#003 - The Pokémon City Tournament
(Pokémon and related elements ™,©1995-99 Creatures/GAME FREAK/Nintendo.)
Storyline, art by Robert H. Magnusson

"...And for retrieving the Light Stone, Queen Niida gives each of us 5000 credits, Chue gets a new +9 Thunder Rod, and Marrilyn an Amulet of Acid Armor..."

As another one of Ray's roleplaying adventures was coming to an end, our Pokémon heroes were slowly returning to reality. "Okay, GREAT! - WAIT - I'm late for TRAINING!" announced Chue, glancing at his Watch. "I gotta get to Club THUNDER!"

"Uh, Chue, we're sort of IN Club Thunder?"

"Oh! Uh, right..."

They all got up, and looked around. Club Thunder was vacant except for them, perhaps one of the very few times it was. Still, it was several hours past closing time. Ray and Chue walked toward the Gym platform as Marrilyn looked on.

"Okay, Chue," said Ray, getting into a fighting stance, "get ready... I hate to SAY it, but I intend to give you REAL training - I will pull NO punches here..."

"Fight all you like, guys, I've got other stuff to do." Marrilyn rolled her eyes. What exactly attracted her to a fighter like Chue was hard to say; still, he was kind of cute....

Chue was in top form as usual, dodging Ray's most powerful punches and tail swipes. It was all he could do to avoid swinging back, but he knew this was strictly a test of his defenses. However, he was nearly caught off guard as Ray drew back for his most powerful Thunder attack...

"Rrrrriiiii...." With a shattering blow, Ray drove both fists into the Gym floor, filling the air with electricity. Once the glow had subsided, he blinked. Chue had disappeared. He scratched the back of his head, hoping he hadn't... no, that was ridiculous...

"Hey, will you WATCH it with the thunder - ?!"

Ray looked up. Chue was hanging to one of the overhead lights as arcs of electricity continued to surge across the floor.

"Sorry, Chue, I need to get you ready for extremely high-level attacks - this is our CHAMPIONSHIP tomorrow. You're, of course, on our LIGHTWEIGHT ticket."

Chue was a little upset as he dropped to his feet. "LIGHTWEIGHT?! Are you saying I'm not GOOD enough for the - ?!"

"NOTHING like that, Chue - you're just not HEAVY enough. See, Chue, this is our city-wide invite - several DOZEN of our fair city's best will fight tomorrow... To be the best of ANY weight class is quite a FEAT, but if anyone can do it, I'm SURE it's you."

Meanwhile, the best of the city were preparing as well. The Oddish climbed the turnbuckle at a nearby Gym and handed his fighter a water bottle.

"Okay, Champ, we got a LOT of work for tomorrow's battle..."

"I know, I KNOW - is my armor ready?" Champ the Hitmonchan sat on a stool, in his shirt and shorts, with taped hands. He was looking across the ring through his sunglasses at nothing in particular. Odie knew he was visualizing his opponent. He sighed. Everyone knew the outcome of Champ's division already, but perhaps his rival had a few surprises.

At Club Voltage, Club Thunder's self proclaimed rival, owner Buzz was staying late, working the weights. "Heh - wait 'till Ray gets a taste of my TRAINING!" He almost wished Ray were actually competing in the middleweight class instead of emceeing... he couldn't wait to show the Raichu some REAL electric power.

Meanwhile, at, um, a site I, uh, don't know...

"You sure this plan will woik, boss?"

"POSITIVE! This is our chance to control Pokémon City once and for all - !"

Uh-oh - wherever there are Pokémon, there is the nefarious Pokémon gang, TEAM ROCKET! Their Blastoise leader, dressed in the white-on-black suit of the Rocket Elite, rose from his chair to address the crowd of Rocket Pokémon who had gathered. "We have succeeded in creating the ULTIMATE fighting Pokédroid - a highly expensive proposition, but worth every penny - !"

Behind him, a door slid open silenty, and a silhoutte of a figure emerged. As its eyes scanned the room, it emitted a staticky cry.

"One it CRUSHES the competition at Club Thunder, we take OVER... with their main hangout under OUR control, we'll have PLENTY of recruits!" The boss smiled in spite of himself.

A young Sandshrew spoke up. "So how will we be sure this thing will SUCCEED? We need to TRAIN it..."

"Yes, Sandy, but who here would be STUPID enough to engage in battle with our droid?" No sooner had the boss spoken than Percy rushed in, gasping. He was not wearing his hat, and had replaced his white gloves and boots with black. The boss frowned - the wealthy Persian always preferred to bend the rules.

"Whew - schorry I'm LATE, bosch; did I MISCH anything?"

The boss's frown vanished. "Au contraire, Percy; you're right... on... TIME." He escorted Percy into the next room and closed the door. The members turned to see what was to happen...

"Hey - who or what are - WHA?! WHAT ARE YOU DOI- OW! THAT SCHMARTS!" A great scuffle was heard, followed by the release of a massive amount of energy, followed by Percy reentering the room through what used to be a wall, sticking upside down into the next wall. He stayed there for a second or two before falling to the floor, leaving a nice impression of his form in the wall. "Owitch."

The boss rubbed his hands together. "Any more questions, Sandy?"

"No."