Risky Bettings (Part B) by Michael Keens/ Exodus  

While he waited for his next match, Scott had moved into the betting room, he 
had bet on a trainer competing in the final match of the first round.  

“And Clementine’s Marowak just makes the tag as Gordo’s Gyarados charges in for 
battle, and her Raticate flies forward and delivers a powerful strike from its 
fangs! The Gyarados is down after its many bouts, its finally down.  
Clementine’s Pokémon win the match!”  

“Yes!” shouted Scott, then calmed down, surprised at his outburst, but no one 
noticed, half of the gamblers were doing the same thing.  
Scott collected the money.  
Clementine was the even money favourite and Scott had doubled 2, 000 credits to 
4, 000.  

People that had bet on her started cheering and Scott turned to face Clementine 
herself, an attractive young lady with long light brown curly hair, a light 
blue western outfit and a white cowboy hat.  
“Thank y’all, thank y’all.” she said softly.  
Scott’s eyes contacted with hers, he didn’t realise he had been staring at her 
that long.  
“Do Ah know yuh?” she asked a little suspicious.  
‘No, no, sorry.” apologised Scott.  
“Yuh bet on little’ ol’ me?” she asked innocently.  
“Of course, you’re a great trainer.” complimented Scott.  
“Ah can’t take all the credit, mah Pokémon are the ones that deserve it.  How 
much did yuh bet?” she asked.  
“Um...  2, 000 credits.” said Scott, feeling surprisingly in the wrong.  
“Is that all, sugah? This must be yer first time, ya’ll never make money unless 
yuh take some risks.”  
“I’m not so sure.  I really need the money I’ve got for a cause.” explained 
Scott.  
“But one successful bet can speed up yer moneymakin’, come with me...” said 
Clementine motioning to follow her.  
She led him to the betting office where a new bet was taking place.  
A trainer called Parry who was using a Pinsir, Tauros and Poliwrath with odds 
of 2 to 1, looking to be certain to win, the other trainer, Fletcher, was using 
a Dodrio, Golem and Arcanine and had odds of 6/ 1.  
“Now Ah’m goin’ to bet 3, 000 on Fletcher.” explained Clementine putting down 
her money.  
“How come?” asked Scott.  
“Ah won’t make big bucks by pickin’ the sure to win guys, sometimes yuh have to 
take risks to win lot of money fast.  Besides, Ah spectated yer match and ya’ll 
be please to hear Ah bet on yuh.  It was 4/ 1 against yuh and Ah turned 2, 000 
credits to 10, 000 credits.”  
“That’s very good.” said Scott.  
“Hold up, the match is startin’...”  

“And Fletcher’s Dodrio leaps in and delivers a powerful peck to Parry’s Pinsir 
before it even attacks, it tries to tag out but the Dodrio is in its Agility 
phase and performs a powerful Fury Attack! Parry’s Pinsir strikes back with 
Slash attack and barely escapes to tag with his Tauros.  It leaps in and 
delivers a powerful Take Down attack but its only pushed Dodrio back to its 
team mates.  Now Golem is in there and crushes it with all its weight, and now 
its punching away at the helpless steer! It could be over, and Golem leaps up 
and throws its weight down on the Tauros.  And its over! Tauros is unable to 
get back up and the victory goes to Fletcher!”  

Clementine turned back to Scott, “See, its not a usual bet, almost any Pokémon 
can win battles of this nature, even with type disadvantages, lil’ things can 
make all the difference ‘round here.”  
She picked up 21, 000 credits from the office and gloated at Scott, “Ah hope 
Ah’ve broadened yer horizons.”  

“Will Trainer Forest and Trainer Clementine please report to their rooms, your 
match is about to begin and the bet has risen to 2, 000 credits.” called a 
female voice.  

“Gotta go, yuh just take mah advice...” said Clementine confidently.  
Scott saw the bettings for her match, 3 to 1 on her, but 8 to 1 on Forest.  
“Sometimes you have to take risks.” he muttered putting 4, 000 on Forest...  

“And now its Forest’s Pokémon versus the favourite of the match, Clementine.  
Her Golduck strikes a powerful kick to Forest’s Golbat, but it strikes back and 
starts drinking away, Golduck is unable to reach it and it continues to drain 
Golduck of its blood, I don’t know how much it can take! Golduck collapses, but 
no, its trying to get back to its team mates, will it make it back and will any 
of Clementine’s Pokémon be willing to take on this bloodsucker?...  The Golduck 
is starting to look weak but determined, and Golbat takes off and swoops down 
to finish the job, Clementine is dismayed as Forest’s Golbat takes the victory 
and moves the team into the next round, that Golbat should definitely be at its 
peak after the boost it just got, that’s for sure!”  

“Sorry Clementine...” Scott apologised as he collected a whopping 36, 000 
credits.  

Scott checked the next line-up but couldn’t decide on a winner and so sat in 
the corner and counted his winnings, another boost and he’d have enough credits 
to take a break from moneymaking and still make enough to cover his sister’s 
recovery, though he’d still need the million credits from the League.  
He thought about his money so far and realised he was a little disorganised, he 
was unsure of how much he had in total and needed something to keep his 
finances in check, especially if he was betting money on unsure events like 
this.  

Scott counted about 1, 000 of the credits was his to start with and that he had 
made a net gain of 35, 000 credits but now he’d have to put another 2, 000 on 
the line.  
He went to his room early , he needed time to think, that Golbat fight had made 
him a little edgy, in normal battles the trainer could return the Pokémon if a 
Golbat was that thirsty.  

“... CHU!” screamed Raichi, and a shocked Kingler waddled away awkwardly and 
confused Raichi, who couldn’t get another hit with his electricity.  
“KOKEKOKE.” it said, and the Hitmonchan jumped in and raised its fists in a 
defensive stance, it had already fought against Shard and was forced to 
withdraw.  
“Rai!” shouted Raichi attempting a Quick Attack but the Hitmonchan delivered a 
powerful punch and knocked Raichi back, he spun back and out of the ring but 
Kindle caught him by his tail and slapped hands, then rolled in dealing some 
damage with its spines and flames, it then jumped back and spun himself into a 
Mega Kick.  
“Maggg!”  
“Hitmon...”  
The Hitmonchan rebounded off the ropes and flew back towards Kindle.  
The Magmar bent down to a crouch, and at the last possible moment unleashed a 
Fire Punch, uppercutting the Hitmonchan clear out of the ring.  

Scott’s next match was equally as rewarding.  

Kindle backed away from the Golem, and tagged with Shard, it had been another 
long battle and all the Pokémon were going on tired, since there had been no 
healing for the entire tournament.  
Shard flew forward but was grabbed and slammed to the floor with just one of 
Golem’s hands, it rolled into a ball and tumbled forward but Shard leapt aside 
and waited, the Golem uncurled and Shard slammed into it, it fell back and the 
Dodrio was soon called in, Shard also returned, and a quick Thunderbolt from 
Raichi finished off the quick competitor.  

Scott left the room, Fletcher’s 4, 000 added to his 38, 000 credits, but Scott 
was starting to get a little greedy, this was the last betting he could bet on 
as trainers were forbidden to bet on matches they were participating in.  
Scott felt he had to try one last bet, plus it would let him see the final 
opposition for his team.  
Clint versus Forest.  

“What are the odds?” asked Scott to a betting man.  
“2 to 1 for Clint, and 7 to 2, Forest.”  
“Who’s the favourite?”  
“Clint of course, if you bet on him, its a sure thing you’ll triple your 
money.”  
“You sound confident.” Scott mused.  
“Are you kidding, he comes by every month and he’s won the tournament three 
times in a row.”  
Scott still thought about the odds, 7 to 2 if he bet on Forest again but this 
Clint guy held quite a record and had 2 to 1 odds.  
Scott put 23, 000 on Clint, just over half his total money, and he needed 
everything he could get, but betting on Clint seemed like a sure-fire 
investment.  

The battle started on even terms, the Pokémon had battled as hard as the 
opposition in the previous rounds.  
The Scyther backed down as Forest’s Flareon made the scene, the Rhydon replaced 
it and spun its horn around.  
The Flareon turned back to its team mates who were barely able to stand, it 
looked back to its opponent with a desire to win the match for its team.  
It dived forward but the Rhydon’s drill spun and collided with it, it tumbled 
to the floor, the tournament had taken its toll on the little Pokémon.  
“Flare...”  
“RHY!”  
Bringing its foot down, the Flareon was damaged further by the Rhydon.  
He tried to breathe his hot flames but his insides ached too much.  
“Scyther! Scy!” screamed the bloodthirsty Scyther sticking out its blade, the 
Rhydon returned and the Scyther leaped out.  
The Flareon ignored the pain and coughed up the firepower it could, but only a 
few cinders came out, the Flareon coughed and looked up shocked.  
The Scyther swung its blades and Scott’s eyes widened.  
He was shocked by the horrible sight that followed.  

“And with a final swipe, Scyther ends this Flareon’s career.  Please note that 
trainers were warned of this situation.  Clint’s merciless squad goes through 
to the final match...” said the commentator but obviously showed his sadness.  

The man turned back to Scott, “And that’s the reason he always wins.”  

Scott collected his money hastily but didn’t look happy.  
He rushed to the toilets feeling totally sickened.  

He came out a few minutes later, sure he had a great deal of money, but he felt 
totally rotten for the outcome of the match.  
That poor Flareon...  
Worse still was the fact that his Pokémon were up against that merciless team.  

He sat in his room and deposited the money, but sat down deep in thought, he 
had a great deal of money now, was one final bout worth the extra 8, 000 he 
might win?...  No.  
But the match was already in progress.  

Raichi, Kindle and Shard were looking tired, the other three were in okay shape 
because they finished their matches as quickly and as efficiently as possible.  
The Scyther dived in, its blades were stained red.  
“Rai...”  
Raichi was a little terrified so Kindle stood in for him and used its flame to 
keep the Scyther away.  
It dived forward and slashed, but Kindle was too quick for it and sent it back 
with a flaming head butt.  
“Scy!”  
It quickly returned to its team and switched.  
Then the Nidoqueen attacked furiously, Kindle was losing it and was low on 
energy, he never usually battled for this long.  
He crawled back to the others, but as he did, the Nidoqueen landed on him.  
“Maaaaggg!!!”  

Scott didn’t like this, if he backed down now, he’d be laughed out of this 
place and possibly never allowed to enter again, but if he didn’t, then there 
was a chance that his Pokémon could die.  
He thought about Casey in her coma, if he continued to battle and gamble here, 
he might make all the money he needed without the more unlikely win at the 
Pokémon League.  
But what if she asked about where he got the money from?...  

“Ooonnn!!!” screamed Shard using what little strength he had to batter the 
Nidoqueen back, it was soon replaced with Scyther who cut at him but didn’t do 
the full damage he’d do to a Pokémon with less tough skin.  
He was too fast for Shard to get a lock on though.  

If he did continue to battle here, then Casey would be back with him, but on 
the other hand, she might not, if she knew what had happened here, that Pokémon 
died in battle without any attempt to save them, she might be disgusted that 
her revival was paid for by dirty money and run out on him.  
He had earned a lot here and his Pokémon were great, great enough to win the 
League.  
He had only come here because Cue Ball was so insistent, Scott was doing just 
fine before today, but that would change if he let the cruelty continue.  
Clint’s Pokémon were too fast and switched constantly, they weren’t hesitant to 
kill either.  

The Nidoqueen returned and dealt a heavy blow to Shard who collapsed and barely 
made it back to Raichi, but he wasn’t a skilled fighter, he was a specialist at 
fast and Electric attacks.  

Scott gasped, and thought about what he could do now, he wouldn’t risk their 
death, nor permanent damage, even if it meant losing the 8, 000 credits.  
He wanted out.  
Scott had had enough of this and walked to the door his Pokémon had gone 
through.  
It wouldn’t open and was locked from the other side, it didn’t seem too sturdy 
though, they didn’t reckon on a trainer like Scott.  

“Rai!!!” screamed Raichi shooting its electricity, but none of it damaged the 
Nidoqueen.  

“And this Raichu’s Electric attack fails totally, it doesn’t seem to know that 
Nidoqueen is partly a Ground-type Pokémon.” said the commentator.  

“Rai...” shuddered Raichi.  
“NIDO!!!” screamed the Nidoqueen furiously.  
Raichi’s face was pushed into the floor, fast and hard, the Nidoqueen picked 
him up, he was done for, he couldn’t move anymore and his Electric attacks 
wouldn’t help now.  
“Stop the match!” screamed Scott running out, the Nidoqueen still held Raichi 
and would use this distraction to grant her team victory.  
“I concede, I don’t care about winning, not if it means risking the life of my 
Pokémon.  Take the money, just don’t kill my Raichu...”  
Raichi was dropped to the floor and the Nidoqueen went back to its cheering 
comrades.  
Suddenly, people that had cheered for Scott’s Pokémon started booing, 
especially those that had bet on him.  
Scott walked into the ring and picked up his very bruised Raichi.  
“Its over guys, you did great, but this isn’t our sort of fight.  I’m sorry I 
put you through this.”  
“Rai...”  
“Mag...”  
“Ooonnn...”  

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a first, the trainer has chosen to quit, and so 
by default, the victory goes to Clint which extends his winning streak!”  

“Coward!”  
“Get outta here!”  
“Loser!”  

Scott ignored the cries and left abruptly in case any that had bet on him were 
intent on taking their loss out on him.  
Scott ignored all the comments, in his heart, he knew he did the right thing, 
he cared more about his friends than making easy money, there was still time to 
pay for Casey’s recovery, but it wouldn’t be from this money.  

The next morning, Scott set aside the dirty money from the money he had earned 
from Official League Battles, there was still a great 79, 000 credits.  
Instead of putting it towards his funds, Scott used some of it to buy a top of 
the range Pokégear with a built in mobile telephone, radio and organiser to 
keep his life and savings organised, the rest was given to a charity that took 
care of abused and abandoned Pokémon.  
After seeing that poor Flareon meet its end, Scott felt he had to make up for 
it.  

Scott felt some guilt for participating in such a rough and nasty place, and he 
and his Pokémon would keep the experience a secret from the world.  

End of Part B  

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