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Pokemon, Asylum of the Damned

Chapter XLIX

Saga XI- The Pokemon League Saga

Chapter IV- Round Three

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Even though he eventually got used to it, Tom was at first a little startled 
to see a few large blocky men always walking at his side with their eyes 
hidden behind dark sunglasses, constantly looking this way and that as they 
followed him wherever he went. They even followed him up to the hallway in 
the stadium that led to the arena. Sabre had told him that these men were 
the best at their profession and never disappointed their clients. These 
three-hundred pound six-foot-three giants were an imposing sight indeed. 
Even if just three of them bunched around Tom, he would be completely hidden 
within a human fortress. When they finally let Tom out of their vicinity at 
the end of the hall as the familiar rock music blared though the stadium, 
they waited silently as Tom made his way to the battle field.

"And here comes the unsung wonder from Yorin Town," the voice of the unseen 
announcer echoed from the loudspeakers, "Tom Simms!"

"Unsung wonder," Tom mentally repeated to himself with a grin as the crowd 
cheered louder than before.

As soon as Tom was on the trainer stage, his music was cut from the air 
abruptly as it was replaced with a soft rock tune that Tom really could not 
care for. Even though Tom was selective of what music he listened to, he 
could detect a trace of foreign melody within his opponent's music. "And 
coming from New Cinnabar, winning a total of fifteen badges, Jeust Velmont!"

At the instant the announcer finished, a tall blonde man walked calmly out 
to the battle field, his long red robe flowing gently behind him. When Jeust 
mounted the trainer stage, he and Tom simultaneously put on their headsets. 
"This will be a three-on-three for one fall only," the announcer's voice 
blared over the arena after Jeust's music died away. "The first Pokemon to 
be defeated will automatically lose the match for the trainer."

After the field had split apart to reveal another field, this time a small 
plot of long, lush green grass, the referee announced, "Trainers, choose 
your Pokemon!"

Tom wasted no time in unleashing Parasect onto the field. Jeust silently 
took a Pokeball from an inside pocket of his coat and casually lobbed it 
onto the field. When a Pokemon resembling a large owl appeared before 
Parasect, Tom took out his Pokedex.

"Noctowl, the - Pokemon," said the Pokedex. "A common Pokemon that is the 
evolved form of Hoothoot. They have been known to posses extremely bizarre 
paranormal powers."

Tom flipped his Pokedex shut and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Trainers 
ready," The referee called, "Pokemon ready, begin!"

"Parasect, Slash!" Tom immediately ordered. As Parasect scuttled towards his 
opponent, Jeust remained calm and motionless, just as his Noctowl did. Right 
when Parasect neared, he took a wild swipe at the placid Noctowl, spraying a 
cloud of feathers and specks of blood. When Noctowl remained still, Tom 
ordered, "Slash him again!" Even after two more slashes the Noctowl stayed 
still.

Tom was just about to order another Slash when Jeust suddenly barked out, 
"Noctowl, Night Shade!"

In an instant, Parasect was blown backwards, tumbling over himself through 
the field from just a sudden icy glare from Noctowl. Parasect weakly got 
back to his feet as Noctowl began to beat his wings, lifting him up and 
hovering in the air. Tom sensed Parasect's impending defeat. "Parasect, 
return!" Tom said quickly, zapping Parasect back into his Pokeball.

"Smart move," Jeust's deep voice came from the other end of Tom's headset. 
"My Noctowl may be my only Pokemon, but he's no pushover."

"So I noticed," Tom thought to himself. "Come on out, Girafarig!"

The new Pokeball Tom held in his hand sprung open immediately to summon 
Girafarig upon the field. "Girafarig, Future Sight!" Tom commanded.

With a deafening roar, Girafarig's tail head screamed at the top of its 
lings and shot a blazing ball of energy out of its mouth. As suddenly as it 
appeared, it vanished into thin air.

"Vhat was that?" Jeust asked with his mild accent.

Tom only grinned smugly to himself.

Jeust snorted. "Noctowl, Take Down!"

Before Tom or Girafarig could react, Noctowl had sped forward to Girafarig 
with blinding velocity and brutally tackled him. Tom again felt that 
Girafarig was in danger of losing, so he promptly zapped Girafarig back into 
his Pokeball.

Tom began to break a sweat. The Noctowl looked like it was never harmed at 
all despite Parasect's multiple Slashes. Knowing that now he would have to 
play his next Pokemon to the end, Tom picked a Pokeball from his belt and 
opened it up onto the field. In moments Skarmory was on the field, 
screeching her war cries. "Skarmory, Fly!" Tom commanded. Skarmory heeded 
Tom's ordered and took to the air, high above the stadium and out of sight 
into the bright blue sky.

"Don't follow her, Noctowl," Jeust instructed. Noctowl nodded and stayed 
still.

A minute passed and the battle field remained the same. No one moved and no 
one spoke. A pin could be heard dropping in the audience stands. Tom even 
thought he heard a Rattata squeak from the field one mile away from the 
stadium.

Suddenly, a blazing blue light tore its way through the air behind Noctowl. 
The sudden event rendered Notctowl powerless to react to the racing sphere 
of energy speeding towards him. With a loud boom, the ball crashed into 
Noctowl, creating an enormous explosion that kicked up smoke and dust 
everywhere on the battle field. When the smoke finally cleared, Noctowl was 
stumbling unsteadily on the ground, cawing and moaning as he tried to 
maintain whatever remained of his balance. He was not on his feet much 
longer before Skarmory came screeching down from the sky with amazing speed, 
smashing her steely beak into Noctowl's forehead. Noctowl was pummeled down 
to the ground immediately and did not rise.

"The winner of this match is Tom Simms!" The referee declared. Almost as 
soona s the referee called the match, the crowd cheered.

Tom could not help but wave to his new fans with a smile that stretched from 
ear to ear.

-End......

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