Chapter 37

<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>   |   <A HREF="mim35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 35"><U>Chapter 35</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 36"><U>Chapter 36</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 37</B>   |   <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 37</I></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making: Chapter 37: Dangerous Games</B></div> <bR> <div>     Richard Callegh wasn't in an especially good mood as he entered the stadium on Monday morning, on his way to his next match.  It wasn't the match that bothered him, it was what Kevin Carter was telling him, as the two of them walked along.  Apparently, the mysterious troublemaker had struck again the day before, despite the fact that no official matches had been held that day.</div> <bR> <div>     "He didn't see what it was," Kevin was saying.  "All he knew was that he had just closed his door, when it hit him from behind with an Ice Beam.  Knocked him out cold.  Uh, no pun intended."</div> <bR> <div>     Richard scowled, "That's what, the fifth now?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Seventh, my friend." Kevin told him.  "Two other trainers got blasted by a crossfire of Pin Missiles as they were walking down the street.  Whoever this guy is, he's a master of causing mayhem."</div> <bR> <div>     "You don't think it's some kind of fanatic that has something against using pokémon for battling, do you?" Richard asked.  "It would at least explain why he's been attacking trainers."</div> <bR> <div>     "An anti-battle maniac that poisons pokémon to keep them out of matches?  Doesn't sound too likely.  I'd expect someone like that to poison the trainers, if anyone."  Kevin glanced past Richard to look out the stadium's multiple glass doors.  "Hey, that guy needs to learn to drive."</div> <bR> <div>     "Who?" Richard asked, glancing out the doors as well.</div> <bR> <div>     "The guy in the big black truck," Kevin said, pointing at a vehicle rolling down the parking lot, apparently looking for a space to park.  "He nearly ran over the lady he just passed."</div> <bR> <div>     "Idiot," Richard muttered, turning away.  "People like that are a real pain."</div> <bR> <div>     "What the heck?!  He's insane!  Rich, look!"</div> <bR> <div>     Richard spun around to find that the truck had picked up speed, ignoring pedestrians as they dove out of the way to avoid being run over.  It took him a moment to realize that not only wasn't the truck slowing down, it was coming straight towards the stadium entrance.  "Get out of the way!" he screamed at a trio of people that were oblivious to the danger bearing down on them.</div> <bR> <div>     He ran towards them, barely aware of Kevin following after him.  Hurling himself at two of them, he shoved them out of the way, just as the speeding truck crashed through the glass doors of the stadium, spraying glass shards across them as it hurtled past.  Richard fell to the ground on top of the people he had pushed out of danger, spotting Kevin standing beside him with the other member of the group.</div> <bR> <div>     He had just enough time to look past Kevin and see the truck plow into the wall, crushing a refreshment stand that a stadium employee had just barely managed to escape in time.  Richard jumped to his feet, and helped the two he had saved to stand.  "Come on, we got to get out of the building!" he shouted to Kevin, among the chaos that the runaway vehicle had caused.</div> <bR> <div>     Kevin pointed at a young boy, lying on the floor, unconscious, "Help me get him out!  He got clipped by the truck as it passed!"  Richard nodded once and ran with Kevin to the boy's side.</div> <bR> <div>     The young trainer's right arm was bent at a strange angle, obviously broken.  But he was still breathing, to Richard's relief.  Kevin managed to pick him up without Richard's help, giving Richard the chance to glance one more time at the mangled truck.  To his surprise, he didn't see anyone in the driver's seat.  He was tempted to get closer and look to see if there was someone stuck in there, but realizing that most of the others had distanced themselves from the smoking vehicle, he decided against it.  He followed Kevin out the destroyed entrance to the stadium, and kept running.</div> <bR> <div>     Behind him, the truck exploded, filling that whole area of the stadium's interior with fire.  Spinning around, Richard pulled out one of his pokéballs.  "Riptide, I choose you!"  From Richard's pokéball emerged his Wartortle.  After the loss of his father's prized Porygon 3, Richard had decided to name his Squirtle after one of the lost attacks the virtual pokémon had known - an attack that had been his idea in the first place.</div> <bR> <div>     As Richard looked around, he saw other trainers getting out their water pokémon as well, "Quick, Riptide, help put out that fire!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Wartortle ran towards the blaze, joining up with the other pokémon to put out the fire.  As he did, Richard glanced back at Kevin, who was still holding the trainer in his arms.  "I didn't see anyone in the truck before it blew.  Somehow the driver managed to escape."</div> <bR> <div>     "He teleported out," Kevin informed him.  "I saw it just as it drove through the window and nearly hit us.  There was some masked guy, and then he just disappeared in a flash of light.  My guess is that he had a pokémon waiting to get him out of there at the last second."</div> <bR> <div>     "You know what this means, then." Richard murmured, as fire trucks and ambulances started to pull into the parking lot.</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, I do.  Whoever's behind all this has gone from violent to potentially deadly."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     "We now go to Carrie Masters, live from the Obsidian Stadium.  Carrie, what exactly has happened here?" Destiny glanced up from the television news broadcast as Zeth and Richard entered the room.</div> <bR> <div>     "There you are!" she exclaimed.  "I just heard about what happened, and I though you might have gotten hurt!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shook his head, "No, I got there after it happened.  Rich and Kevin were the ones with the close encounter."</div> <bR> <div>     "It was the same guy that's done everything else," Richard told Destiny.  "I'm sure of it.  Kevin saw him teleport away at the last moment."</div> <bR> <div>     "Well, it's been all over the news," Destiny said, pointing at the television.  "See?"</div> <bR> <div>     On the screen, Carrie was still giving her report.  "I've been informed that the tournament is going to be delayed until Friday, while cleanup and repairs to the stadium take place.  Increased security is expected when the games continue, to prevent this kind of disaster from happening again.  Fortunately, no one was killed during this incident, but two trainers were badly injured, and many others have burns from the explosion."</div> <bR> <div>     "I'm going to get whoever's responsible for this," Richard vowed.  "They're going to wish they had never messed with the league games."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     During the next three days, the trainers had to find ways to keep busy.  Every now and then, they would hear reports of another attack or weird threatening phone calls, where the caller spoke in a whisper, warning that all who remained in the games would suffer.  Richard questioned everyone, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, but he was unable to find any new information, other than the fact that a fire-type pokémon was also being used to attack trainers.  The trainer that got burned told Richard that he thought it was orange -- not exactly helpful, as many fire types were that color.</div> <bR> <div>     "They're all common types of pokémon," Richard grumbled to Janice Patton at one point.  "Half the trainers in the city must have a fire-type and a grass-type, and a pokémon with Ice Beam isn't hard to find either.  The only clue that helps at all is the Jolteon, and according to the information my Porygon 2 dug up, there's at least twenty trainers with Jolteons in the city of Obsidia, and that's not counting the trainers in the tournament and whatever pokémon they have on their backup teams."</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't worry about it, Rich," Janice told him.  "You'll find out who it is.  I'm sure of it."</div> <bR> <div>     "Well, I wish I was sure of it too," he grumbled.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     While Richard was searching for answers, Kevin spent his time challenging other trainers to matches.  Zeth refrained from accepting a battle, telling him that he'd rather wait until they met in the tournament, when it really counted.</div> <bR> <div>     As for the tournament, another two trainers left, claiming that no amount of fame could be worth that much risk.  Zeth soon received a changed schedule, putting him up against Alyssa Trance for the next round, instead of the round after.</div> <bR> <div>     In the meantime, Zeth found other things to occupy his attention.  He and Destiny stopped by the pokémon center on Tuesday evening for an extra-special pokémon checkup.  "So, what do you think Nurse?" he asked.  He nodded to the Eevee on the examination table.  "When's the big day?"</div> <bR> <div>     Joy shrugged, "Soon."</div> <bR> <div>     Eva rolled her eyes and mewed a question.  "How soon?" Destiny translated.</div> <bR> <div>     "Hmm, I can't say for certain," the nurse admitted, "A week, I think.  Maybe less."</div> <bR> <div>     "Great!" Zeth exclaimed, "We're tired of waiting, aren't we, Eva?"  The Eevee chuckled and nodded an affirmative.  Zeth reached down and carefully scooped her up in his arms.  "Besides, if you don't have your kits soon, Teak's going to go nuts."  Winking at his Eevee, Zeth glanced back at Nurse Joy.  "Well, I guess we'll see you again soon, Nurse."</div> <bR> <div>     "When the matches begin again, I assume," Joy said, as she turned away.</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, probably," Zeth said, smiling at that.  "I'll try not to battle my pokémon too hard on Friday."</div> <bR> <div>     Joy gave him one last glance before leaving the room, "See that you don't.  I've had enough problems this last week as it is."</div> <bR> <div>     "Haven't we all..." Zeth muttered darkly, then shrugged and turned to Destiny.  "Well, it looks like we're going to have to find something to do until Friday, then.  Any suggestions?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny thought for a moment, "Well, how about dinner and a movie?"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth grinned, "Sounds kind of like a date to me."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny laughed, "So?  Who cares?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Hey, not me.  Seems like a good idea, actually."  Down in Zeth's arms, Eva spoke up, but without his translator on, Zeth couldn't understand her.  "What was that?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny blushed, "She said we make a cute couple.  Yeah right, Eva!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't worry, Dest.  With Eevees, everything is cute," Zeth teased.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny rolled her eyes, "That wasn't the least bit funny, Zeth."</div> <bR> <div>     "Vee eevee!"</div> <bR> <div>     "You stay out of this, Eva!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth burst out laughing as the three of them left the center, all the problems and dangers of the past days forgotten for the moment.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     When Friday finally came, Zeth was more then ready to get back into action.  His match against Alyssa was to be a four-on-four battle, unlike the three-on-three battles earlier in the games.  And, as he was again in the green trainer box, he had to go first.  "All right, then," he murmured to himself.  "Let's get this battle started."</div> <bR> <div>     "Aqua, I choose you!" he yelled, throwing down the Cloyster's pokéball.  The clam appeared on the stadium arena, clacking his shell shut then opening it again, indicating he was ready.</div> <bR> <div>     Alyssa flashed him a confident grin, "Battle hard, Zeth!  I choose Zenith for this fight!" She threw out one of her own purple-and-silver pokéballs.  In front of Aqua appeared an Ampharos, sparkling from her head and tail jewels, which were just slightly more orange then the usual red.  "Show them how it's done, Zee!  Use Thunder Wave!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Teleport, Aqua!" Zeth shouted as the Ampharos' head jewel crackled with electricity.  The Cloyster barely disappeared in time as a blast of disabling energy shot towards him.  "Now use Ice Beam!" Zeth called.</div> <bR> <div>     Aqua fired off a freezing ray at Zenith, but the ewe was ready for him.  She dodged to the side and returned fire with a Hyper Beam, knocking Aqua back, despite his bulk.  "She's good!" Zeth muttered to himself.  But using Hyper Beam would slow her down for a moment. "Use Blizzard!" he called to his pokémon.</div> <bR> <div>     The Cloyster sent a storm of icy crystals spinning towards the Ampharos, who couldn't escape them in time.  Zenith was caught up in the arctic blast, pummeled by the frozen shards it carried.  But even as the ice attack cleared, the ewe was coming for Aqua again, electricity dancing around her as she prepared to strike.  "Zenith, use Thunder!" Alyssa ordered.</div> <bR> <div>     Aqua wouldn't be able to take another hit like that, Zeth knew.  Not after the Hyper Beam.  But if he was going to fall, he might as well take down the other pokémon with him.  "Aqua, Selfdestruct!"</div> <bR> <div>     The clam glowed for a moment, then released a huge blast of energy that knocked him out instantly and roared towards Zenith.  Zeth saw the Ampharos hold her flippers up, as if to ward off the blast, then he couldn't see any more as the attack obscured his vision.  That had to have done it.</div> <bR> <div>     But it hadn't.  The dust cleared, leaving behind a tired-looking, but still conscious, Zenith.  Zeth scowled.  The Ampharos must have used Protect or Endure to make it through a blast like that.  Well, she couldn't have that much energy left.  "Florio, it's your turn," he said, sending out his Ivysaur as he returned Aqua.  "Start off with a Razor Leaf attack!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Fire Punch, Zee!" Alyssa countered.  As ordered, the Ampharos ran for Florio, the storm of leaves slowing her down, but not by much.  The ewe's flipper blazed with flames as she swung at the Ivysaur, knocking him down with the fiery attack.</div> <bR> <div>     "Sleep Powder!" Zeth shouted to his pokémon.  At this close of range, the attack couldn't miss.  Florio, pained as he was by the burns he had received, blasted glistening blue powder into the Ampharos' face.  Zenith backed away, trying not to breathe in the dust, but Florio grabbed her feet with one vine, tripping her up.  She sucked in a good amount of the Sleep Powder, and promptly fell over, no longer able to battle.</div> <bR> <div>     "Nice job, Zee!" Alyssa called, returning the Ampharos to her pokéball.  "Now we'll let someone else have a try.  Flitter, I choose you!"  From the ball she threw came an oddly colored Yanma, which was yellow with a green face, unlike the usual red variety.  "Okay, Flit!" Alyssa shouted to the dragonfly pokémon, "Use Quick Attack!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Yanma seemed like a blur as it flashed past Florio, knocking him over roughly.  Zeth called out to his Ivysaur before he even hit the ground, "Razor Leaf, Florio!"</div> <bR> <div>     Florio scrambled to his feet again, blowing a flurry of sharp leaves at the dragonfly.  Alyssa was already giving her next orders, though, "Screech!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Razor Leaves slammed into Flitter, but at the same time, the Yanma made a deafening screech that hurt Zeth's ears even from the distance he was at.  He could vaguely hear the announcer making some kind of joking comment about it as the Screech ended, leaving a ringing in his ears.</div> <bR> <div>     Florio rubbed his ears with his vines, shouting irately at the Yanma for the sonic assault.  If it wasn't such an important battle, Zeth would have chuckled.  "Go on, Florio.  Smack it around with your vines some!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Sonicboom!" Alyssa called to Flitter, a moment later.  The yellow dragonfly quickly began to flap its wings, creating a shockwave that knocked Florio's vines away and crashed into the Ivysaur, throwing him off his feet again. Florio started to stand again, but the Yanma followed up with another Quick Attack, throwing him back to the ground.  The Ivysaur was too battered to continue the fight after that, and the referee called out Zeth's second loss.</div> <bR> <div>     "It's okay, Florio," Zeth called to his weary pokémon.  "You did great!  Now come on back and have a rest!" Once Florio was back in his pokéball, Zeth chose a new pokémon, "All right, Alyssa.  Let's see how well you can handle this!  I choose Sting!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth's Beedrill flew out of her pokéball, beginning a slow circle of the Yanma as the two bug-types awaited their first instructions.  "Start off with a Toxic attack," Zeth called. </div> <bR> <div>     "Dodge it, Flit!" Alyssa countered, as Sting sprayed a stream of dark purple liquid at the dragonfly.  Flitter zoomed backwards, avoiding the poison, then hovered there.  "Now Quick Attack!" Alyssa ordered.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth didn't have time to call out an order before the Yanma shot towards Sting again, but the Beedrill was already acting anyway.  She brought up her stingers, letting the dragonfly fling itself on them as it crashed into her.  The Yanma fell to the ground, stunned by the surprise resistance.  Sting made sure it stayed there, wrapping it up with her String Shot.</div> <bR> <div>     "Flitter, return!" Alyssa said, throwing her third pokéball.  "Your turn, Dusty!"</div> <bR> <div>     Her third pokémon was an Arbok, not purple like the ones from Kanto and Johto, but brown.  Zeth had already seen one or two similar snakes during his travels in Obsidia.  Apparently, they came from the Goboni Desert in Cusim, to the west.  This one had tan and black markings on its hood, with just a small streak of red.</div> <bR> <div>     "Use Glare attack!" Alyssa called to the cobra.</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't freeze up on me, Sting!  I know you can beat that snake!" Zeth encouraged the Beedrill.  "Pin Missile!"</div> <bR> <div>     Sting shot up in the air, looking away from the Arbok, which was utilizing its paralyzing Glare attack.  Then, switching direction, she suddenly dove at the snake, sending a hailstorm of needle-blasts towards it.  Dusty slithered backwards as the pins hit him, firing his own wave of stinging splinters back at the Beedrill with his Poison Sting attack.</div> <bR> <div>     The poisonous blasts hit Sting, making her waver slightly as she buzzed past the cobra and spun around for another attack.  "Twinneedle!" Zeth called.</div> <bR> <div>     Alyssa had other plans, "Grab that bee, Dusty!"</div> <bR> <div>     Sting didn't react as fast as she usually did this time, and Zeth realized too late that the Arbok had used its Glare attack again when she was just about to hit it with her stingers.  Dusty grabbed her in his coils, and started to squeeze.  Sting snapped out of the paralysis long enough to jam one free stinger into the Arbok's back.  Dusty made a strange hissing yelp sound and wrapped her up tighter so she couldn't do that again.  Sting started using Giga Drain, but she couldn't keep it up for long enough to get the Arbok to release her.  Scowling, Zeth returned her to her pokéball as the referee called out the loss.</div> <bR> <div>     "Tough snake," he muttered.  "Well, let's see him wrap up Teak!" Zeth threw the Jolteon's pokéball, knowing that Dusty would never be able to use wrap on him like he had on Sting.  The Beedrill had only three stingers, but all of Teak's fur was prickly when he was electrified -- which was fairly often, even outside of battle, since he still had some trouble controlling his electricity.</div> <bR> <div>     "Start off with Double Kick!" Zeth called to the Jolteon.</div> <bR> <div>     Teak rushed the Arbok, using his superior speed to avoid the showers of Poison Stings it assailed him with.  Darting right up beside it, Teak executed a spinning jump, cracking it in the jaw with both of his back legs.  Zeth winced.  That looked rather painful, actually.</div> <bR> <div>     Apparently it was, as Dusty hissed in pain and then headbutted the Jolteon, knocking him over.  Zeth didn't think the snake really hit him that hard.  It was more of an angry reflex then anything else.  Teak, however, used the brief contact to his advantage, releasing a powerful Thunderbolt that slammed right into the Arbok's head, knocking the snake out.</div> <bR> <div>     "Not bad, Zeth, not bad!" Alyssa was grinning now.  "It's down to one on one now.  I hate to disappoint Janice, but I'm afraid she's not going to get that match with you.  Now I chose Joules!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth hurried to think up a strategy for this new pokémon.  Joules was an Electabuzz, perhaps even more powerful then Alyssa's Ampharos had been.  According to Richard, Joules had defeated a Graveler by himself in one of the earlier rounds.  Zeth had never actually seen him in action personally, but from what he had heard, he would have to be very careful.</div> <bR> <div>     "Start it off with Mud Slap, Joules!" Alyssa called out.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth quickly gave his own command, "Agility, Teak!  Don't let him hit you!"  Fortunately, Teak was fast enough to dodge the globs of mud that the Electabuzz hurled his way, but the other electric type was also fast, switching to a Thundershock attack that blasted the ground in front of the Jolteon, halting his rush.  "Iron Tail!" Zeth said, hoping the Jolteon could pull it off without Joules getting a hold of him.</div> <bR> <div>     Teak almost did, actually, dodging his way around blasts of lightning that the Electabuzz sent his way.  The electric fox spun around, hitting Joules with his tail, which glowed white as he utilized the Steel-type attack.  There was a satisfying thud, then Teak leaped away.  Or, rather, tried to leap away.  An invisible grip grabbed him and pulled him backwards, where the Electabuzz met him with a shining Ice Punch.</div> <bR> <div>     He was psychic!  Zeth hadn't expected that and he almost got distracted with the new development, remembering just in time that he needed to give Teak a new attack.  <I>Well, he's already right up there by the Electabuzz.  A physical attack should work nicely!</I>  "Double-Edge!" Zeth decided.  "Use Double-Edge, Teak!"</div> <bR> <div>     The Jolteon obeyed instantly, swiveling around to fling himself on the Electabuzz.  Joules held up an arm to stop him, but Teak dove under the protecting limb and crashed into the Electabuzz's stomach.  The other electric type groaned, and fell over, looking sick.  "That was rather cruel," Zeth murmured, "but at least it worked."  He raised his voice so Teak could hear him, "Now Iron Tail again!"</div> <bR> <div>     Teak spun again, smashing his tail into the Electabuzz's side.  Joules growled angrily and reached out to grab Teak's leg.  Then he jerked the Jolteon towards him and bowled him over with a Mega Punch.  Teak went down with a yelp.</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't give up!" Zeth shouted, hoping that it wasn't over.  "You can still win!"  The Jolteon didn't move, but Zeth had one more way to motivate him.  "Come on!  Do it for Eva!  You know she and Destiny are watching this at the hotel!"</div> <bR> <div>     That did it.  Teak jumped to his feet again, looking battered but determined.  Zeth flashed Alyssa a smile.  "Time to finish this!  Teak, Shadow Ball!"</div> <bR> <div>     "Block it with your Psychic, Joules!" Alyssa ordered.  Zeth winced as the Electabuzz deflected the attack to the side, then dove at Teak, fists glowing.  "I agree, Zeth!" Alyssa called to him.  "It is time to finish this!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth ignored her, "Teak, Mud Slap!"</div> <bR> <div>     As Joules swung at Teak again, the Jolteon had just enough time to jerk backwards, barely escaping the blow.  At the same time, the electric fox thrust a wad of dirt in the Electabuzz's face, obscuring his vision.  Joules stopped to brush the sod out of his eyes, giving Teak the perfect opportunity to attack.</div> <bR> <div>     He did attack, using a Shadow Ball, like the one that his opponent had just blocked.  This time, though, Joules didn't have the concentration to stop the blast, and was thrown back by it, roaring in surprise.  Teak darted forwards as the Electabuzz started to get up, forcibly slamming him back to the ground.  To Zeth's satisfaction, Joules didn't get up again.</div> <bR> <div>     "We did it!" he cheered.  "We won!"</div> <bR> <div>     Alyssa shook her head in disbelief, "Wow, I can't believe it!  That was pure luck!"</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth shrugged, "Hey, luck or skill, it doesn't matter to me!"</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     Zeth meant to meet up with Alyssa after the match, but he was delayed by Carrie Masters, who wanted another interview with him.  She asked him about his thoughts on the match, what he thought of the strange threats to the league, and if any of it was affecting his battling.</div> <bR> <div>     "No, no, of course not," he told her.  "I've been in worse scrapes then this and still come through all right.  I've had more then my fair share of encounters with Team Rocket and the Dragons, already, so in a strange sort of way I'm used to this kind of thing.  Or, at least, I've experienced enough danger that it doesn't scare me so much anymore.  There's no way I'm quitting the tournament like some of the other trainers have."</div> <bR> <div>     "I'm glad to hear that," Carrie said.  "That's the kind of attitude that gets you to the top."</div> <bR> <div>     "That's what I'm aiming for!" Zeth said, spotting Alyssa, Janice, Richard, and Kevin standing nearby, watching him with some amusement.  "Well, I got to go," Zeth quickly said.  "I have to catch up with my friends."</div> <bR> <div>     "Thank you for your time, Zeth," Carrie said, signaling for the cameraman to turn off the camera.  "Stay out of trouble."</div> <bR> <div>     "I'll try," Zeth responded, before turning away and hurrying over to join his friends.  "Hey, you all waiting for me?"</div> <bR> <div>     Alyssa nodded, "Yeah.  I wanted to say goodbye before I left."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth frowned, "You're not going to stay until the end of the games?"</div> <bR> <div>     "I was going to, but I've decided against it," she told him.  "Too much trouble going on here.  Since I don't have any more reason to stay, I thought it would be better if I got out of here before something else happens."</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth nodded, "Well, I can't blame you for that."</div> <bR> <div>     "We'll see you around, then." Janice said.  "Too bad you're going so soon.  You'll miss my big showdown with Zeth on Monday!"</div> <bR> <div>     "You mean MY big showdown with him," Richard corrected her, smiling.  "I'm going to beat you tomorrow, you know!"</div> <bR> <div>     "I'm sure Zeth will beat whichever of you that gets to face him," Alyssa teased them.  "So it doesn't really matter."</div> <bR> <div>     Kevin chuckled, then changed the subject, "So when are you leaving?"</div> <bR> <div>     "I figured that I'd go pack my things now, then pick up my pokémon at the center." Alyssa poked Zeth in the arm, "Hey, make sure you tell Destiny to come say goodbye, wherever she is, okay?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Back at the hotel," Zeth mentioned.  "You'll probably see her there when you go back to get your stuff."</div> <bR> <div>     Alyssa nodded, "Okay, then.  I'll make sure I run into her...  Bye, all.  Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone.  I want to run into you all again someday, you know."</div> <bR> <div>     "Us?  Stay out of trouble?  Is that even possible?" Richard asked.</div> <bR> <div>     "Well, fine, then.  If you have to get in trouble, then at least catch the bad guy!" Alyssa gave them one last grin, then turned and walked away.</div> <bR> <div>     Zeth and his friends watched her go.  "Well, that's one of us gone now," he said, glancing around at the rest of them.  "Four of us to go."</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>