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Pokemon, Asylum of the Damned

Chapter LXVI

Saga XIII- Master Battles Saga

Chapter VIII- Round Seven

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After another week of nothing but training, Tom had handed over all his 
Pokemon to Joy, and collapsed in one of the soft armchairs of the Pokemon 
Center. For an entire two weeks, Tom had done nothing but eat, battle, 
train, and sleep. The heavy bags underneath his eyes denoted his scarce 
amount of sleep, however, and after almost an entire day without sleep, Tom 
now found himself powerless from nodding off in the cozy chair.

A light tap on his shoulder made Tom jolt awake. The purple-haired woman who 
awoke him jumped back as well. "Sabre?" Tom asked groggily, "What are you 
doing here?"

"What do you think I'm here for?" Sabre asked, still a little startled, "I'm 
here to protect you."

"You mean-! Larry's free again?"

"Of course not, and don't give me that thought again," she said, shivering 
as she sat beside him.

"Then why are you here?"

"You do know that there's a bounty on your head, right?"

"Don't remind me of that either," Tom muttered.

"Well, that's why we're here," said Sabre.

"We?" Tom asked.

"Myself, Jason, and Laura."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Her again," he muttered under his breath. "So what are 
you going to do? Pull me out of the League?"

"Not a chance," said Sabre, "We're here to make sure no one misinterpted 
that bounty as an actual kill-and-claim bounty."

"Great," Tom moaned, "Here we go again..."

*********

"The following contest is scheduled for the best of six falls," the unseen 
announcer declared. "Introducing first, from Yorin Town, earning a total of 
ten badges, Tom Simms!"

Even though everyone was cheering for him, Tom could not find the will to 
smile as he and Porygon Two made their way onto the field. As Tom climbed 
the ladder to his trainer box, his opponent had already stepped foot inside 
the arena. "And from Port Town, earning a total of twenty-six badges, he is 
the globe-trotting trainer with only one name, Blue Falcon!"

The one thing that Tom could not help but notice as his tall opponent 
climbed the ladder to his trainer box was that he was dressed in all in 
blue, the only thing other than blue on him was his bright red baseball cap 
above his dark sunglasses.

"Let me guess," said Tom, putting on his headset as Falcon did the same, 
"your favorite color is green."

"Funny," Falcon snorted with a chuckle, "I like that in an opponent." And 
then, with a more serious tone, Falcon said, "But the time for being funny 
in over."

Before Falcon could say another word, Tom cut in, "If you want that five 
thousand dollar bounty, you're going to have to shut up and fight," said Tom 
sternly, setting his Ampharos loose on the field.

"With pleasure," replied Falcon, taking one of his Pokeballs and unleashing 
an Electrode.

"Trainers ready," the referee announced, "Pokemon ready, begin!"

"Ampharos, Thunderbolt!"

"Electrode, Thunderbolt!"

At exactly the same time, Ampharos and Electrode unleashed a powerful surge 
of electric current at each other, the two bolts of lightning smashing into 
each other. As soon as the Thunderbolt's touched, Electrode and Ampharos 
gave a deafening scream. And just as soon as they had fired off their 
attacks, the Thunderbolt streams suddenly stopped, with both Ampharos and 
Electrode dazed and teetering. Electrode then rolled on its side, and 
remained motionless. Just before Tom could rub Falcon with a taunt, Ampharos 
groaned loudly before collapsing to his knees and slumping over.

Tom muttered under his breath with disappointment as he and Falcon recalled 
their electrified Pokemon. Within seconds, they both held a different 
Pokeball each, and they set the Pokemon inside free. "Go, Pinsir!" Tom 
commanded.

"Go, Swellow!"

The large blue Pokemon that materialized on the field at the same time as 
Pinsir cawed loudly as the referee took the field again. "Trainers ready, 
Pokemon ready, begin!"

"Pinsir, Guillotine!"

"Swellow, Wing Attack!"

Swellow darted off towards Pinsir in a flash, while Pinsir simply opened up 
her claws and waited. As Swellow closed in on Pinsir, he whipped his right 
wing forward as Pinsir snapped her claws shut. With a screech of agony as 
dismay, Swellow found himself snagged in Pinsir's crushing grip. And with 
one vicious snap, Pinsir smashed her claws together again, driving a labored 
yelp from Swellow before he went limp. Pinsir opened her claws, letting 
Swellow drop to the ground, barely breathing.

Falcon muttered bitterly under his breath as he recalled his Swellow. "Only 
two more wins and I'll have this won," Tom taunted.

"Jeer all you want," Falcon snarled, "Not even your Moltres can save you 
from my next Pokemon," he said, taking another Pokeball off of his belt.

Within seconds, another bird Pokemon had taken shape on the field, and Tom 
soon found himself looking at a Fearow. "That's your unstoppable Pokemon?" 
Tom asked.

"And you'll see why soon enough."

"Trainers ready," the referee announced, "Pokemon ready, begin!"

"Pinsir, Guillotine!"

"Fearow, Drill Peck!"

Before Pinsir could even move, Fearow had already shot forward and buried 
his beak into Pinsir's gut, tearing a thin bloody gash on her belly. Pinsir 
was knocked onto her back, breathing heavily and barely moving.

"Now do you get my drift?" Falcon snickered.

Tom winced as he zapped Pinsir back into her Pokeball. "Porygon, get 'im," 
said Tom.

"Let's get started," Porygon Two replied, driving out onto the field.

"Trainers ready, Pokemon ready, begin!"

"Fearow, Drill Peck!"

"Porygon, Thunder!"

As soon as Fearow shot towards Porygon Two, Porygon Two let out a ferocious 
blast of lightning at Fearow. The Thunder attack crashed into the speeding 
Fearow, sending all of its power jolting through Fearow's body, stopping him 
in midair. And when Fearow was still hovering in the air after the massive 
jolt had died away, Tom's jaw dropped. "Like I said," Falcon smirked, "He's 
one of my best."

Tom grimaced. "Porygon, Blizzard!"

Before Porygon Two could generate the attack, Fearow had already bolted into 
it, smashing his beak into Porygon's forhead. Porygon Two was sent tunbling 
all the way back to Tom's end of the field, finally coming to a stop, 
completely motionless.

"Now look who's in trouble," Falcon jeered. "Well? Let's see him!"

Beginning to break a cold sweat, Tom looked up into the sky and yelled, 
"Moltres!"

Suddenly, a blazing fireball shot down from the sky, speeding into Fearow's 
back. Fearow screeched as he was knocked to the ground, flapping his wings 
frantically as he tried to cool his scorching hot back. Moltres had now 
gently floated down to the field, landing right in front of Fearow's face.

Suddenly, Fearow lunged forward, plunging his beak into Moltres' wing. 
Moltres screeched as Fearow pulled his neck back and jabbed at Moltres' 
wound again, bearing the intense flames around Moltres' body. After a third 
jab, Moltres gave a deafening screech before lunging his own neck forward 
and unleashing a massive burst of fire upon Fearow. Fearow dropped to the 
ground, with bits of his charred feathers gently floating down with him.

"Hm, so Moltres isn't invincible like everyone says," Falcon mused, zapping 
Fearow back into his Pokeball as he watched Moltres flex his injured wing.

Tom looked at Moltres stretching his wing as well. He knew Falcon was right. 
"Then let's see if your next Pokemon is even better," said Tom.

"Don't worry," said Falcon, taking another Pokeball off of his belt, "he is. 
Go, Altaraia!"

The large blue Pokemon that suddenly mataerialized on the field looked like 
a blue worm with fluffy clouds for wings. Tom pulled out his Pokedex.

"Altaria, the Humming Pokemon," said the Pokedex, "The evolved form of 
Swablu. Altarias are part of the rare family of dragon-type Pokemon. 
Dragon-type Pokemon are resistant to almost all kinds of attacks, making 
them virtually impervious. While most dragon-types have fearsome roars, 
Altaria retains the sweet, soothing voice that it had as a Swablu."

Tom stuffed his Pokedex back into his pocket. "Three falls apiece," Falcon 
said, "Ready to be claimed, Tom?"

"Claim this," Tom snarled, "Moltres, Fire Blast!"

"Altaria, Dragonbreath!"

Moltres sucked in a deep breath at the same time as Altaria, and they 
simultaneously unleashed a savage blast of flames at each other. Moltres 
winced as the Dragonbreath blasted against his face, forcing him to teeter 
backwards and take to the air. Altaria simply stood up to Moltres' Fire 
Blast, letting the flames rush against his skin without hardly a hint of 
pain. As Moltres circled around Altaria as the dragon Pokemon gently drifted 
upwards, Tom ordered, "Moltres, Sky Attack!"

"Altaria," Falcon commanded, "Sing!"

Moltres shot into the air, and then suddeny whipped himself around, zooming 
straight at Altaria with full speed. Altaria quickly opened his mouth, and 
just as Moltres was seconds away from impact, Altaria sang out a loud yet 
soothing cry. With his energy already spent, Moltres was powerless to stop 
himself from hearing the claming caw, and as he sped towards the ground and 
Altaria, his eyelids closed and he drifted off to sleep.

Falcon snickered, and then suddeny gasped when he realized that Moltres was 
now falling faster than ever. "Altaria, move out of the way!" He screamed 
frantically.

By the time Falcon had opened his mouth, Moltres' body had already smashed 
into Altaria, driving both into the ground below. They both landed with a 
shattering thud, punching a large crater into the field.

Moltres slowly awoke, rolling out of the crater and yawning groggily on his 
back, revealing the pancaked body of Altaria, completely winded and 
motionless.

"And the winner of this match by four falls," The announcer declared, "Tom 
Simms!"

-End

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