| Pokemon Neo
Part 19: The Fiendish Frightening Fighter Foe © 1999-2000 Willow McCall “So you say you have a Rattata, do you?” a hiker asked Aoife at the Celadon Pokemon Center. “I do, sir,” Aoife nodded. “What would you be willing to trade me for it?” “Oh, I don’t know…” the hiker said, probably just to sound nonchalant. “How about this Abra?” Aoife’s eyes lit up. “An ABRA? Are you serious? I thought they were really hard to catch, and if you get one without it teleporting away you’re lucky.” “True,” he said. “But the thing is, right, I can’t control it.” “Oh,” Aoife said. “I’ll gladly take it off your hands, then!” “You sure, Aoife?” Petra asked. “I mean, it is one of your first Pokemon…” “Yeah,” Aoife agreed, “but let’s face it, I never use Rattata. Besides, I already have a poison-type Pokemon. Nidoran, remember?” “Okay,” Petra said. “If you’re sure…” “I am sure,” Aoife said, putting Rattata’s Pokeball in the trading machine. “Besides, an Abra, you know? An opportunity to acquire an Abra doesn’t come up every day.” “But if he couldn’t train it,” Sora reasoned, “why do you think you can? I mean, no offense or anything, but you’re only Rainbow level.” “And most Abra are Phantom level,” Aoife pointed out. “Which I’ve already passed.” “All right,” the hiker said. “Ready to trade?” He had already placed Abra’s Pokeball in the machine. Aoife nodded, signaling to Nurse Faith that she was ready to trade. Faith pressed a button, and the Pokeballs changed place, then opened, each revealing its respective Pokemon. Aoife got her Abra, and the hiker got his Rattata. “Fantastic,” Aoife thought. “Not quite a fair trade, since Abra are usually much stronger, but this one isn’t at that high a level.” “This branch of the tunnel,” Petra said, once again back in the underground tunnel and pointing down one path, “leads us back to Lavender. And I’m sure we don’t want to go there again, so we would take the other path, leading us to Saffron City.” “Saffron City?” Aoife repeated. “Gosh. Dad says one of his toughest battles was there, against Sabrina for his Marsh Badge.” “You don’t have to start out at the primary gym,” Aidan said. “Huh?” Aoife was perplexed. “What do you mean by primary gym? Is there more than one?” “Yep,” Sora nodded. “Saffron is the only city with two gyms. But Sabrina’s psychic Pokemon gym is the official one. Meaning that the Marsh Badge is the badge that the League recognizes.” “But there’s another gym that most people start out at,” Petra went on. “They usually go to the fighting dojo to get their Meteor Badge before they get their Marsh Badge at the official gym. The League doesn’t recognize the Meteor Badge, but it’s good for experience’s sake.” “Cool,” Aoife said. “That’s actually a really good idea, to have one gym as the real one and another secondary one for practice before you get your real badge.” “Yeah,” Petra agreed as they ascended the stairs at the end of the tunnel into the light in Saffron City. “Well, here we are.” “Cool,” said Aoife as she stared around at the buildings of the city. “What’s that big building there?” “Probably the Silph Company building,” Aidan said. “They make Pokeballs and Pokemon items. We might want to go there, they have guided tours and everything.” They headed towards the gym, but then someone pushed roughly past them. “Out of my way,” the figure snarled. “Hey!” Aoife yelled after him. “It’s rude to shove people!” But the figure paid no heed and simply continued on his way. “Jerk,” she scoffed. “Was it just me,” Petra said, looking back after the figure, “or was that person from Team Rocket?” “I think I saw an ‘R’ on his shirt,” Sora said. “Hey, wait a minute…” Petra looked around. “I think there are a lot more Rockets in this city than in some others we’ve been in. Look!” Everyone looked, and they noticed that Petra was right. Usually they would only see one or two Rockets as they walked the streets of a city, but in Saffron City they counted about six Rockets, and they had hardly even set foot in the city. “There _are_ a lot of Rockets out,” Sora said, “and there could be more of them incognito.” “Creepy,” Aoife said. “Let’s hurry up to the gym, okay?” They wandered the streets of Saffron for a while before spotting a large building with a sign reading, “GYM”. “Here it is!” Aoife announced. “Oh…but there’s a bit of an obstruction…” She was referring to the fact that there was a group of Rockets clustered around the door, looking as though they weren’t going to let anyone in on pain of death. Petra cautiously approached the smaller signpost outside the gym. “Saffron City Pokemon Gym,” she read. “Leader: Sabrina.” She turned back to the group. “This isn’t the one we’re looking for.” “Hey, guys!” Sora called, having already explored around the corner. “There’s another gym over here. I think this is the dojo.” The group ran around the corner, only to see another, smaller building with another “GYM” sign. The difference was clear when Petra read the sign. “Fighting Dojo” it simply said. “This’s our place,” Petra announced, heading inside. Inside the dojo there were straw mats on the floor and a thin paper screen at the end of the room with the Japanese symbol for “peace” painted on. People, both men and women, in karate suits and belts were practicing. There were even some Pokemon practicing also, mostly those of the fighting-type. One man was holding a brick for a woman to break. Punching bags hung in the corner, and a Machoke was assailing one of them furiously. “Excuse me?” Aoife said tentatively. “Um, I’ve come here for a challenge…” One man stepped up to greet Aoife. “Welcome to the Saffron Dojo. Before you fight the karate master, you must fight three of us.” “Karate master,” Aidan noted. “That must be what they call the gym leader.” “It will be a one-on-one battle,” the karate trainer continued. “Any objections?” “No,” Aoife said. “I’ll start with Abra!” Her new Abra, a small brown fox-like Pokemon appeared, and to Aoife’s dismay, it appeared to be asleep. “Aaaabra,” it snored. “That’s not fair!” Aoife complained. “It’s mean of that guy to trade me a Pokemon while it’s still asleep.” “Um, Aoife?” Petra spoke up. “It’s supposed to be like that. Abra can attack even when they’re asleep.” “Oh yeah,” Aoife said sheepishly. “I knew that.” “And I choose Mankey!” the trainer cried, throwing forth his fighting Pokemon, a white furry thing with arms and legs. “Take Down, Mankey!” Mankey started charging for Aoife’s new Pokemon, but before he could, “Abra, Teleport now!” And Abra, while still asleep, disappeared, then reappeared in another part of the room. Mankey couldn’t stop charging fast enough, and it crashed into the wall. The karate trainer swore under his breath, then returned Mankey. “Very well, on to your next challenge. Just don’t get cocky, because Ferio, the karate master, will eventually beat you. That’s what happens to all the other trainers to come this way.” “Well,” Aoife said, doing what the trainer had advised her not to do and getting cocky already, “tell Ferio that I’m going to break his tradition, and probably a few other things while I’m at it.” “Ferio, did he say?” Sora thought. “Hmm…I wonder…” “Don’t jump to conclusions,” the man said. “Well, it’s true,” Aoife bragged. “So who’s my next challenge?” “I’m your next challenge,” a woman said, stepping up. “Heh-heh,” Petra grinned. “I never realized karate suits could be so flattering.” “I choose…Machoke!” she said, referring to the Machoke who had been punching the bag in the corner but now walked up and did a few practice punches in the air to get ready for the battle. “Machoke, Comet Punch!” “Machoke ma!” Machoke grunted, repeatedly trying to punch Abra, who repeatedly teleported away. “Let’s see, what other moves does Abra know…” Aoife thought. “How about Confusion, Abra!” “Aaaaaabraaaaa…” Abra snored, its closed eyes glowing through its eyelids. Confusing energy rays emitted from its eyes, and a puzzled expression came over Machoke’s face. “Choke?” Machoke wondered, walking around in circles. It wandered for a while before getting an accidental kick in the face from a Hitmonlee who was also training in the gym. “It can’t fight like that,” the woman decided. “It doesn’t know what it’s doing. Machoke, return.” A younger male trainer, only a little older than Aoife, stepped forward. “Can I be the next challenger?” he asked the woman who had just fought against Aoife. “If you want,” the woman said, then turned back to Aoife. “Just wait, little girl. Master Ferio’s going to wipe the floor with you.” “Yeah, it’s got to be,” Sora decided. “It must be Ferio. It’s not that common a name; what are the chances that this is a totally different person?” “Yeah, yeah,” Aoife waved her hand. “Who is this guy Ferio and what’s the big deal about him to make you guys think he’s so great?” “You’ll see,” the boy karate trainer said. “I choose…Machop!” “And again, I’ll use Abra,” Aoife smirked. The boy’s Machop, a smaller version of the Machoke Aoife had beaten, came out with a “Chop machop ma!” “Karate Chop!” the boy ordered. “Teleport!” Aoife countered. Abra teleported safely out of Machop’s reach, and then under Aoife’s instruction, used Psywave. The small fighter was slammed repeatedly into the ceiling, then dropped on the floor. “Darn you,” the boy muttered. “Machop, return!” The man that Aoife had fought at first came up and announced, “Very good, young lady. Now you will face the gym leader of the fighting dojo, Karate Master Ferio!” The woman and the young boy that Aoife had fought earlier pulled back the screen with the kanji written on it. Behind the screen was a stunning young woman with long green hair, sitting on a pillow and presumably meditating. Aoife’s, Aidan’s, Sora’s, and Petra’s jaws dropped, but for very different reasons. Aoife thought, “This is FERIO? Geez. I thought it was a guy. But then I guess it’s sexist to assume that just because someone’s a karate master of a fighting dojo that they’re a guy. But still, the name sounds like a guy’s name…” Petra thought, predictably, “Wow, she’s so pretty. I wonder if she’ll go out with me…” Aidan’s reaction was similar: “That’s her, that’s the fighting Pokemon trainer I saw at the gym leader’s convention that Ewan went to a long time ago. I never knew her name, never thought I’d see her again, but here she is.” Sora grinned. “Yep, that’s Ferio all right…I wonder if she’ll recognize me…” “Master Ferio, there’s a challenger here for you,” the man ventured. Ferio’s eyes snapped open. “Very well,” she said. “Bring the challenger forth. We shall have a three-on-three…” she paused there and blinked, seeing a familiar face in the challenger’s group of supporters. “Sora?” Sora couldn’t contain herself any longer and exploded, skipping forward to Ferio. “Ferio, hi! How are—” A tall black belt stepped in Sora’s path. “No one is to approach the Master without her permission first.” “It’s okay, Andres,” Ferio said to the black belt. “She has my permission.” “Wow,” Sora marveled, “they really respect you here; it’s like you’re the president or something.” She hopped up and down excitedly, while Aoife, Aidan, and Petra stood back looking confused. “So what happened to you? How come you stopped calling, huh? Omigod, we all thought something terrible had happened to you!” “I got a little sidetracked,” Ferio explained. “Besides, I was studying in a lab in the Orange Islands for a while, on a pretty remote island where there wasn’t that much phone access.” “She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Aidan admired. “Beautiful and smart.” Aoife wasn’t so impressed. “Um, excuse me?” She waved her hand around. “We exist too, ya know. Mind telling us how you know this…this karate master person?” “Oh, sorry,” Sora blushed, realizing that her friends were still there. “Guys, Ferio’s my cousin. She’s an orphan, so she grew up in Azure City with Raven and me. She went off on a journey when she started training Pokemon, but I mostly stayed around the Azure area, so we kind of parted ways.” She hopped around again and grinned. “Until now!” “That’s great, really it is,” Aoife said sarcastically. “May I have my battle now?” “Oh…all right,” Sora gave in and stepped aside. “Darnit, now I don’t know who to support!” “Go, Machamp!” Ferio said, throwing out a Pokemon that was rather like a Machoke, except with four arms instead of two. “Wow,” Aoife breathed. “This might be tough. Go, Abra! Psywave!” “Aaaa…aaabraa…” Abra strained, trying to use its telekinesis on the heavy Pokemon. It managed to lift it up to the ceiling, but then dropped it, knocking the wind out of it. “Thunder Punch, Machamp!” Ferio yelled. “Thunder?” Aoife repeated, watching sparks flying off of the Machamp’s fists. “I didn’t realize that non-electric Pokemon could do stuff like that.” She looked worriedly at her Abra, who had teleported instinctively away, but the Machamp had seen where it had teleported to and was coming after it again. “Hypnosis, Abra!” Abra, while still asleep itself, managed to successfully use Hypnosis and put Machamp to sleep. “Machamp, return,” Ferio returned her Pokemon. “I choose you, Mankey!” “Another one?” Aoife queried, as another furry Mankey appeared. “No problem. Let’s try the same strategy as before, okay, Abra?” “Abra,” Abra nodded. “Mega Punch!” Ferio commanded, while Aoife countered with, “Teleport, Abra!” The result of the two commands was Mankey lunging for Abra, Abra teleporting out of the way, and Mankey punching a hole in the wall. “Try again, Mankey!” Ferio directed. Mankey shook its head. “Mank mankey.” “Oh,” Ferio said, somewhat disheartened but by no means willing to give up yet. “Its fist is stuck in the wall. Mankey, return!” “One more left!” Aoife bragged. “I realized that,” Ferio glared at the younger girl. “But you won’t be able to beat my last Pokemon. Go, Hitmonlee!” A long-legged, dark-eyed Pokemon (not unlike Ferio herself), who had previously been practicing kicks, stepped forward. “Monlee,” it threatened. “Hitmonlee, Low Kick!” Ferio commanded, pointing to the Abra. “Lee!” Hitmonlee said, squatting down and swinging its leg around. Abra wasn’t able to teleport quickly enough, and came into contact with Hitmonlee’s foot. “Aaaaaaabra!” “Abra, return,” Aoife said. “Darn, and that was my Pokemon most likely to beat a fighting Pokemon too.” She looked down at Chu-Chu. “You think you can do it, Chu-Chu?” “Pika,” Chu-Chu nodded, doing some punches in the air. “Chu! Chu! Chu!” “All right,” Aoife said. “Go, Chu-Chu!” Chu-Chu strode forward as threateningly as possible. “Pi! Pika pikacha!” “Lee,” Hitmonlee shrugged, not particularly caring about whatever Chu-Chu had to say. “Hitmonlee, use Low Kick again!” Ferio ordered. “Hitmon!” the fighting Pokemon grunted, swinging its leg around at just the right level to hit Chu-Chu…except it didn’t. Chu-Chu jumped just in time, and Aoife told it to Thundershock, which it did, very successfully. “Leeeeeeee!” Hitmonlee cried out while the electric mouse was shocking it, then collapsed. “Hit.” “YEEEAAAH!” Aoife cheered. “Chaa!” Chu-Chu echoed. Ferio stepped forward and took a small object out of her pocket, presenting it to Aoife. “Your Meteor Badge, Aoife,” she said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some catching up to do with my cousin.” “Wait, I have an idea!” Sora suggested brightly. “You can come with us, Ferio!” “Really?” Ferio said, not prepared for this idea. “Of course!” Sora said. “Can’t she, Aoife?” “Yeah, please?” Petra said, clasping her hands. Aidan did likewise. “Please, Aif?” Aoife looked totally opposed to the idea. “I don’t like her that much…although majority rules, and they definitely have the majority. But how far can I trust Petra on this? She’s just infatuated and it’ll pass. But Aidan never goes wacko over girls, and he likes her…and she’s Sora’s cousin, and they haven’t seen each other in ages, so…” “Okay, she can come with us.” “Yaaay!” Sora bounced up and down. “It’ll be great, Ferio. We go all over the place, ‘cause Aoife’s getting her badges…did I mention that I got to see Zapdos?” Aoife still wasn’t completely sure. “They like her, but I might regret this…” Author's Notes So there you have it, Ferio's with them now. And Aoife got an Abra, although only psychics can control them...maybe she's psychic? You never know, anyway. Why the guy traded an Abra for a Rattata, I dunno. Hikers are idiots anyway. Lasses are idiots too; that sounds like something they'd do. And I know they're supposed to only know Teleport, but she wouldn't be able to win if that were the case, would she? Maybe this is just a special Abra. Oh, and I couldn't fit a Who's That Pokemon in, so it'd probably be Abra or Hitmonlee. The commercial break would probably be after they open the screen, but I didn't want to put an actual break in the text there. back |