FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After an exhausting two-day journey, Jason finally arrived in Miami, Florida, for the Pokemon Battle Tournament. The city was overflowing with activity from the tournament. The streets Jason passed, as he tried to find parking for his bike, were littered with tents selling Pokemon-themed merchandise, trainers comparing their Pokemon, breeders talking about different strategies, and tourists taking pictures of everything.

"Looks like half the world is here," Jason thought, as he pulled his motorcycle into a lot. He paid the $6.00 parking fee and began walking toward Marlins Park, where Miami's baseball team plays and where the tournament is being held. As he neared the stadium, Jason passed by some of the street vendors. He saw people selling Pokefood, training equipment, and Pokeballs.

"Excuse me, young man." Jason looked to his right and saw a man wearing a dark blue t-shirt and brown shorts . The man's face was clean shaven, but he still gave the impression of a salesman. He was looking straight at Jason.

"Me?" Jason pointed to himself. He noticed the man was holding a cardboard box.

"Yes, you," the man replied. He walked up to Jason. "My name is Chris Walton, Senior Marketing Agent of PokeCo, and by the looks of it, I'd say that you're a Pokemon trainer."

"Yeah, I am."

"Are you participating in the tournament?"

"Yep."

"How many Pokemon you have?" Jason was getting sick of the man's questions.

"I have two," he answered. "What's this about?"

"Well, young man, with only two Pokemon, no matter how strong they are, you're not gonna get very far in the tournament. That's why I'm here. I have, in this box, the next generation of Pokeballs." Jason watched as the man set the box on the ground and opened it up. He took out a blue and white Pokeball with black netting around the top of it. "Behold! The Net Ball. Tell me, young man, what types are your Pokemon?"

"One is Grass and the other is Fire and Fighting."

"Oh, that's not good enough, not nearly good enough. You're still missing a key element to a successful team: Variety."

"What? You mean like having a third Pokemon of a different type?" Jason asked.

"Yes, yes," the man answered, nodding his head. "With the Net Ball, not only would you be able to make your team bigger, increasing your chances of winning, but it'll also help make catching Water-types and Bug-types a whole lot easier."

"That does sound promising," Jason thought. He needed to add to his team anyways, and having a Water-type could help against Rock, Ground, and Fire-types. Plus, he could easily find some strong Pokemon at Miami's beaches. "Awesome. So, how much for one?"

"$50. But, tell you what, I'll make you a deal," the man said. "I'll give you one for free, and if you make it at least into the semifinals, you can keep it. If you don't make it that far, I'll only charge you $40. Sound good?"

"Deal." Jason was handed a Net Ball and, after putting it into his bag, he continued on to the stadium. "Ok, so I'll complete the registration for the tournament now, and that should leave me a good three hours to catch a Pokemon and do some training." Arriving at the entrance to the stadium, Jason was met by four lines of Pokemon trainers. They each stood at a table and were lined up alphabetically by last name and sorted into two rank groups: Junior Rank(ages 12-16) and Master Rank(ages 17-23). Jason got to the end of the Master Rank line, which had like 20 trainers in front of him.

"Ugh, I hope this doesn't take too long," Jason groaned, seeing as both lines were packed full. Luckily, the wait was a lot less than expected. In five minutes, he was at the table.

"Name?" the registration staff asked plainly.

"Jason Granger."

"Age?"

"18."

"How many Pokemon?"

"Three."

"But you only have two active Pokeballs," stated a second staff member, who was examining Jason's bag.

"Yeah, I...uh...plan on going to the beach after this and catching one," he replied.

"Ok, so I'll just put 'At least 2'," the first staff member continued. Jason was given his bag back. "Do you have your TA?"

"Yep, here you go," Jason said, handing over his Trainer Assistant. The staff member pressed the button in the middle and pressed a button on a small metal pad on the table. *BEEP* The TA was linked to the pad.

"You're now linked to the Tournament's network," Jason was told. "We will notify you through your TA when the Opening Ceremony is about to begin. In the meantime, you are free to go into the open areas of the stadium or remain outside. However, entrance will not be permitted to trainers after the start of the Tournament." Thanking the staff, he took his TA and walked past the tables into the stadium's courtyard. Looking around, Jason saw dozens of other trainers. Some strolled about the room, some were checking on their Pokemon, and others were grabbing food from the nearby concessions.

"I'm gonna be battling against them?" Jason thought as he passed trainers with strong Pokemon that he'd never trained against before.

"Jason!" With a small bit of surprise, he saw Toby jog up to him. "It's about time you got here. My family drove through the night, checked in at our hotel, and then dropped me off here."

"Yeah, well, I'm planning on heading down to the ocean, soon, to catch a Water-type."

"Really? Cool," Toby said. "Got any specifics in mind?"

"Not really. I don't know," Jason replied. "But you can come with, if you want. We still have a while. Besides, You and your Vaporeon could always give me some help ." Toby agreed, and they both set out for the beach. It was noon and the sand was burning. Even in his shoes, Jason could feel the sun's heat. There were several trainers practicing on the sand, while others were relaxing in the cool water.

"Jason, look!" Toby pointed past him at a small purple object jutting out above the rocky coastline. Jason, cautiously, stepped closer. He almost fell on his back when he saw that the purple object was an arm of a Starmie.

"Caak...caa!" The startled wild Water-type jumped up onto a large rock. Jason steadied himself and moved to face the Pokemon.

"Starmie, I want to battle you. Will you accept my challenge?" he asked, moving back into the open.

"Caaa!" The starfish-like Pokemon jumped down, in front of the rock, and accepted Jason's request. Toby stood on the side, waiting for the start.

"Remember the type advantage," he advised.

"Right. Thanks," Jason said. He took out a Pokeball. "Chikorita, go!" He threw the ball, and out came his Grass-type Pokemon.

"Chika," she exclaimed. Seeing the opposing Pokemon, Starmie sent out a powerful Water Gun attack from it's red core.

"Dodge and use Razor Leaf!" Jason told his Pokemon. Chikorita obeyed, leaping out of the way and then she launched an onslaught of energy-filled leaves at the wild Starmie. Meanwhile, the other trainers on the beach, and people passing by on the sidewalk, were drawn to Jason's battle. Whoever came sent up a cheer when Starmie got hit by Chikorita's attack. "Good job, Chikorita," Jason said, as the wild Pokemon fell to the ground. However, the fight wasn't over yet. Toby, and the crowd, let out a gasp when Starmie got up again.

"Toby, any suggestions?" Jason asked.

"That Starmie must have a high Special Defense stat," he replied, "to shake off such a strong attack. It might be better having Chikorita do more physical moves."

"Got it. Ok, Chikorita, use Tackle!"

"Chi...chika." Chikorita ran, full speed, at the wild Pokemon, but just when she was about to hit it, Starmie jumped over her, dodging the attack.

"Now, use Vine Whip to slam it into the ground!" Chikorita sent out two greens vines, which she used to grab Starmie's arms. The Water-type tried to escaped but couldn't pull free.

"Chi...ka!" The vines came down and slammed Starmie against the hot sand. Chikorita pulled back her vines and waited for her next instructions. Jason, Toby, and the crowd were silently watching the dust clear from the area. Suddenly, they saw movement from the crater that had formed. Starmie struggled to pull itself out, but it was failing. Jason looked at Toby, and with his eyes, asked if it was the right time to try and capture the Pokemon. Toby gave a small, single nod which signaled Jason to take out his one Net Ball.

"I hope this works," he thought. "Starmie, you're mine." He threw the ball at the Water-type, and immediately it opened up and took in its catch. All Jason could do was stand there, holding his breath, while the Net Ball rolled around. *BEEP*...*BEEP*.....*BLING* The red light on the ball turned white, indicating that the capture was successful. The whole crowd cheered as Jason walked over and picked up the ball, which now contained his third Pokemon.

"I did it!" he exclaimed, raising the Net Ball into air. "I caught a Starmie!"