******** Pokemon, Asylum of the Damned Style! Chapter LXVIII Saga XI- The Pokemon League Saga Chapter III- Round Two ******** Tom had just left the Pokemon Center when he heard a familiar voice say to him, "Hey, Tom!" Tom turned his head to the voice and replied, "Hey, Sabre." The purple-haired spy walked over to Tom. "You okay?" She asked. "Fine," Tom replied, "Why wouldn't I be?" "Good then," Sabre said. "We're here to make sure it stays that way." "We?" Tom asked. "Myself, Jason and Laura," Sabre replied. "Laura?" Tom asked is subtle disgust, "What's she doing here?" Sabre caught the notion on Tom's tone. "She's invaluable to us on the Rocket hunts," Sabre said. "So why'd you bring her here?" Tom asked coldly. Sabre quickly looked around. When she saw that no one but the two of them were around on the sidewalk by the Pokemon Center, she said, "Larry might show up again." "Larry?" Tom asked, "Didn't you catch him last time?" "No," Sabre replied blankly. "But a whole S.W.A.T. team has got him cornered inside a derelict building back in Canon City," she said. "He's got enough C4 with him to level Mount Moon." Tom shivered. "Then why isn't Laura there helping the S.W.A.T. team?" "Much too dangerous," Sabre quickly replied. "Even I wasn't allowed in." "So why would Larry be here if he's holed up in Canyon City?" Tom asked. "Even though he's one of the few remaining Rockets," Sabre said, "He's one of the best Rockets still active- and alive." "So?" Tom asked, "He's up against a whole S.W.A.T. team by himself. How could he possibly get away?" "We locked him up in Mega City Maximum Security Penitentiary," Sabre said. "If he managed to break out of that, then it's possible he might do the same thing in Canyon City." Tom groaned. "Can't anyone just snipe him off?" Tom asked in a whine. Sabre shook her head. "Nope. He's much too smart for that. We think he's had previous military frontline training before, too." Tom rubbed his eyes. "What else can you do?" Tom groaned. "Same thing we both did in Mega City, Tom," Sabre replied, "Except this time we can't afford to die." **** Tom was once again in the hallway leading to the arena in the Pokemon Stadium, awaiting his entrance queue. The thought of Larry trying to kill him during the Pokemon League tournament chilled his flesh to the bone. "Enough C4 to level Mount Moon," Tom muttered to himself. When the same stream of rock music suddenly echoed over the stadium, Tom gathered his courage and stepped out into the arena. "From Yorin Town," the voice of the unseen announcer blared over the stadium, "winning a total of nine badges, Tom Simms!" This time Tom generated a larger welcome than before, and this pleased Tom even though the new response was still many levels below that of Rick's. Tom climbed to the top platform of his trainer booth just as the cheers died down. "And from Halla Town," came the announcer's voice as Tom's music was replaced by someone else's, "winning a total of eight badges, Shannon Ohre!" At that moment, a tall thin girl wearing a tank top cropped at the midriff walked into the arena. After climbing the ladder to the top of her trainer booth, she stroked her flowing brown hair with her hand once before picking up her headset. As soon as Tom put his own headset on, he heard Shannon say to him, "Hey there, haven't seen you around anywhere." "I'm new," Tom replied blankly. "I heard you beat Rick," Shannon said as the floor of the battle field parted again. "So?" Tom asked. "Not many people mave beaten him," Shannon said as an ice-laden field emerged in front of them, "you must be pretty good." Tom quietly smirked to himself. "You got that right." "Well I'm better," Shannon said as she reached for a Pokeball from her pocket. "We'll see about that," Tom quickly replied, plucking a Pokeball of his own off of his belt. "Choose your Pokemon!" The referee loudly ordered both Tom and Shannon. "Come out, Hitmonlee!" Tom declared as he unleashed Hitmonlee onto the Ice Field. "Come on, Electabuzz!" Shannon announced, opening her Pokeball and freeing the Pokemon inside. When the large yellow Pokemon took the field and glared at Hitmonlee, the referee declared, "Pokemon ready, Trainers ready, begin!" "Hitmonlee, Hi Jump Kick!" Tom immediately ordered. Shannon never had time to instruct her Pokemon before Hitmonlee rushed towards him and planted his foot right into Electabuzz's face. The brutal impact that Hitmonlee smashed upon Electabuzz with its blinding velocity slammed Electabuzz onto the ground, flat on his back and knocked unconscious with a gushing nosebleed. "The winner is Hitmonlee!" The referee declared as Tom zapped Hitmonlee back into his Pokeball, leaving Shannon lost for words with her jaw dropped wide open. "You can give up now if you want," Tom haughtily taunted Shannon. "Shut up," Shannon growled as she recalled Electabuzz and brandished another Pokeball. As soon as the referee ordered them both to select their next Pokemon, Tom released another one of his Pokemon onto the field. "Come out, Donphan!" "I choose you, Espeon!" When the shape of a light purple cat took the field in front of Donphan, Tom pulled out his Pokedex. "Espeon, the - Pokemon," The Pokedex spat out, "One of Eevee's evolutions. Espeons are usually most active during the daytime. They have heightened mental abilities, giving them telekinetic and telepathic powers." "Pokemon ready," the referee called, "Trainers ready, begin!" "Espeon, Psychic!" Shannon commanded. "Donphan, Rollout!" Tom ordered. As soon as Donphan curled up into a tight ball and speedily rolled towards Espeon, Espeon shot a blast of psychic energy from her forehead, engulfing Donphan inside a blue glow. Even though Donphan was not moving anwhere anymore, he kept of spinning rapidly in his ball formation. Espeon winced as Donphan continued to spin, faster and faster with each second going by. Throwing her head to the left, Espeon sent Donphan smashing into a large mound of ice, but even then did Donphan not even slow down the slightest bit. Glancing all over the battle field and trembling in agony from Donphan's struggles aginst her psychic will, Espeon sent the ball-Donphan smashing and slamming all over the battle field. When she could continue no longer, Espeon took a deep gasp of air and collapsed to her knees, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. That released the furiously spinning Donphan and left him to drop onto the ground. As soon as Donphan's armor-like hide hit the icy ground, he took off like a lightning bolt straight for Espeon. Espeon still had her eyes closed when Donphan viciously smashed into her, knocking her off the battle field and into the arena walls behind Shannon. "The winner is Donphan," the referee declared. "And the winner of this match is Tom Simms!" "Dammit!" Shannon snarled, ripping the headset off her head and throwing it onto the platform. **** After stopping in the Pokemon Center to heal Donphan, Tom was again met by Sabre on the same deserted street. "Congrats, Tom," Sabre said with a smile. "It was nothing really," Tom grinned back. "I've just got a call from Canyon," Sabre said, "It looks like Larry's finally met his match. The whole standoff should be done with Larry dealt with in about a day." Tom breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear." "Of course, Jason, Laura and I will just stick around here with you, just in case," Sabre said. "But what if Larry does manage to escape?" Tom asked. "What if he has other Rockets waiting here?" "Don't worry," Sabre said calmly with a quick grin, "I've got everything under control." -End.....? ****