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 Back to Part A Back to the Side Stories Back to the Pokézone