Patch won the tourny! Whoo! Yeah!
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GM Room
Contents:
Patch
Mandrake2
The Techno Dome tournament has come to an end, one person clawing her way to victory over the battered bodies of her opponents... well, not clawing, exactly. For whatever reason, those destined to face her had a tendency to lose nerve and not show up for their matches. Still, Patch was there and was ready, and she won when it counted, against two opponents who *had* clawed their way to the top... so now she stands on a pedestal erected in the center of the stadium, her team at her side, for the adulation of the crowd.
The trainer still can't quite believe that she's really here, standing in front of all these people, at last the winner of a tournament after all the others she's entered. Is this a dream? The Oddish singing happily on her shoulder, the warm Growlithe on one side of her, and the Staryu waving an arm to all the ladies on the other side of her seem real enough. Patch's face has a huge smile on it, though a slightly nervous one, as she's not quite used to all this positive attention on such a large scale.
To be up in front of the crowd as they watch you with admiration and love. To know that you truly are a strong Pokemon. To not let down your trainer. Being up here is every owned Pokemon's dream... except for Peppy's, of course. While the Growlithe on the pedestal next to his trainer is certainly not one to deny attention (he craves that like he craves food!), he thinks they could have done without this whole ceremony-thingamajig and given him a burger or seven instead. A scritch would have been nice, too. Oh, well. The pup raises his furry head to look up at Patch. Seeing -her- happy makes this entire thing completely worthwhile!... even if he would rather be fast asleep.
Aidan and Wesley have already received their prizes; now the tournament officials and representatives of Silph Company turn their eye to the grand prize winner. "Congratulations on your victory in this tourney, miss Mani! A fine showing indeed, right down to the wire. Here is your commemorative pin." He hands Patch a small felt-lined case; opening it reveals the same pin every participant has received, with one crucial difference: a blue ribbon attached, proclaiming her the winner.
Patch takes the case, thanking the man before opening it to look curiously at the pin inside. She's caught glimpses of pins like these before, but she never really got a good look at any of them. Now she has one of her own. She removes it from the case and carefully pins it to her shirt, trying not to poke herself with the sharp part. Charity the Oddish leans over to get a better look at it. <Wow, that's neat!> she says cheerfully.
Patch's dog takes the time now to glance about the arena. Not a bad place. Could be a little better, though. A few trees would be nice, maybe a soft grassy area or two for the Pokemon not battling to take a nap... well, what do you expect from a Growlithe? Anyway. Upon 'the man's approach to Patch, Peppy snaps right to attention. Before he can growl or scare 'the man' off, however, he realizes that... he just gave Patch something. Well, that changes everything. Now turning his attention to his trainer and away from 'the man', the fuzzy one can't help but ask, <What's that? Can you eat it?> Typical.
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for," the representative says, reaching over to a large object covered with a felt drop cloth. "Miss Mani will now receive one of our special Technical Machines. Which one will it be? That's a question to put to... the Wheel!" With a flourish, he yanks the cloth off, revealing a large vertical wheel of the sort you'd see on a game show. It's been divided into six wedges with different colors of paint, and many small pegs around its exterior eventually bring it to a stop with the aid of a spring-mounted pointer. In each wedge is a cube-shaped indentation. The crowd cheers obligingly.
Patch eyes the wheel with interest. It's almost always fun to find out what will happen with things of chance like this. She can't wait to see what the TM for her Charmeleon will be. Hopefully it will be something very useful for him, but who knows? She'll just have to wait and see. Victory turns from the crowd to look at the Wheel, and Charity asks, <Do you spin that?> "Yeah, I think so. That's when we find out what the TM is."
Ow. The crowd is too loud. Way too loud for *this* dog's sensitive ears. Peppy can't help but growl a little in annoyance and even slightly in pain. Bleh! Noise. Who needs it? Fortunately, it's not so loud that he can't hear his trainer speak. Unfortunately, it's not to answer his question! Bleh! He opens his mouth once again to ask if the pin Patch just attached if edible or not, but then, out of the corner of his eye... it's The Wheel! Slowly and cautiously, the pup turns his head to glance at it. It's instant love. "Growl..." the dog woofs in awe, blinking his eyes, practically hypnotized. Whoa. Now that is cool.
The Silph Company guy produces a fancy-looking briefcase and, with an elaborate show, undoes the locks, opening it to produce six Technical Machines in form-fitting foam rubber. "Toxic!" he proclaims, holding the first one up, then fitting it into a slot on the wheel. One of the other representatives unobtrusively rotates the wheel by a wedge as the first representative gets another cube out. "Dragon Rage! Dig! Mimic! Reflect! Rest! Any one of these TMs will give an undeniable edge to your poke'mon; now it's up to *you* to spin the wheel and decide your fate!" The crowd cheers more as representative number two motions Patch toward the wheel.
Patch approaches the wheel, thinking about the TM choices. Most if not all of them are good picks. She probably couldn't have chosen better ones herself. Victory follows slowly behind her, and Charity is still on her shoulder. When she gets close enough to the wheel, she gently puts the Oddish on the ground for the spin. Then she reaches out with both hands and, grabbing the edge of the wheel, shoves it as hard as she can to spin it, waiting excitedly for the result.
"Toxic!" What's that? "Dragon Rage!" Huh? "Dig!" Eh? "Mimic!" Who? "Reflect!" Is that edible? "Rest!" Oo, Rest! Finally, a word Peppy can understand. The dog's tail wags this way and that way. Hmm. Obviously, Patch has to spin that wheel, but then what? If it lands on Rest, do they get to fall asleep? Peppy can only watch... and see.
The wheel whirls into a kaleidoscope of color at Patch's enthusiastic pull, whirling around and around and around as the little triangular pointer on its side makes a noice like a trading card in the spokes of a bicycle...
Patch stares at the spinning wheel as if mesmerized, waiting...just waiting. She can hardly stand the suspense. What will it be? Mimic? Dig? Reflect? She's hoping it's Dig, because then at least Charles would have a fighting chance against rock-types, against which right now he has no effective attacks. But any one of the moves would be good. Charity and Victory are likewise watching the Wheel in anticipation.
Wheel of Morality, turn, turn, turn! Tell us the les... no, wait. This isn't a cartoon show or anything. The light flickers on the Growlithe's jaw-slack face as the wheel spins and spins. When will it stop? The suspense! It's horrible! If she didn't spin strong enough, will something bad happen? With they be... Mamuked or whatever? Durgan Razzed? Talksicked? More than ever, the pup hopes it lands on Rest! That *can't* be bad!... can it?
It's slowing... yes, it's definitely slowing now... and it comes to a stop on... on!... the orange wedge, whatever that means. The representative gestures for Patch to pull out the appropriate TM.
The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)
Patch reaches once more and excitedly pulls out the TM indicated by the orange wedge. She's not sure what it is, but she can certainly hope! The fire trainer looks expectedly at the representative, waiting for him to tell her what it is. Charity hops up and down enthusiastically. Apparently she can't wait, either.
The Growlithe squeezes his eyes shut, cringing back very slightly as the wheel comes to a complete stop. Does the ceiling crash down on him and Raflenkt him? Will a trap door open and Daggun Rahje him? ... no, as a matter of fact. No, in fact, nothing bad happens at all. The puppy nervously opens one eye. Hey! Nothing bad is happening! Patch is just getting something! What is the something? Can you tell him what the something is? Maybe his trainer will give him a clue.
The representative waits for a moment, then... "Ladies and gentlemen, our winner, Patch Mani, has chosen... Dragoooooon RAAAAAGE!" The crowd goes nuts, a cross between game show nuts and pro wrestling nuts.
Patch looks absolutely thrilled when the TM is named. Sure, it's not Dig, but it can still be used against rock-types without a disadvantage. She winces slightly when the crowd starts roaring, but she can't very well cover her ears when she's got both hands full holding the TM. Charity is still hopping up and down. <Yaaaaaay!>
Oh no! No! Anything but that! Not the dreaded Dajon Rhange! Peppy can't help but emit a small whimper of fright as he takes a few steps back. With a name like Degane Rato, it can only be bad! But... why doesn't Patch look frightened? Doesn't she realize they are in *certain danger*? It's about now that the thought occurs to Peppy that... maybe Deckee Reneau isn't a bad thing at all! Still, the dog can't help but feel a -little- apprehensive... and then he realizes the crowd is cheering. And then his ears hurt so much, he forgets all about being scared of Dankee Ravuh.
The representative continues in a lower voice. "The Dragon Rage Technical Machine unlocks the secret of a devestating energy beam which no target can withstand. Only a few poke'mon are capable of harnessing such awesome power; in nature, only the extremely rare Dratini and the fearsome Gyarados are capable of such an attack, but here at Silph Company, we've developed the technology to give a Charmander, Growlithe, or Lapras with this incredible force!" Ah. Advertising.
Patch gives the representative her full attention, listening intently. Wow, only a few Pokemon can learn this move, even with the machine? That's amazing. She smiles again and hopes that Charles will like his new move, but she's almost positive he will. She suddenly realizes that she's not quite sure how to work the machine, but the representative will probably explain eventually.
Bah! People shouldn't have the ability to be loud! Weird humans... Patch is *much* too strong and nice a human to act like that. Or so Peppy can only hope. In hopes of hearing a way to get out of falling victim to a Druffin Rike, the Growlithe tries to listen to the man... but he's so -boring-. Until! He mentions Growlithe! "Grrrowlithe?" Peppy's head snaps up as he comes to attention. Is he being talked about?
The representative turns the TM over so Patch can see its different sides. The number 23 and the words 'Dragon Rage' are stamped on a round ceramic plaque on one side; on the opposite side, there's a hole just the right size to drop a poke'ball into. "Here you are, madam, all yours," he says, handing the TM over. "Have you brought the poke'mon you'll be using this Machine on here today?" he adds. His glance flicks towards Peppy, no doubt expecting the Growlithe to be the subject; someone forgot to brief him, apparently.
Patch nods at the man, taking out a Pokeball. "I have. I'm going to use it on my Charmeleon, Charles." She wonders if the man was supposed to know this already or not. It's slightly embarassing for the trainer. She tosses the ball onto the floor, letting her Charmeleon out so the crowd and the representatives can see him. "Meleon!" says Charles when he appears, looking around at the unfamiliar arena.
Seeing as how the man who mentioned Growlithes in the first place is now glancing at Peppy, this can only mean one of two things. One. The man is glancing with pure and uptmost admiration for the undeniable cuteness and fuzziness of the canine. Two. The man is planning on using a terrifying Duzung Rise on him first. Let's hope it's the first. The dog lowers his head a little as he glances up at the man. To think that this spineless (and brainless) furball actually beat a Hitmonchan! Two! Fortunately enough for Peppy, Charles is sent out of his Pokeball. A little doggy grin crosses the pup's face, though his head slays slightly lower than it's usual position. The Charmeleon will be able to prevent anybody from being Dungeon Raised!
The representative certainly doesn't seem to mind. "Excellent! Simply recall your Charmeleon to his poke'ball, then place it in this opening here. When it's ready, the TM will chime. Then release your poke'mon once more and stand back!"
Patch nods again and recalls her Charmeleon. "Back you go, Charles. Time to learn a new move!" With that, she carefully places his Pokeball in the opening and waits for the machine to chime, grinning in anticipation. Charity and Victory can't help but stare at the TM as it starts to do its work. They've never seen anything like this before, after all.
Peppy gives off a small exhale of relief. Phew. Okay. He's not about to be Dujion Ragged. That's a good thing. Now realizing that he's in no real danger, the dog turns his head to look up at the man. He understands a good 10% of what the man says, but fortunately, Patch seems to understand about 90% more. And so, Peppy's attention turns to the TM and his trainer. What's going on? Peppy sure doesn't know! All he knows is that... is that... whoa. Something cool's happening. His tail wags once or twice, but other than that, the pup is totally still.
The TM makes a soft humming noise as the poke'ball is dropped into place, rotating the ball so that its button points straight in. Then a soft popping noise can be heard, like electricity jumping across a small gap-- and inside the poke'ball, what was a formless void of peace and tranquility becomes a writhing sea of change, the Charmeleon torn apart, the very fiber of its being rewoven before it comes back together... Outside, though, the process seems almost tame. The box snaps for several seconds, then falls silent, then emits a *ping!*
Patch jumps a bit at the final noise of the machine, even though she was expecting it. All the excitement must be making her slightly jumpy, perhaps. At any rate, she removes the Pokeball from the TM and tosses it to the floor again, this time a ways away from her and her Pokemon, since the man said to stand back. She still takes a few steps back from it, motioning for her three Pokemon to do the same. Charity and Victory follow her example.
Wow. <What was that?> The pup asks himself gently, downright confused... and suspicious! A pinging Pokeball? Those aren't *supposed* to ping... are they? Hmm. Ahh, the life of a dumb Growlithe! Always feeling so apprehensive and suspicious! Oh well. Maybe Charles was Dugget Ringed. He'll have to inquire about this. As Patch gestures for the Pokeball to leave the pedestal, Peppy scampers after her, always tripping over his own paws in the process. Klutz.
In the usual flare of light, Patch's Charmeleon appears... buth there's something different about him. Maybe it's the strange, unsettled look in his eye. Maybe it's a subtle difference in his bearing. Or maybe it's the way he lets out a roar almost worthy of a Charizard, takes in a deep breath, and fires a beam of brilliant white light wider than he is into the air, popping the Techno Dome's roof like a soap bubble. (Fortunately, the dome is self-sealing, so all this does is kick up a brief, turbulent wind.) He then stops, looking as surprised as anybody else.
Patch lets out a quiet gasp as her Pokemon demonstrates his new move. She's silent for a few moments, filled with wonder and marveling at the power of this attack. Finally she exclaims, "Wow, Charles! That was awesome! You've learned Dragon Rage!" Charles looks almost as thrilled at the event as his trainer. Charity would clap for the Charmeleon if she had hands. Instead, she just says, <Oooo! That's so neat!> Victory shows his approval by doing a little spin in the air and saying, "Hya!"
Well, that certainly is interesting. Staring purely wide-eyed at Charles, Peppy's jaw drops a little. How did... did... how... "Growlithe?" The dog squeaks quietly, obviously very confused. Maybe... um. Maybe that... then, it hits Peppy. -That- much be the Dezzen Roam! It's not a bad thing at all! ... well, actually, spitting out that white light wouldn't be a very good thing... would it?
The air fills with the sound of Clefairies chanting as the database saves. (Saving)
The representative smiles. "Keep the used Machine with our compliments." Then he turns his attention to the crowd. "Thank you, one and all, for coming to the Techno Dome tournament! We'll soon be hosting another tournament, so until then, keep chasing the dream to be the best!" The audience cheers.
The trainer beckons her Charmeleon back to the rest of the group, still smiling happily. She then crouches down to be closer to the level of her Pokemon. "It couldn't have happened without you three," she says to Peppy, Charity, and Victory. "You guys are the best!" Charity giggles. <Aww, it was nothing.> Victory waves his arms around. <Well, my name -is- Victory, after all.> She then stands, preparing to walk out with her four Pokemon.
That loud, annoying audience is cheering again, but Peppy doesn't seem to notice this time around. He's too shocked. Beyond belief. Why can't he use a Drastan Ruch attack like that? Well, whatever the case, good for Charles. Or so Peppy can only hope. What if using a Drising Rushe attack is painful? Well, whatever. Patch's kind words of admiration cause Peppy's tail to waggle a little, as the cutest little doggy grin crosses his face. <Can we get dinner now? I'm starved!> Figures.
