, it's the prestige.  There's trainers that have worked for years to get here so they could win and be known as pokémon masters.  Some trainers are bound to push their pokémon too hard now that the end is in sight.  For some of them, this might be the only chance they have to reach their goal."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah," Richard agreed.  "There's trainers that won't be able to continue their pokémon journeys if they lose.  Some just don't have the cash to keep buying supplies.  Others don't have the morale to spend another year traveling town to town and challenging tough gym leaders.  We all know how tough it is to be out on your own all the time.  Not every trainer can handle that."</div> <bR> <div>     "I suppose you're right," Destiny said.  "I kind of like roughing it, so it's never been a problem for me, but I forget that some trainers just can't take that kind of thing.  It's a shame that there's people out there that have to make it even harder for others by doing things like stealing pokémon."</div> <bR> <div>     "Or sending in fake bomb threats," Richard growled.  "It's hard enough to go through a competition without having to worry about someone blowing you up."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, that's another thing," Zeth complained.  "I hope they find whoever did that and arrest them.  That's one of the cruelest pranks there is."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny nodded in agreement, "Whoever did it is as bad as Team Rocket."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth scowled at that comment, "I wouldn't be surprised if it was them.  It's the kind of thing they'd do, especially if they wanted to annoy me personally."  As Zeth spoke, a loud thumping sound came from the next floor down, sounding as if someone were pounding on their wall.  Zeth paused for a moment, listening as the thumping continued.  "I wonder who's making all the noise down there?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Team Rocked, trying to annoy you," Destiny teased.</div> <bR> <div>     Richard shook his head, "Yeah right.  More likely it's just some trainer that lost his match."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shrugged, "Well, if he doesn't stop making such a ruckus, he'll get kicked out of the hotel for banging around in the middle of the night.  Doesn't he realize how late it is?"  The noise suddenly stopped, and Zeth smiled, "That's better.  Someone must have told him to be quiet."</div> <bR> <div>     Then the sound started again, and Destiny laughed, "I guess not.  Maybe we'll have to go make him stop that."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth and Richard chuckled as well, then the three of them suddenly stopped as they heard the sound of glass shattering outside.  "Now what?!" Zeth exclaimed as the three of them ran to the balcony and looked around.</div> <bR> <div>     Glancing down at the balcony a floor down and one room over, Destiny pointed, stunned by what she found there, "Look!  It's Alyssa!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Who?" Zeth asked, coming over to glance down.  There, laying on the lower balcony, tied to a chair, gagged, and staring up at them in a daze, was a dark-haired girl that Zeth didn't recognize.  Shards of broken glass lay scattered around and on her, a result of her crashing through the balcony door.  "What in the world?"</div> <bR> <div>     "She's Alyssa Trance," Destiny repeated.  "That girl whose match you missed this morning."  Destiny started to head back into the room, "Come on, we've got to get downstairs and help her."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth grabbed her arm before she could leave, "No, wait.  I've got a better way."  Releasing Florio on the balcony beside him, Zeth quickly gave him a command.  "Florio, lower me down to that other balcony with your vines."</div> <bR> <div>     The Ivysaur had Zeth down on the lower balcony in moments, carrying Destiny and Richard down as well as Zeth pulled the chair and Alyssa back into an upright position.  "Hold on, I'll have you out of there in a moment."  Zeth untied the ropes holding the girl's hands, then started on the rest of her restraints as she reached up to untie her gag.</div> <bR> <div>     "Thanks," she said as she pulled the ripped piece of cloth out of her mouth.  She rubbed her right arm, where she had cut herself when she crashed through the balcony door.  The wound was bleeding rather badly, and she hissed in pain.  Cursing, she stood up and brushed the remaining shards of glass off of herself.  "Whoever did this to me is going to pay big time," she vowed.</div> <bR> <div>     "You have any idea who it was?" Zeth asked.</div> <bR> <div>     "No," Alyssa told him.  "I didn't get a good look at him.  He was wearing all black, and he had a mask.  I'm not even sure if he was really a he.  He never spoke a word.  The only thing I know for sure is that he had a Jolteon."</div> <bR> <div>     "The guy who tied you up had a Jolteon?" Richard asked, carefully avoiding the broken glass shards as he stepped closer.</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, he did," Alyssa confirmed.  "The thing hit me with Pin Missile before I knew what was happening, then a moment later I got Thunder Waved.  Then that guy grabbed me, tied me to the chair, and put me in the closet.  I'd have still been in there except that the door doesn't close right, so I was able to knock it open."</div> <bR> <div>     "What about your pokémon?" Destiny asked.  "Did he take them?"</div> <bR> <div>     "I didn't have them with me," Alyssa said.  "They're all back at the pokémon center.  I don't even know why he bothered to attack me."</div> <bR> <div>     "I think I do," Richard said.  "He might have been trying to knock you out of the tournament.  I can't think of any other reason that someone might have done that.  Like you said, if your closet closed correctly, you'd still be in there.  It might have been days before someone found you."</div> <bR> <div>     "You think it might have been one of the competitors from the tournament?" Zeth suggested.  "Maybe someone trying to get revenge for getting beaten in the early matches, or trying to get Alyssa out of the way so they wouldn't have to fight her?"</div> <bR> <div>     Richard shrugged, "It could have been anyone for any reason, but that does seem to be the most obvious conclusion."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny was examining Alyssa's wound while they talked, "The speculation can wait, you two.  I think we should get Alyssa bandaged up before we do anything else."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth nodded, "You're right.  Let's go to the pokémon center.  I'm sure Nurse Joy can take care of a cut like that."</div> <bR> <div>     As the other trainers walked through Alyssa's room on their way to the hotel hallway, Richard paused to pick up a long brown feather that was lying among the glass shards.  It was larger than the feathers of most birds he had seen in the area, reminding him for a moment of the Articuno feather Zeth owned.  Looking at it for a moment, he was about to let the soft wind blow it out of his hand when he spotted a second one a short distance away.  Glancing around, he spotted a third and fourth, and then a fifth.  Frowning, he collected all of them.</div> <bR> <div>     "Hey, Richard, are you coming?" Destiny called back to him.</div> <bR> <div>     Richard hurried to rejoin the others, "Yeah, I'll be right there."</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>