****************** Pokemon, Asylum of the Damned Chapter XVI Saga V- Voltbadge Saga Chapter I- Rhydon VS. Kangaskhan, Round II ****************** Rhydon splashed the red-hot lava on his face. His armor-like skin hardly felt a burn as the lava trickled down his face. He rubbed his left eye. The swelling had gone down finally. He hadn't forgotten about what happened at Dillem Town. "Nor should that Kangaskhan," he thought to himself. Rhydon rose to his feet. "(If only I knew where that human was...)" He mumbled to himself. "(A human?)" A voice asked from behind him. Rhydon looked around, and found a Skarmory perched in a tree. "(I think I saw a human pass by here earlier today.)" The Skarmory cawed. "(Really?)" Rhydon asked, "(Which way was he headed?)" The Skarmory paused a few seconds, and then spoke. "(Ummm. yeah...I think he was headed...thataway.)" The Skarmory pointed in a direction with his wingtip. Rhydon curled his lip into a mean grin. "(Thanks.)" Rhydon trudged into the direction the Skarmory pointed out. "(Hey, no problem man!)" The Skarmory cawed after him. ************ Tom had his Pokedex in hand, searching through it as he walked, opening any entry at random. "You-'ve be-en loo-k-ing thr-ou-gh tha-t Po-ke-de-x for hou-rs n-ow," said Porygon, "Wha-t a-re y-ou do-ing?" "Well, when you walk for hours and hours on end," said Tom, "you gotta' find something to do." Then, Tom found an interesting Pokemon in his Pokedex. "Hey Porygon, what do you make of this Pokemon?" Tom asked his computerized companion, as he angled the Pokedex so Porygon could see it. There in the Pokedex screen was a picture of a pinkish-red and blue Pokemon, which looked somewhat like Porygon. "Porygon Two" Tom's Pokedex said. "The upgraded form of Porygon. Although a bit smaller than the original Porygon, Porygon Two is much faster, stronger, and more durable." "O-kay, I gu-e-ss," Porygon said. Just then, Tom could hear a faint rumbling in the distance. Behind him, a trail of dust was being kicked up, as it an object of massive force was charging towards them. The ground even began to shake beneath Tom and Porygon. Tom could make out a small figure in the dust cloud. It was moving- moving very fast- and it seemed to be charging right towards them. The figure became even clearer, and then the figure took shape. Tom's jaw dropped when he saw that it was the Rhydon he fought in Dillem Town, and he didn't seem to be too happy either. Before Tom could pluck a Pokeball from his belt, Rhydon lowered his horn and smashed into Porygon, sending it skidding far away. "Porygon!" Tom gasped as he ran to Porygon's side. "Rhy, rhy rhy rhy!" Rhydon roared. "He sa-ys..." began Porygon weakly, "to se-nd ou-t...Kan-gas-khan." Tom glared at Rhydon indignantly, and Rhydon glared beck at Tom with the same attitude. Tom plucked a Pokeball from his belt, and opened it. Out came Kangaskhan. As soon as their eyes met, Kangaskhan snarled. Rhydon snorted back. "Kangaskhan, Dynamicpunch!" Tom commanded. Kangaskhan pulled his arm back and balled his hand into a fist as Rhydon did the same. Kangaskhan and Rhydon both threw their punches simultaneously, which exploded with a brilliant flash of energy as soon as their knuckles it each other, knocking both Kangaskhan and Rhyon down. By the time Rhydon shook the ringing in his head, Kangaskhan charged at him and smacked him in the face with an Iron Tail attack. Rhydon fell backwards, blood oozing from his cut lip. Before Kangaskhan could land another attack, Rhydon grabbed Kangaskhan by the horns and smashed his own horn into Kangaskhan's face with a Headbutt. Kangaskhan staggered backwards, holding his bleeding nose. Rhydon charged up another Dynamicpunch, and punched Kangaskhan in the gut, the energy-packed punch sent Kangaskhan skidding a few meters backwards. Tom rushed to Kangaskhan's side. "Don't give up, Kangaskhan!" Tom encouraged his Pokemon. Kangaskhan sat up and spat out some phlegm. With a heavy grunt, Kangaskhan got to his feet and wiped away some blood that was trickling down his chin from his nostrils. Rhydon spat on the ground, and rubbed his bloody lip. "Alright, Kangaskhan, Shadow ball!" Tom commanded. Kangaskhan's eyes began to glow an eerie red-black and formed a ball of black light in his hand. Rhydon was not going to wait. He charged at Kangaskhan with a Take Down attack as Kangaskhan held the Shadow Ball tightly in his hand. "Kangaskhan, use his horn!" Tom called. When Rhydon neared Kangaskhan, Kangaskhan grabbed onto Rhydon's horn and shoved the Shadow Ball into Rhydon's face. Rhydon staggered to his side clumsily before falling over. Tired and worn down, Rhydon groggily got to his feet and glared at Kangaskhan again. Rhydon growled a threat. And with that, Rhydon trudged off into the distance, making a retreat. Tom ran over to Kangaskhan, and threw his arms around him. "Nice job, Kangaskhan!" Tom cheered. "Khan!" Kangaskhan roared, readily accepting the praise as he was zapped back inside his Pokeball. Tom walked over to Porygon, still damaged from Rhydon's Take Down. "You okay, Porygon?" Tom asked. "Ju-st as lo-ng as we fin-d a Po-ke-mon cen-ter," Porygon said. Tom scooped Porygon up in his arms, and continued down the path towards Ionica City. -End **************