{Saving}Gym{Lucario}

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Goldeen sat in the water calmly, waiting patiently for the brown Starravia to make his move and for Tena to give her command. Again, Tena waited until the last possible second to give her order. "Goldeen, use Psybeam," she said. The Goldeen opened its mouth and fired a peculiar ray at Minari as he got close enough to touch if the Goldeen barely hopped out of the water. After the attack, the Goldeen dove underwater, disappearing from sight. Even Tena had no idea where her Goldeen was located. Better watch out; even Tena not knowing where her Goldeen was located could be a problem for Minari.

+Are you hungry at all?+

[/color] the Chansey asked. Lucario glanced over at the Chansey, who had an array of things to choose from to eat. Lucario shook his head. He just didn't feel like eating. In fact, it was almost as if his stomach was completely full, but not with food. He couldn't wait until he could at least get up and walk around. As soon as the Chansey left the room temporarily, he tried sitting up, this time slowly. He accomplished it, though felt quite dizzy. He swung his legs over the side of the bed he had been on. He hopped down, and had to grab onto the side of the bed to keep from falling over, but after a while gained a sense of balance. He took one step, two steps, three steps... and finally got it going. He didn't try running quite yet, however. When he sensed the Chansey coming back he quickly hopped back into bed in the position he had been in earlier. He didn't want a Chansey trying to tell him what to do.
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[~/Birdybot\~]

Minari found Goldeen to be unnaturally strong. The stats of the fish Pokemon were insanely high for a Pokemon only one level higher than himself; this made the Starravia fly into a wave of dispair. He fluttered about in distress, uttering high caws of failure. He was aready tiring, but the only attack he had managed to lay on Goldeen had had only enough effect to give him hope for say, fainting it after six or seven attacks. He felt this battle was unfair, he felt suddenly worthless, useless, and weak. He was on level fourteen, Goldeen fifteen, so he felt that he should surely be able to hit Goldeen more. He felt so stupid! How could he possibly be so weak!? Just one, hardly felt attack was all he could manage? If he was to be defeated after such a record, then he was hardly worthy of fighting at all. He should just crawl under a rock and stay there for the rest of his life. Presently the bird landed on one of the few floating platforms which was bobbing about, gave a passionate, sorrowful coo, and tucked his 'weak' head under a wing. He should never show his face again. He was such a failure!

Sulteron saw how upset Minari had become, and slipped into his mind at the expense of her concentration; she was already with Fiela as well. +Minari, don't worry. You're not worthless.+[/i]

+Yes I am. I can't even lay a single attack! And if I did, it didn't do ANYTHING! I'm a failure! You should just abandon me and leave me to die!+[/i] Minari thought back miserably. His wing shifted, and Sulteron could see the tears streaking his feathers.

+You're not a failure. You can do this. Goldeen belongs to a Gym Leader. It has probably been given all sorts of stat raising medicine. It may be only one level higher than you, but just because it's fast doesn't mean you can't win.+[/i]

+But, Sulteron! Every time I try, my attack is easily dodged, and I get hurt! Goldeen not even showing any signs of pain yet! And everyone else we've seen have got their badges so easily!+[/i][/color]

+Don't worry. Maybe Tena's giving us her toughest battle ever. Goldeen just has high Defense, Speed and Attack stats. Maybe the only other stat, HP, is low. Come on, you can win! I know you've got it in you! Use Wing Attack on the surface of the water, hopefully this will bring Goldeen out. Use Quick Attak to throw it at the ceiling while it's disorientated!+[/i] Sulteron thought back, such passion in her thoughts that she was almost speaking aloud. Minari gave a loud sob, flinging himself into the air before diving down to the water. He snapped his wings out, putting his life, even his soul, into this attack in hope that he might still have some hope of being worthy of life. Sulteron was sad as she watched his desperate efforts, for she could see, and feared, that if Minari failed to defeat Goldeen he might go into a depression, think he was worthless or even go to extreme measures.[/size]

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Tena looked at the Starravia, feeling a bit sorry for him. She had a good guess as to what he was thinking, and by the way he acted... it was confirmed what she was thinking. Of course, his trainer was probably telling him that he was better than her Goldeen; of course, her Goldeen had been given quite a bit of stat-boosting items, so that didn't help any, but any Pokemon could defeat him if they tried hard enough. The bird's attitude irked her, though. If that was her Pokemon she'd tell him to pull himself together and get his head in the game. Just because you couldn't hit the foe the first few times doesn't mean that you can't hit it at all. She wondered what the challenger's next Pokemon choice would be for her next Pokemon; Goldeen would eventually be defeated. The two had been through the battle strategy quite often; when she told Goldeen to use Psybeam, it usually meant to give up in the next couple of turns or less. And that's what she had in mind.

She waited for the Starravia to make his move; it was quite genius, really, and she hoped that her Goldeen would get the drift and allow himself to be swept up. This tactic had been used once before that Tena could remember; a flyiing-type had gotten Goldeen to helplessly get flopped out of the water, then another attack followed quickly afterwards.

As Minari swept his wings across the top of the water, water sprayed up on either side, and, as expected from both, the Goldeen half-jumped, half-flopped out of the water. The Quick Attack from Minari caught it off-guard, and it was flown high towards the ceiling. It collided with a large BANG, and slowly fell back into the water below. It seemed as if the Goldeen was defeated, but its head surfaced, and it looked tougher than ever, but seriously weakened. "That was a smart idea you had there. Don't get that kind of smart thinking from too many trainers around here. They rely on type-advantages most of the time and use cheap shots. I like your style," Tena said. "Goldeen, use Psybeam!" Tena said. Goldeen reared back and used Pysbeam after catching its breath. Well, it was time to lose again it knew. It hadn't been told to win, or gotten the look that told him anyways. He fired the Psybeam, a whole lot quicker than one would think it would travel, towards Minari.

+You don't seem the talkative type,+

[/color] the Chansey commented as she scurried about, getting medicine here and replenishing cabinets there with a tray she had just brought in. "Is that a bad thing?"[/color] Lucario asked. +Oh, no no no! Of course not! I was actually kind of relieved because most of the Pokemon we get back here like to talk about their powerful nature. It gets kind of old after a while though,+[/color] the Chansey said. Lucario smiled and chuckled. "I'd rather not speak about my recent past... trying to forget it already, though I know I never will,"[/color] Lucario said, sighing. The Chansey looked sympathetic, but continued with her business, not bothering to ask. After all, since this Pokemon was wild, he had his rights to keep things to himself.
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[~/Birdybot\~]

Minari gave a surprised coo as his attack had an extreme effect on Goldeen. With the Water type worn out by being flung to the roof and back down, he felt he might actually win this battle. What a turn around for the overly confident and so overly disappointed bird! He was, of course, a little embarassed at his previous behavior, but he still did not feel as confident as he had before. He would fight, whether he won or lost; it didn't matter. His trainer would love him- well, otherwise he would have never been caught to kept or trained- but he still felt it would be better to win. It always was.

"See? You're not worthless! Now, please stay calm and try to dodge with Quick Attack! It's fine if you can't!" Sulteron cried. Minari swooped higher, but the Psybeam caught his chest. He gave a chirrup of pain and surprise; for a Pokemon that had just had a powerful hit laid upon it, the attack was powerful. The bird slowed a little in his course aimed at the Goldeen.

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The Goldeen, knowing the procedure, just sat there bobbing up and down in the water as Minari came flying at him. "Goldeen, one last Horn Attack as he approaches," Tena said from behind her Goldeen. The Goldeen nodded and waited for Minari to get close enough. It was the 'attack to remember' in most battles; not as strong as the others, but it was as if it were saying 'You hit me one last time, I hit you' or something like that. As Minari's Quick Attack hit the Goldeen, the Goldeen's horn glowed as it unleashed a last attack before being flung backwards, ramming into the platform Tena was on. The Goldeen fell forward into the water, and lay there, defeated.

The man inbetween the two platforms raised a flag. "Goldeen in unable to battle! The challenger is the winner!" he declared, moving the flag in Sulteron's direction. "You did good, Goldeen, as always. Get a nice rest," Tena said as she recalled her Goldeen. "You have a great battle style. Now, let's see how you handle my next Pokemon," Tena said. She took a PokeBall from a bag she had been holding, enlarged it, and released the Pokemon within. A small Pokemon emerged from it; though, looks can be deceiving. A Totodile was finally formed. It jumped into the water, swimming quite fast for a Totodile, and jumped across a few platforms at once a couple times before returning to the first platform on Tena's side. "Don't know where that got started. It's his little intro thing... I think he has a tendency to show off," Tena said. The Totodile began hopping from foot to foot, ready to battle.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron grinned as she saw her victory. Minari looked tired; he swooped down to land at her side, nuzzling a Pokeball, before his beak made the button click and he disappeared back into it. This was fair enough, she thought. A Pokemon has it's free will, after all. She ran a hand along her other Pokeballs. She felt she would use Mizu next; as a Water type, he would be as able to go in the water as Totodile. She unclipped the Pokeball from her belt...

... and Denkou burst out the one to the right. He landed with such force that the float actually bobbed under the water for a moment. By the time it was fully surfaced, the Electivire had let loose a fiersome roar, clashing his twin tails together to create a cascade of sparks. Sulteron gave a guilty smile. "Yeah, I guess Denkou here likes to show off too. I was going to use my Buizel, but oh well." she shrugged. Denkou growled again.

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The Totodile eyed his opponent and stopped his hopping only momentarily. Ah, another show-off, just like him. Well, this would be really fun, he knew. And, an Electric-type as well. He glanced at his trainer, who just shrugged. They had gone against Electric-types before and had won and been defeated. But, never an Electivire. This would be a good battle, no doubt.

Tena smiled with amusement as the Electivire got out of his PokeBall himself before Sulteron could choose a different Pokemon. "Well, then these two should definitely have some fun. Your Electivire obviously wants to battle. Well, he definitely got out at the right time. Challengers first," Tena said, smiling. Her Totodile began hopping from one foot to the other again, obviously ready for some action.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron nodded in thanks for the first turn. She watched Totodile again. She had an idea, but Totodile wasn't in the water... yet. Perhaps if Denkou could get it in the water she could carry out her plan, but if so, Totodile might realise something must be going on. If it was subtle, however, it might just work, or Totodile might go into the water on his own accord in hope of similar advantages that Goldeen had. "Denkou, Thundershock." she said calmly.

Denkou let loose another roar, then he leapt into the air. He landed on the same float as Totodile, hand at the ground, clenched into a fist. He remained perfectly still, teeth bared, face down but eyes up, while his tails, seeming to be separate organisms, snaked their way through the air, crackling with electricity aimed at the little crocodile.

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The Totodile watched the Electivire closely, all the while doing his little hopping; too much energy had been bundled up in him. Perhaps he didn't get much exercise before battles, so that he would last longer. That could explain it... or, as some Pokemon were, he could just be too full of energy. Of course, he was much stronger than the Goldeen had been; a formiddable opponent for Denkou, despite the type-advantage.

As soon as Sulteron had said 'Thundershock' the Totodile sped up his hopping, waiting for his commands from his trainer. "Alright, Totodile, dodge and use Bite!" Tena said from behind him, not surprised at all by the Electivire's sudden jump to the Totodile's platform. At a speed even greater than the Goldeen's, the Totodile dove into the water, under the platform, jumped out behind Denkou, and his jaw glowed slightly as he came at Denkou with a Bite from behind.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Denkou, relying on brawn and not brains, was too busy looking for Totodile on the float that he did not notice as he came up from behind. The Electivire gave a blood-curdling howl of pain, whipping around just in time to miss Totodile as he dove down again, avaiding the swipes the Pokemon sent at him.

Sulteron knew it was now or never. Shewas about to call out to Denkou, clutching the hem of her red T-shirt as she descided that that would only announce her plan to Totodile and Tena in advance. Instead, she closed her eyes from the world and used telepathy. +Denkou, please do this. It will work, trust me.+[/i] she began, knowing the Electivire was not one for tactics and obedience at that. He grunted in acknowledgement. +Denkou, use Thundershock on the water; it'll zap the whole field and get Totodile. Be quick.+[/i] and soon as she broke the connection, Denkou thought he might as well do this. When she opened her eyes, the large Pokemon was dipping his tails into the water. Electricity sparked along them...[/size]

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"Totodile, jump out of the water now and use Water Gun!" Tena called. Of course, she hadn't expected anything else from the Electivire, and she didnt' expect her Totodile to get out of the water completely unharmed. Just as Denkou's tail lit the water with electricity, the Totodile hopped out, obviously in some pain as it had gotten a nice shock before getting out, but yet launched a powerful Water Gun towards Denkou, landing a few platforms away from him.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron was annoyed the attack had failed, but she kept her cool. There had to be some way to defeat this agile Pokemon, or at least weaken it or stop it using attacks... perhaps the fact that water conducted electricity could be used in another way? Like now! "Denkou, use Thundershock on the Water Gun! Withstand the attack!"

Denkou grunted, swinging his tails out of the crackling water and into the plume of water attacking it. A little silly, this idea, but his trainer had been right before so could be right again. The pain was obvious, but still the Electivire held strong. Both Pokemon were being hurt by this; Denkou's tails and... backside... and, hopefully, Totodile's mouth.

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The Totodile gave up on the Water Gun, and was leaning forward, one clawed hand on the platform, panting a bit from the force he had put behind the Water Gun. He was ready for his next attack; the Thundershock on the Water Gun he had used hadn't felt too good at all; it came back and zapped him. Well, Water Gun wouldn't be too effective on this Electivire, obviously. Well, since 'Denkou' was a strong electric-type, he wouldn't win anyways he knew, but he'd give him a good fight, even though Tena likely wouldn't want him to.

"That was some nice thinking," Tena commented to Sulteron. "Now Totodile, use Ice Punch!" she called. The Totodile leapt into the air at an amazing speed, even out of the water. His clawed hand and the rest of that arm for that matter covered in ice, and he began coming down, ready for the Electivire to feel a bit of chill.

[~/Birdybot\~]

Sulteron was pleased when the moved worked, but had to think fast as the next move came zooming along. What to do... She shouldn't really use Thundershock again; at that close a range, Denkou would probably get caught by his own attack! Tena was strong and quick-thinking... no wonder she was a gym leader. There wasn't time to ponder that now. Think, think... Aha! "Denkou, wait until it gets close, then use Low Kick!" she cried.

Denkou's instincts were telling him to disobey his trainer, but his head was telling him she was smart, she was using tactics. His instincts, however, were telling him to leap up to Totodile and Fire Punch him silly. So, when Sulteron's next strategy was pretty close to that, he was pleased. He misjudged the timing, so Totodile hit him with the Ice Punch, but he gipped the Pokemon tightly and hoped the leg he would use to pound into the crocodile's legs, so he fell, would work. The bigger they were, the harder they fell; if the senario was the other way around, Denkou would take serious damage. He knew Totodile wouldn't take so much.

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Tena watched as the attack hit, but Denkou still seemed strong as ever. Well, even if she had disliked this trainer, and wanted to beat it, it would have been near impossible. The Electivire, along with a type-advantage, probably had high defense. Not too many trainers even bothered with defense; if they thought they had an advantage with a type, they would go all out, using only that kind of move. Of course, there were always ways to repel that. Too many battles, too many the same... it was good to have a change, for once.

The Totodile was surprised when the Low Kick hit him, sending him onto the next platform. He clung to the edge just before hitting the water, and got back up, nearly defeated. Well, there went my winning streak... he thought glumly. "Alright Totodile, use Water Gun again! And hit it with an Ice Punch!" Tena called. Oh, now that was different... he hadn't done that since... well, one of his first battles. The Totodile let loose another powerful Water Gun, and at the same time, ice creeped up his entire arm as he smacked it with an Ice Punch; now large chunks of sharp-looking ice were being hurled at Denkou. That's a combination you don't see every day.

As soon as the Chansey left again, Lucario got himself up. It sucked to be in a bed all day; he wanted to get out, have some action! He used his aura to see if the Chansey or Nurse Joy was around the exit; nope. Nurse Joy was on the other side of the building, and the Chansey was busy with her. He did notice, however, that all of his previous teammates were there. Opening the double doors, he walked considerably slow to the exit, getting strange looks from trainers and Pokemon alike. His five other teammates; the Shiny Charizard, Jolteon, Armaldo, Dusknoir, and Tyranitar, watched him curiously. "I have better things to do than lay around all day in bed,"

[/color] he said, grinning. The five followed him out, pointing him in the direction of the Gym. "I'll only be in there for a little bit. I just want to see how... Sulteron battles,"[/color] he said, quietly entering the Gym without a sound. Hmm... interesting tactic by the Gym Leader. A Totodile versus an Electivire... he could tell just by looking the Electivire over, he was an eager-to-battle type. He stood next to the door, hoping he hadn't come too late into the battle to miss the excitement.
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