The Pokemon Trainers' Club
#06: The Pokemon Tournament, Part 2


     The first day of the tournament went by fairly quickly. Even though there were a few events scheduled throughout the rest of the day, Malcolm and Pikachu weren't really in the mood to attend any of them. They decided to skip them all, opting to order an early dinner from room service, get some late-night exercise in, and get to bed early.

     The next morning, after getting ready, Malcolm and Pikachu headed down to the battle arena to find out when and against whom Pikachu's first match would be. Malcolm walked into the battle arena, and was shocked at the sight. It was gigantic. The actual battle enclosure itself was a closed off, sealed box made of blast-proof clear plastic, and surrounded on all sides by thick metal which contained tons of heavy machinery. Just the battle enclosure itself was probably about the size of a hockey rink, Malcolm estimated. The only entrances were two doors at either end of the shorter sides. They were closed at the moment, and Malcolm couldn't even imagine what was inside. He looked around the arena surrounding the battle enclosure; there was stadium seating to fit thousands and thousands of people, and all around the stadium were gigantic screens. Malcolm had read up on the tournament before -- the battle occurred within the safety of the enclosure, and the spectators watched the live feed on the screens being shot from cameras inside.

     At the moment, most of the displays were off, but on a few was displayed the tournament brackets and schedules for the battles. There were 32 teams of pokemon and their trainers entering, which meant there would be 16 battles in the first tier. Malcolm's battle was the first of the day. Pikachu was randomly selected as number 1, and he would be battling against number 2, a Squirtle. He wondered to himself how well Pikachu would do; it would destroy Pikachu's self-confidence if he lost the first match of the tournament. He checked his watch; his battle didn't start for another two hours yet. He continued scanning the listings, finding Charmander, number 15, would be battling against the Torkoal he saw the other day, number 16.

     Malcolm noticed the judges booth; he went over, finding the judges were getting ready. They looked up as he approached.
     "May I help you?" one asked.
     "Yes, my name is Malcolm, I'm Pikachu's trainer, and I'd like to submit a field card. Who do I go to see about that?"
     "I can help you right here," he said as he took out a small scanner. "May I see the card?" Malcolm took the Playground 1 card out of his pocket, handing it to the judge. After a quick scan of a barcode printed on it with the scanner, he handed it back to Malcolm. "There we are, your Playground 1 card will be implemented in the match. Good luck, and remember to report here to the arena fifteen minutes early to prepare!"

     Malcolm and Pikachu headed back up to their room. Once they arrived, Malcolm sat down on the couch, picking Pikachu up and setting him on the couch beside him. A pep talk was in order right now, Malcolm decided.
     "Hey, Pikachu, are you feeling all right? Are you all ready to battle?" Pikachu nodded.
     "Pika!" Pikachu said, enthusiastically. Malcolm chuckled.
     "Well, looks like you didn't really even need a pep talk after all," he said with a chuckle. "But just remember, Pikachu, this is a whole new game. You'll be doing things you've never done before, these matches will be the first real use of your new suit's features, and this is just your first tournament. So win or lose, do your best, Pikachu. That's all I ask of you. Just remember, you've got me, Paul, Charmander, Scyther, and everybody else that's wished us luck so far behind you, rooting you on!" Pikachu nodded, balling his paws into fists resolutely. He would try his best, but he was determined to win this tournament for everybody behind him... especially Malcolm!

     Over the course of the next few hours, Malcolm made sure Pikachu was taking it easy, for the most part. He had Pikachu do some warm-up stretching, and following another suggestion he received from another trainer he spoke with through e-mail, gave Pikachu a large amount of water to drink about an hour before the match. This ensure that, should Pikachu need to pee, he would be quite ready and able to do it. Malcolm made sure he had all his cards ready -- just in case.

     The time passed more quickly than either Malcolm or Pikachu would have liked, and before they knew it, it was time to head down to the arena. They still had about 25 minutes before the match, but they figured it would be a good idea to get there a bit early. They took the elevator down, and the doors opened to a frantic Scyther, repeatedly pushing the up button. He was about to run into the elevator, when he noticed who was in the car.
     "Oh, Malcolm! Pikachu! I was just about to head up there now to make sure you two knew you had to be at the arena soon!"
     "Yeah, we were on our way there right now," Malcolm said.
     "Oh, good, good," Scyther said, relieved. "Anyway, Pikachu, I think you'll do just fine in this first match. This trainer and his Squirtle, they're also new trainers. I think they both started about a month ago. Did you check their standings?" Scyther asked Malcolm. Malcolm's eyes widened.
     "Standings? I didn't even think to check those!" Malcolm admitted sheepishly.
     "You really should," Scyther suggested helpfully, "they're a great tool in sizing up your competition before a match, letting you know what sort of opponent you're up against. Anyway, I checked up on them last night. Squirtle has a 1 and 3 record right now, and from what I can estimate from his data, I'd wager that one victory of his was someone letting him win. If he and his trainer really did only start a month ago, there's no way he could have won a battle that quickly! Even if he did, it couldn't have been a very good pokemon he won against," Scyther added. "Pikachu, you'll be able to run circles around him!"
     "Pika!" Pikachu squeaked happily, his confidence he would do well in this match bolstered even more. Malcolm just chuckled; while Scyther was a walking, talking pokedex, he was certainly able to help Malcolm out greatly.
     "Thank you so much for your help, Scyther!" Malcolm said. He was about to grab Scyther's hand to shake it, but he remembered all he had was blades. He instead just gave Scyther a big hug, and the three set off towards the arena.

     By now, it was much more crowded and active than when Malcolm had come down earlier. Huge lines of people were outside the four doors to get in. Malcolm groaned.
     "We're never going to get through there in time!" he moaned.
     "Don't worry about that, follow me!" Scyther said. He walked off, and Malcolm followed him. Scyther led him and Pikachu to another door in the middle of the four large doors, marked "Restricted Access: Tournament Competitors And League Staff Only!" Scyther pushed it open, and he went in, Malcolm and Pikachu following. It led to a stairway leading down to the middle of the arena floor. Scyther pointed over at a young woman standing outside the battle enclosure. "Go talk to that receptionist, Malcolm. She'll get you all set up. I'm going over to grab a seat now before the other league members take all the good ones! Good luck, Malcolm and Pikachu... you'll do great, I just know it!" With that, Scyther ran off towards the seats.

     Malcolm went over to the receptionist, and she smiled as they approached.
     "Ah, you must be Malcolm and Pikachu! Good morning, and welcome! You're a bit early, but that's quite all right. Are you familiar with the tournament battle system?"
     "I think I know more or less how things go," Malcolm said, "but this is my first tournament, and I guess I could use an explanation." The receptionist smiled.
     "Well, I'd be happy to be of service. That is my job, after all! If you'll follow me, please?" Malcolm and Pikachu followed her over to the door. The receptionist looked at Malcolm. "I'm sorry, but your Pikachu will have to wait out here for the time being. We'll be done in just a minute." Malcolm nodded.
     "All right. Pikachu, you stay here. Don't move."
     "Pika!" Pikachu answered, obediently sitting on the ground. With that, Malcolm and the receptionist went into the arena.
     "As you can see, your Playground 1 card was the only card that was implemented. The other trainer for this particular battle didn't submit a field card." Malcolm looked around; the majority of the field was covered with grass, but there were some patches of sand and concrete surfaces here and there. As far as items went, the field was almost completely barren, save for a few balls of various sizes scattered around the field, and two small balance beams set up on the grassy areas. She headed towards one corner, where there was a small booth about the size of two telephone booths put together. As they walked towards it, she continued to explain the tournament rules to Malcolm. "The rules are, for the most part, the same rules as standard battles. Passive and aggressive victories are won in the same ways as standard battles. The main difference in tournament battles is that, depending on the cards submitted, the pokemon will have terrains, items, hazards, and weather to deal with. Anything on the field can be used offensively or defensively, and remember, anything goes."

     The two now stood outside the booth in the corner.
     "This is your trainer booth. You'll be issuing orders to your Pikachu from here during the match. It will be raised up to the ceiling throughout the course of the match," she explained as she pointed to a large track on the wall of the enclosure the booth was attached to. She walked inside of the booth, and Malcolm followed her. There was a small chair inside, and there were many lights, consoles, displays, and monitors covering the front console. The outer walls facing the main area of the enclosure were mostly glass, giving an excellent view over the entire field. Malcolm turned his attention back to the main console.
     "There's so many controls here," Malcolm said, overwhelmed.
     "It's not hard at all, don't worry," the receptionist assured him. "The monitors on this wall give you a detailed view of the arena if it gets too hard to see from here; they're hooked up to the same live feed cameras the spectators in the audience see," she said as she pointed out the tiny cameras mounted all over the ceiling of the enclosure. "In addition, you have five cameras you have complete control over. The controls are here," she said as she pointed at five monitors in the corner. Each monitor had a small joystick underneath it, and a wheel next to it for zooming. "Of course, just so you know, the other trainer also has five cameras in roughly the same positions. This," she said as she pointed to a small speaker, "allows communication directly to the league judges' booth who will be monitoring the match. If you wish to contest something or just give up altogether, just tell them. The microphone is always on. The booth is otherwise soundproof, as is the battle enclosure, which means your only communication with Pikachu will be through your headset."

     "This is probably the most important part of all," she said as she pointed at a small slot next to a touch screen. "This is where you'll insert cards that you wish to use. Any item, weather, or hazard cards at your disposal can be used here. Just slide them in. After about five seconds to make sure it's a valid card and prepare the system, you'll see their effects in the enclosure. Remember, there's a one minute delay between card usage," she added. "This number here," she said as she pointed to a small LED display which was currently off, "will count down the time you have between cards when you use one. I think the last thing to show you is this," she said as she pointed at one final LED display. This one was near the speaker, and it read "10" at the moment. "This number is the countdown to the beginning of battle. Your Pikachu is not allowed to leave his starting circle until that number reads zero; if he does, he'll be disqualified. Anyway, that's about all there is," she said as she stepped back outside. "Oh! One last thing, Malcolm. See those panels?" She pointed to many panels which lined the metal walls and ceiling of the enclosure. "When you use an item card, that's where most of the effects will come out from. If you see a panel opening and you didn't submit a card, be careful!"

     Malcolm remained in the booth, since the match would be starting shortly anyway. The receptionist led Pikachu into the enclosure, having him stand in a small circle roughly midway into the arena on Malcolm's side. She walked back out of the enclosure, closing the door behind her. Malcolm could tell Pikachu, who was getting antsy, wanted to wander around and explore.
     "Whoa there, buddy," Malcolm said through his headset. "You're going to have to stay still until I give you the order to move. If you move outside of that circle before my command, we'll be disqualified!"
     "Pikaaa..." Pikachu whined, nervously. Malcolm chuckled.
     "Don't let it get to you. You'll do great. Good luck, Pikachu!"
     "Pika!" Malcolm noticed movement, and he noticed his opposing trainer entering from the opposite end of the enclosure. The opposing trainer looked at Malcolm, who waved. The trainer, however, ignored Malcolm, walking into his booth and sitting down.
     "Nice guy," Malcolm muttered under his breath. Squirtle was also led into the enclosure, to his starting circle. Squirtle's circle was about two feet away from Pikachu, and it was on the opposing trainer's side of the enclosure. Squirtle was nodding every so often; Malcolm guessed he was getting some pre-battle orders from his trainer.

     Malcolm wanted to get a better look at Squirtle, but he was pretty sure he wasn't allowed to leave his booth. He remembered his cameras, though, and turned to look at them, using one on the dead center of the enclosure's ceiling to zoom in on Squirtle. As the camera came into focus, Malcolm snickered. It was clear that Squirtle's costume was very poorly made. The suit itself was made out of rubber, like Pikachu's, but it was light blue. It didn't shine in the bright lights of the arena, making Malcolm wonder if the trainer maintained it well. As for Squirtle's shell, Malcolm couldn't tell what it was made out of. It didn't look like foam; it almost looked like wood, Malcolm thought to himself. If it was, that meant Squirtle was very back-heavy, and he already had a great idea...

     Once the door on Squirtle's side of the enclosure was shut, the speaker clicked on in Malcolm's booth.
     "Trainer Malcolm," a judge's voice said through the speaker, "are you and Pikachu prepared to battle?"
     "We are," Malcolm replied.
     "Very well. The match will begin shortly." The speaker clicked off, and Malcolm was caught by surprise as the booth began to vibrate, a motor lifting it up the track on the wall. As soon as it touched the ceiling, it stopped, and Malcolm had a great view of the arena. He could see his opponent's booth had raised as well. "This is it," Malcolm thought to himself. "Our very first tournament battle's about to start!"

     Meanwhile, outside of the enclosure, the fans murmured excitedly. Paul and Charmander were in the stands, rooting for Malcolm, and Scyther was watching the monitors from his seat in the league members' area, anxious for the battle to start to see how well Pikachu would do.
     "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the eighth annual US Northeast Division pokemon tournament!" an announcer's voice boomed over a speaker system to the crowd. Malcolm, Pikachu, Squirtle, and his trainer were the only ones who couldn't hear the announcing, as it was blocked by the soundproof battle enclosure. "Welcome to this year's first battle in the first tier, and it promises to be a good one! Our first contestants is the newcomer Pikachu, who has been making quite the name for himself in his battle career so far! Will he survive this first match? Not if his opponent, Squirtle, another newcomer to the league, has anything to say about it! We know you're all excited, so without further delay, let's get this battle underway!"

     Malcolm was startled as the LED indicating the 10-second countdown began, beeping with the passing of each second.
     "Get ready, Pikachu, we're going to start off with a charge, 20 R 3 back on my command!" Malcolm said through the headset. Pikachu dropped to all fours, awaiting Malcolm's order, as Squirtle just stood there. As soon as the countdown hit zero, Malcolm shouted "Now!" Pikachu darted off to his right as Squirtle clumsily charged at where Pikachu was, missing him by a mile. Malcolm's directions had Pikachu standing right in front of a small tennis ball sitting on a concrete portion of the arena. Pikachu was standing in front of it, so Malcolm bet the other trainer didn't even notice.
     "Pikachu begins with a great dodge... Squirtle missed him by a mile!" the announcer said to the crowd. Paul and Charmander cheered, and Scyther was watching the monitors, chuckling.
     "Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?" Scyther muttered to himself, amused. He remembered from his first battle with Pikachu and Malcolm all too well Pikachu's excellent dodging ability, which left his attacker tripping over balls and other assorted hazards in the arena. That was exactly what Malcolm had in mind, too.
     "Hold your ground, Pikachu!" Malcolm ordered through the headset. "Get ready to dodge left on my command!" Just as Malcolm hoped, Squirtle's trainer sent Squirtle charging at Pikachu at full speed. "Now!" Malcolm shouted. Pikachu hopped to the left, and Squirtle ran right into the tennis ball. He flailed, trying to keep his balance, but it was no use. He tumbled forwards, flipping a few times and landing on his back.
     "What a move!" the announcer gasped. "Pikachu dodged and sent Squirtle tripping over a tennis ball. But... what's this?" the announcer asked. The noise of the crowds dulled for a moment as everybody watched in disbelief. Nobody -- not even Malcolm, watching it first-hand -- could believe what they were seeing. Squirtle tried his hardest to get up, but his heavy shell kept him on his back, unable to flip himself back over. "Oh, no! Squirtle's shell is preventing him from getting up!" The arena burst into laughter at Squirtle, who was struggling futilely to right himself. "What a terrible pokemon design!" the announcer laughed.

     Malcolm was quite proud of himself. He had already won! Instead of taking a victory immediately, though, he decided to give the crowd a bit of a show first.
     "Hey, Pikachu! You can relax now, Squirtle's stuck on his back!"
     "Pi?!" Pikachu squeaked back in disbelief.
     "That's right. Say, why don't you give Squirtle a bit of a spin, hmm?" Pikachu giggled, and using his paws, began to spin Squirtle like a top, giggling the whole time.
     "Squir-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-rtle!!" Squirtle cried out, dizzy. The spectators were laughing even harder now.
     "What a show off," Paul chuckled. Scyther was too busy trying to catch his breath from laughing to make any comments under his breath.
     "This is great, folks!" came the announcer's voice. "Pikachu's already secured his victory, and now he's just taunting the helpless Squirtle, playing with him!" To add insult to injury, Pikachu decided to mark Squirtle as well, cocking his leg as he began to piss on Squirtle's still-spinning form. This infuriated Squirtle's trainer, even more than he already was.
     "Why doesn't he just end it?" he shouted, slamming his fist on the console. "I'll show him!" Squirtle's trainer inserted a card into the reader, touching the area on his touch screen where Pikachu and Squirtle were. This one was potentially dangerous -- a Hot Wax 1 hazard card. It sprayed hot wax from a nozzle in the ceiling down onto the field where the trainer specified with the touch screen, and if a pokemon got caught in the spray, they would be encased as the wax hardened, immobile! Malcolm was about to tell Pikachu to knock it off and just go for the win already, but his attention shifted to a panel opening in the ceiling. He gasped as a huge nozzle began to descend.
     "Pikachu, dodge right, as fast and as far as you can!" Pikachu, wasting no time at the urgency in Malcolm's voice, darted far off to the right towards the center of the arena. This meant nothing but the helpless Squirtle was there to receive the spray of wax. It coated his exposed front side completely, immobilizing him in an inch-thick layer of wax.

     By this point, the spectators could hardly breathe. They couldn't believe what a terrible trainer Squirtle's trainer was.
     "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to do you all a big favor and refrain from making any 'turtle wax' jokes!" the announcer laughed into the microphone, sounding like he was about to cry with laughter himself. Malcolm chuckled at the situation himself from his booth.
     "Great job, Pikachu! Now get back over there, break the wax around Squirtle's cock, and go for the win!" Pikachu happily bounded back towards Squirtle, finding when he got there that Squirtle was indeed encased in wax. He knocked on it, then climbed up on top of Squirtle, feeling around for his cock. Once he found it, he broke the wax around it, and took an effortless passive victory as he used his muzzle, sucking Squirtle into defeat!

     At Pikachu's victory, the crowds went wild.
     "That's it, everybody!" the announcer shouted. "Pikachu and his trainer Malcolm are the winners of this battle!" The trainers' booths descended, and once they stopped on the ground, Malcolm threw open the door, running out.
     "Pikachu! You did great, buddy!" Malcolm kneeled down, and Pikachu charged at him, tackling him in a hug.
     "Pi pika!" Squirtle's trainer just glared at Malcolm and Pikachu as he went over to try to drag his wax-covered Squirtle towards his exit. He found that Squirtle was, with the wax, quite heavy, and he had to get two league hands waiting outside to help him carry Squirtle off. By that point, a crowd had formed around Squirtle's trainer's exit to see Squirtle up close, laughing at him as they took pictures of the event. Malcolm and Pikachu exited the enclosure to a crowd of his own fans, all screaming their congratulations and admiration on how well Pikachu performed to Malcolm.

     It took Malcolm almost half an hour to work his way through the crowds and get Pikachu to the elevators to get back up to his room. As soon as they were safely inside the elevator, Malcolm kneeled down, giving Pikachu a big hug.
     "Pikachu, you did great! I'm so proud of you!"
     "Pika!" Pikachu giggled happily. He was pretty proud of himself, too! The elevator dinged, and Malcolm and Pikachu reached their floor, heading into their room. Pikachu decided to take a quick nap before they had to go down to watch Paul and Charmander's match, and headed into the bedroom, climbing up onto the bed and falling asleep rather quickly. Malcolm wanted to take a nap as well, but he was far too excited to sleep. He and Pikachu had just won their first tournament victory! Malcolm's mental celebration was cut short when there was a knock at his door. He hoped it wasn't more fans who had come to congratulate him, but he was surprised to find Paul, Charmander, and Scyther there.
     "Malcolm, man, you did really good!" Paul said, impressed.
     "Char charmander!" Charmander added in agreement, happily snorting smoke out his nose.
     "Yeah, great job, Malcolm!" Scyther said, waving his blade slightly to disperse some of Charmander's smoke. Malcolm blushed.
     "Thanks guys... but Pikachu's the one who deserves most of the praise, not me!"
     "Where is Pikachu, anyway?" Paul asked.
     "He's taking a nap. Say, let's go out on the balcony and talk." The four headed out to the balcony, closing the sliding glass door behind them.
     "You know, Malcolm," Scyther said as the four stood outside, "the judges were saying that if you had finished that match up when Squirtle fell onto his back, that would have been the shortest match in league history! But even still, I think that match still managed to rank about number three for shortest match. You and Pikachu were perfect!"
     "Well, I only hope me and Charmander can finish our battles up as quickly as Malcolm did," Paul chuckled as he checked his watch. "Still got two more hours though," he said to himself. As Malcolm and Paul began talking about the battle, Charmander suddenly began to twitch. He suddenly sneezed, blowing out a good deal of smoke into the general area.
     "Bless you," Paul and Malcolm said idly, used to Charmander's sneezes. They didn't pay much attention as they used their hands to fan some of the smoke away, but Scyther began to cough, doing his best to use his blades to fan the smoke away.
     "Hey, c'mon!" Scyther whined to Charmander between coughs. "Shouldn't you cover your mouth or something?" Charmander just grinned, and began to playfully snort some more smoke at Scyther. Not wanting to even bother arguing, Scyther just moved over to hide behind Malcolm.

     "Oh, shoot!" Malcolm suddenly exclaimed.
     "What's wrong?" asked Paul.
     "I wanted to stay down there and watch the second battle to see who Pikachu would be up against tomorrow." Scyther thought for a minute.
     "Well, the match is probably over, but the results are online if you want to check?" he suggested. The four went back inside, and Malcolm took his laptop, sitting on the couch with it. Paul and Malcolm tried to huddle around the laptop, but Scyther cleared his throat. Paul and Malcolm looked at him. "You do know you can hook that up to the TV, right?" he asked. Using his blades to carefully grab the handles, Scyther opened the wooden doors of a huge entertainment center, revealing a gigantic TV sitting inside hooked up to surround sound speakers all around the room. "There should be a cable here that just plugs into your computer."
     "Oh. Thank you, Scyther!" Malcolm said. He got up, and looked behind the TV, finding the cable. He plugged it in and turned on the TV, his laptop display showing up there. He went to sit back down with his laptop, and he, Paul, and Scyther sat on the couch. Malcolm pulled up the schedule, finding that the fourth battle was already in progress. Treeko had won the second battle of the day, so Pikachu would have to battle him tomorrow. "Treeko, eh?" Malcolm asked, pulling up Treeko's standings page. He wasn't great, but he certainly wasn't bad. His current record, taking into consideration his first win, was 4-4.
     "Treeko!" Scyther suddenly gasped. "I fought Treeko once a little more than a year ago. He may not look it, but he's very quick, and he's excellently adapted to climb over all kinds of surfaces. Walls, ceilings, anything, so make sure you and Pikachu are careful!"

     By this point, it was about time for Paul to get down to his own battle; Malcolm woke Pikachu up, and the five went down. Malcolm and Pikachu sat in the stands, watching Paul and Charmander battle on the screens. He had to admit, it was certainly much different to watch a battle on the screens than to be in the trainer booth in the arena, directing. Neither Paul nor Torkoal's trainer decided to submit a field card this early in the tournament, so Charmander and Torkoal fought on a barren concrete floor. The battle was, for the most part, at a standstill. Torkoal's shell prevented Charmander from doing too much to weaken Torkoal, but Torkoal was far too slow and clumsy to attack Charmander. Paul, however, was clever -- he told Charmander to pretend to be building up a huge attack, and Charmander began to take a giant breath. Torkoal's trainer yelled for Torkoal to hide in his shell and brace himself, but that was exactly what Paul wanted. With that, Charmander just walked up and lifted Torkoal up, flipping him onto his back. Malcolm chuckled, and wondered if he started a trend for fighting turtle-like pokemon. From there, Charmander was easily able to put his muzzle to use, winning with no trouble. The crowd cheered, and Malcolm and Pikachu made their way outside to wait for Paul and Charmander.

     Malcolm saw Scyther, calling him over, and the three waited until Paul and Charmander emerged.
     "Great job, Paul!" Malcolm said. Paul laughed.
     "Ah, it was nothing! Say, now that we're all done for the rest of the day, anybody else hungry? I could go for some dinner."
     "Sure," said Malcolm. "Where should we go?"
     "I don't know, what are you in the mood for?"
     "Anything, really... I'm starving," Malcolm admitted. "I've been so anxious about the tournament all day that I haven't eaten anything. Pikachu had some breakfast, but I'll bet he's twice as hungry as I am!"
     "Pika!"
     "Well, then, why don't we eat at the restaurant here at the hotel?" Scyther suggested. "I've never personally eaten there before, but I've heard it's excellent! Between the food, the atmosphere, the decor, and the service, I'm pretty sure it's a four or five star restaurant, although I can't remember exactly which right now. In fact..." Scyther was cut off as Malcolm began to laugh. Scyther came to an abrupt stop, and he and Paul looked at Malcolm like he was insane.
     "What's so funny, Malcolm?" Paul asked.
     "Something's been striking me as strange for a while, and I just now figured out what it is. I'm standing here watching you talk, Scyther, and it feels more like I'm watching a commercial for the restaurant. Aren't you just supposed to say your name like other pokemon?" he asked, teasingly. Paul, Charmander, and Pikachu also began to laugh, and Scyther looked down at the ground, beginning to pout. Malcolm chuckled and hugged Scyther. "I'm just kidding, you know!"

     With that, the five went to the restaurant. Scyther wasn't kidding -- it really was huge and lavishly decorated. They couldn't see much inside yet, but a red carpet lined the walkway to the entryway, and there was a huge fountain just inside. The five went up to the desk, and a waiter led them to their table. They looked around as they walked; several other trainers and their pokemon were eating there as well. They arrived at their table; it was a large, round table, and everybody took their seats. As they began to look through the menus, Malcolm noticed they had pokemon food listed specially.
     "Well, that's good," Malcolm said to the others. "They serve pokemon food here. That takes care of three of us already!" At this announcement, Scyther -- who was busy looking over the menu -- sighed. He dropped the menu to the table, and leaned back in his chair. He really did like being considered one of the pokemon, but he did have other dinner plans.
     "And I heard the spaghetti here is to die for, too," he muttered under his breath. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Paul were looking over their menus to decide what human food they wanted.
     "Hey, Paul, it's my treat, so order whatever you want."
     "Oh, really? Thanks so much, Malcolm!" Once the waiter came around to take their orders, Malcolm and Paul began to talk.
     "You know, I can't believe you and Charmander stole our battle plan," Malcolm said to Paul, teasing him.
     "Stole? Flipping Torkoal on his back was a perfectly legal battle move!" Paul retorted.
     "Sure it is! If you're a copycat," Malcolm joked. While Malcolm continued to try to make Paul admit he got the idea from Malcolm, Pikachu and Charmander, who were sitting next to each other, began to play. Charmander snorted smoke at Pikachu, who in turn used his tail to whack Charmander lightly. This went on for a minute or two, when Charmander turned to Scyther, who was on his other side. He blew a large cloud of smoke at Scyther, who began to cough.
     "Hey, quit it, Charmander!" Scyther coughed. "Didn't they ban smoking in restaurants?" Charmander took a deep breath, about to blow a large cloud of smoke at Scyther, but Scyther used his blades to hold Charmander's mouth shut tightly. This caught Charmander by surprise, and he began to cough on his own smoke as it billowed out of his mouth and nose as Scyther looked quite proud of himself. Malcolm and Paul looked over momentarily, chuckling at Charmander.
     "Serves you right for bothering Scyther," Paul teased.
     "Chaaaaaaar!" Charmander pouted. With that, he went back to bothering Pikachu.

     Once Malcolm finally got Paul to admit he got the idea from Malcolm's battle, Malcolm turned to Scyther.
     "Say, Scyther," Malcolm said, "you seem to know a lot about this place. I take it you've been here before?" Scyther nodded.
     "Oh, yes, many times! Well, not to this restaurant in particular," he admitted, "but to this tournament. This, and the other tournaments."
     "Other tournaments?" Malcolm asked. Scyther nodded.
     "Well, sure... you didn't think this was the only tournament there was, did you? This is the US Northeast pokemon league division tournament. There's also the US Northwest, US Southwest, and US Southeast divisions as well. Then there's also the overseas ones; the European division, the Asian division, the Japanese division, the Australian division, the African division, and the South American division. Of course, the four US divisions and the Japanese divisions are by far the largest. I've only been to the four US division tournaments, but since the Northeast division is my home area anyway, I've been to this one the most."
     "Wow, I didn't realize the pokemon league was worldwide," Malcolm said, amazed. "So how long have you been in the league, Scyther?"
     "Hmm... let's see... this will be my eighth year," Scyther said proudly. Both Paul and Malcolm's jaws dropped.
     "Eight years!" Malcolm exclaimed
     "That means... that means you've been a member of this ever since it started," Paul gasped. Scyther nodded.
     "That's right! A friend of mine was responsible for starting the Northeast division league when I was just 20, and he figured it was something I'd like, so I got in from the start. I wasn't always a pokemon, though. You see, when I started out eight years ago, I was just a league judge. But the more battles I judged, the more I wanted to give battling a try. Once I found out league operatives were eligible for random operative training, I signed up. After a year's worth of training, I was officially a league Scyther! That was about four years ago, and I've never been happier!" Malcolm whistled.
     "Wow, Scyther... I guess that explains why you know so much about the league," Malcolm said. Scyther giggled.
     "I try to stay informed," he said with a smile.

     The waiter, at this point, came up with the food. He set Malcolm and Paul's food down in front of them, then set down three silver bowls filled with dark brown pellets. With that, the waiter was off.
     "Scyther, are you sure you're all right to eat like that, with the blades and all?" Malcolm asked, wondering exactly how Scyther normally ate.
     "Oh, they're removable. I usually keep them on just for the interest of keeping the complete costume on, but I take them off when I'm eating or in emergencies." Scyther stuck his right blade under his left arm, holding it down as he pulled it off. Scyther still had a 3-fingered, green, clawed paw under the blade, though, to prevent the odd appearance of human hands on an otherwise full suit. He pulled his other blade off, setting them on the floor under his chair, and held his paws up. "See?"
     "Wow... that's neat!" Malcolm said. Paul nodded in agreement, then looked over at Pikachu, Charmander, and Scyther's plates.
     "I know it's pokemon food," Paul asked, "but what is that really, dog food?"
     "Actually, it really is pokemon food," Scyther said. "It's a special league recipe, made especially for battling pokemon, enriched with vitamins and minerals. It looks like dog food, but it's not. I've had it before, it's actually very tasty. Want to try it?" Scyther asked, pushing his bowl towards Paul slightly. Paul shook his head.
     "Er... no thanks. Wouldn't want to deprive you of your dinner there," Paul said. He knew it was perfectly fine to eat, but it still looked like dog food. Pikachu and Charmander were eating quite hungrily, and Malcolm and Paul dug into their dinners as well. Scyther, unlike the other two pokemon, took his time eating his dinner. Everything was going along nicely until about ten minutes into the meal. Everybody was about halfway done with their food, and Charmander sighed contentedly, sending smoke over in Scyther's general direction. Scyther, who thought Charmander did it on purpose, threw a pellet of food at him. He completely missed Charmander, but he did nail Pikachu square in the side of his head. Scyther was about to apologize; before he could, Pikachu (who thought Charmander threw it at him) took a piece of his own food, tossing it at Charmander.
     "Char!" Charmander squeaked in surprise as the food hit him in the head. He growled, smoke steaming out of his nose, and Malcolm and Paul looked over just in time to see Charmander take a small clawful of pellets, throwing them back at Pikachu. War had been waged; Pikachu and Charmander began to throw food at each other, and Malcolm and Paul were trying too hard not to burst out laughing to stop them. Scyther just sat back and watched, amused. The food fight raged on for about thirty seconds before a waiter came over, clearing his throat loudly.
     "Hey, uh, guys, I think it's time to knock it off," Malcolm said sternly. The two pokemon looked at him, and they hung their heads in shame, the food fight ending as quickly as it had started. The waiter walked away, and Malcolm, Paul, and Scyther began to snicker loudly. "Although it was funny while it lasted," Malcolm admitted to Pikachu and Charmander quietly, which made them at least feel a little better.

     The meal ended quickly after that; they finished up, and Malcolm paid the bill. The five headed out, and went back to the elevators, going back up to Malcolm's room to relax after dinner.
     "Say, Paul," Malcolm said as he sat on the couch as the three pokemon ran off to play, "what room are you in, anyway?"
     "Hmm? Oh, room 3129. If you want, feel free to visit anytime."
     "Thanks! Say, if it's all right with you, I think I might be getting to bed a little early. All of today's excitement has gotten me pooped." Paul chuckled, standing up.
     "Sure, no problem, Malcolm. Hey, Charmander!" Paul called out. Charmander came running, stopping at Paul's feet.
     "Char!"
     "Come on, Charmander. Malcolm's going to be getting to bed now." Charmander nodded, and waved goodbye to Malcolm. Malcolm giggled.
     "Good night, Charmander. Good night, Paul. I'll see you guys tomorrow at the arena?"
     "You bet!" Paul said. With that, he and Charmander left, closing the front door behind them. Malcolm yawned, and Scyther walked in from the bedroom where they were playing, Pikachu following him.
     "Did you say you were going to bed, Malcolm?" Scyther asked. Malcolm nodded.
     "Yeah, I'm starting to get a little tired." Scyther fidgeted slightly, then sighed.
     "Say, Malcolm... do you think I could possibly... well, that is to say... I mean..." Scyther continued to stammer out the beginning to a question.
     "Just spit it out already, Scyther!" Malcolm sighed, exasperated.
     "Do you think, if it wouldn't be any trouble to you, that I could maybe stay here with you and Pikachu tonight? See, you've got one of the nicer suites, and league members only get the normal rooms, and my room is very small and lonely, and..." Malcolm waved his hand, stopping Scyther's explanation.
     "Of course you can, Scyther, I don't mind at all!" Scyther smiled happily, hugging Malcolm.
     "Oh, thank you, thank you so much!"


Mar 24 2005
By Prometheus
Prometheus's Cave
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

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