********* Pokemon, Asylum of the Damned Chapter LXIII Saga XIII- Master Battles Saga Chapter V- Round Four ********* The wavy field of lush green grass in front of him looked very out of place in the middle of the stadium. "The following contest is for two falls," came the voice of the annoucer over the stadium, "Introducing first, from Yorin Town, earning a total of nine badges, he is the Pokemon League's people's champion, Tom Simms!" Tom had already climbed the ladder to his trainer box, and Porygon Two was already at its side. "And his opponent, from Hydro City, earning a total of fourteen badges, Roger Austin!" Tom's dark-haired opponent made his way to the field, mounting his trainer box as Tom put on his headset. "So, you're not going to call Moltres?" Roger asked as soon as he had his headset on. "Only if I have to," said Tom. "Then it's going to be my pleasure making you squeal," Roger taunted, brandishing a Pokeball. "Try me," Tom retorted, holding a Pokeball of his own, "Go, Machamp!" "Go, Sunflora!" Within moments, Machamp and a Sunflora materialized on the field from the Pokeballs, staring each other down. "Trainers ready," the referee declared, "Pokemon ready, begin!" "Sunflora, Razor Leaf!" "Machamp, Cross-Chop!" Sunflora swivelled her body around, flinging two blade-like petals at Machamp. Quickly rolling to his side, Machamp dodged the whooshing Razor Leaves and dashed at Sunflora, extending his four heavy arms outward. And just as Sunflora winced and braced herself, Machamp sent all four hands smashing into Sunflora's temples like a snapping Feraligatr's jaws. A stiff crack echoed all over the stadium, and Sunflora listlessly dropped to the ground. Roger quickly recalled Sunflora, and soon held another Pokeball in his hand as Machamp backed away to Tom's end of the grassy field. "Go, Girafarig!" The Pokemon that took the field in Sunflora's place looked exactly like Tom's Girafarig, only it was much thinner and hardly built at all. "You're going to fight my Machamp with that Girafarig?" Tom asked in disbelief. "Sort of," said Roger smugly. "Trainers ready, Pokemon ready, begin!" "Machamp, Low Kick!" As Machamp rushed at Girafarig with his feet ready to lash out, Roger exclaimed, "Girafarig, Baton Pass!" Suddenly, Girafarig vanished. Machamp sped right past the spot where Girafarig once was, coming to a screeching halt. Suddenly, where Girafarig had disappeared, a tall Pokemon flashed onto the field. Before Tom could say anything, Roger ordered, "Medicham, Psychic!" Within a second, Machamp was suddenly covered in a blue glow. The tall Pokemon willed Machamp into the air, and then sent him smashing into the grass. Machamp moaned as the glow subsided, barely able to move. "How's that for making you squeal?" Roger taunted, noticing Tom beginning to panic as he pulled out his Pokedex. "Medicham, the Meditate Pokemon," said the Pokedex. "Like it's previous form, Meditite, Medichams are adept at fighting with their hands and feet, and also can weild an array of psychokinetic powers through its contant meditiating." "Fine, you want to see Moltres?" Tom asked, zapping Machamp back into his Pokeball, "Then feast your eyes!" Looking straight up into the sky, Tom tore off his headset and yelled, "Moltres!" The crowd gave a asudden roar of approval of Tom's decision. The air suddenly warmed, and a giant ball of fire gently floated down from the sky. "Ready to be burned alive?" Tom asked smugly as he put his headset back on. "I'm estatic," came Roger's eager reply. Moltres gracefully landed on the rails of the trainer box, eyeing down the Medicham. "Ready to roast him, Moltres?" Tom asked. Moltres nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the referee waved at Tom. "Mr. Simms, I've just been informed that Moltres has been banned from this match." For a split second, Tom's jaw dropped and his heart stopped. "Ladies and gentlmen," came the voice of the annoucer all over the stadium, "I've just been informed that, due to the flammable properties of the nature field, Moltres has been banned from this tournament bracket." The crowd viciously booed. "What the fuck?" Tom screamed with futile protest. "What a load of Tauros shit," Tom heard the announcer mutter under his breath. Moltres squawked angrily. "Hey, relax Moltres," Tom said uneasily, not wanting to incur the fiery wrath of the legendary bird, "I'm sure that this doesn't mean that they don't like you." Then, biting his lip nervously, Tom said, "Well, thanks for coming anyway." Moltres snorted in obvious displeasure as he flexed his flaming wings and vanished into the sky again. Tom turned his attention back to Roger. "Tough break, dude," said Roger. Tom was almost too panicked to be angry. "Porygon, get in there." "Okay," Porygon Two muttered, still shaken over the announcement. "Trainers ready, Pokemon ready, begin!" "Porygon, Double-Edge!" "Medicham, Double Kick!" As Porygon Two sped towards Medicham, Medicham suddenly hopped onto one leg and lashed his foot out at Porygon Two, smacking him square in its face. Porygon Two was knocked onto his back, struggling to flip itself upright again. "Medicham, Double Kick again!" Just as soon as Porygon Two rolled over again, Medicham dashed towards Porygon Two again and dove to the ground with a slide, smashing his feet into Porygon Two's beak again, sending it skidding all the way back to Tom's end of the field. As soon as Porygon Two came to a stop, it had already gotten back to its feet. Before Tom could say a word, Porygon Two shot across the field, parting the grass down the middle as it rocketed towards Medicham. Without any time to react, Porygon Two hurled its body into Medicham's chest, sending it and Medicham into the stand of Roger's trainer box. Roger gasped as the platform shook from the impact, grabbing the rail as the box sharply lurched down. Porygon Two dropped to the ground, and Medicham was firmly wedged into the support stand, weakly breathing. "And the winner of this match by two falls, Tom Simms!" "I guess I didn't train hard enough," Roger muttered. Tom did not reply. He only breathed a heavy sigh of relief, looked into the sky, and a feeling deep inside of his gut told him that something deliberately awry was afoot... -End......? *********