Pokemon Wizard Duel!
"Archimedes," asked Wart, perched as a tiny Pidgey, "What are they doing?" He curiously watched Merlin and Madam Mim march out of the cottage.
"They're about to have a wizard's duel. Just watch and see," explained Archimedes, the wise and fluffy Noctowl.
Madam Mim proudly stood up against Merlin, despite her short height. "Now let's make some rules."
"You only want rules so you can break them!" replied Merlin. He knew he could never trust Mim to a fair fight.
"Now, now" said Mim with a cackle, "Do you know your Pokemon well?"
"From Kanto to Alola, I've studied many PokeDexes and future species yet to be discovered," said Merlin, possessing vast knowledge of Pokemon physiology.
"Good. Then you'll have no problem with this duel. Rule number 1: we will only transform into Pokemon, no minerals or vegetables. Rule number 2: No legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo or Reshiram. Rule number 3: No teleporting, only transforming-"
"Rule number 4! No rule-breaking!" insisted Merlin, watching out for Mim's clever tricks.
"Fine, fine. Let's count to ten paces." Merlin stood back to back with Mim, booting her caboose into him.
"One, Two, Three…" Mim started the countdown but while Merlin paced accordingly, Mim stepped in the same spot and vanished.
"Quick, Merlin! The crazy witch disappeared!" warned Archimedes.
Merlin turned back and then turned forward, catching Mim who had chosen a sinister Salazzle as her first form. She cackled and proceeded to chomp up the wizard. TRANSFORM! Mim bit his pointy hat shut where he was hiding inside. She stuck her claw inside, only to be bitten by a pesky Turtwig. The small Grass type attacked with Razor Leaf against Mim. She blasted back with Flamethrower, forcing Merlin to waddle his tiny legs away from a super-effective attack.
"You need to turn into something faster!" cried Archimedes. Merlin needed to gain considerable distance between him and Mim. TRANSFORM! He was now a fluffy Buneary, expertly hopping from the infernal streams of fire. Mim growled angrily and chased the bouncing bunny. She came within range to snap her jaws shut on Merlin's cotton tail. She snickered while chewing maliciously. Merlin pounded her face with his large bunny ears, wiggled out of her teeth, and darted into a mossy, hollow log. TRANSFORM!
"Merlin? I hope you haven't gone and teleported, hehehe…" taunted Mim. Merlin crawled out through a small hole as a Caterpie. TRANSFORM! He climbed the twigs of a high tree, but only as Mim discovered him as a rabid Dodrio. Her three heads squawked maniacally, all pecking for Caterpie. The middle head bit Merlin's tail, hanging off while he gripped firmly to the branch. Mim released him like a slingshot. He was whipped up to incredible heights. Mim eagerly waited with all three of her beaks wide open for a crunchy caterpillar Pokemon. Merlin was soon hurdling towards his demise. TRANSFORM! Merlin's choice of Pokémon, a massive Walrein, squashed Mim into a pile of feathers and dirt.
"Good job, Merlin!" applauded Wart. TRANSFORM! Mim erupted and grew into a Tentacruel, swarming her tentacles around Merlin's neck. TRANSFORM! Merlin slipped through Mim's grip as a small adorable Pikachu.
"Oh no!"
"PIKA-CHUUUU!" The Thunderbolt practically paralyzed Mim. TRANSFORM! She was now a nasty Persian, whose special ability prevented paralysis. She snarled deep into Merlin's face. SWISH! Merlin danced away from each Fury Swipe. He had to duck and roll underneath her pouncing attack. He was close enough to her tail and chomp it. TRANSFORM! Mim hissed and shook her hooked tail. She was a venomous Seviper, lunging forward with Poison Fang. Merlin blocked the attack with her tail.
"OUCH!" cried Mim. Merlin retreated into a small hole in the ground. Mim immediately followed him inside. His small yellow body popped out the other end and waited for Mim to come out. As soon as she emerged, Merlin slammed her head downward with a fully charged Iron Tail. He knew she'd recover quickly and strike again. TRANSFORM! As a mighty Kingler, he readied his enormous crab claw. Mim tried to escape out of the hole but narrowly avoided Merlin's Vice Grip attack. TRANSFORM! A rock-hard spike poked through, onto which Merlin clamped. A mighty monster ruptured the ground. Mim sneered at Merlin as a fully grown Rhyperior. She snatched Merlin and hurled him against a tree, rooted at the edge of an extremely steep cliff, below which was a wrected tar pit. Letting out a wicked laugh, Mim charged. Time was running out for Merlin. His frail Kingler body could not handle the raw strength of a Rhyperior.
He cleverly used Mud Slap at Mim's face. She whined and tried to wipe the mud from her face. However, she could not control or stop her rampage. This allowed Merlin to make his escape, leaving Mim to ram himself stuck inside the tree. Her horn was stuck against the thick trunk of the tree. As soon as she stomped the ground, Mim could immediately tell how unstable it was.
"Let me finish this once and for all!" exclaimed Merlin.
"No Merlin! You wouldn't!" cried Mim, panicking. TRANSFORM! Merlin cracked and twisted his large head, taking the form of a grumpy Gogoat. Mim pleaded but Merlin gave no mercy. He charged into her with a devastating Double-Edge attack. CRASH! The tip of the cliff shattered, delivering Mim into the tar pit.
FSSSH! TRANSFORM! FSSSH! Mim exploded into a Reshiram, sparkling with two sets of golden rings around her fuzzy neck and turbine-tail.
"MIM! You said no legendaries!"
"Did I say anything about Shiny Legendaries? NOOO!" FSSSSH! Mim fired an intense Blue Flare, obliterating the plants and dirt, near Merlin. Had it not been for his speed, Merlin would have suffered a blazing tempest to the face. TRANSFORM! He ran faster as a Pikachu. FSSSSSSH! Another Blue Fare had surrounded Merlin. Mim snatched his small body and crushed him.
"Merlin, no!" cried Wart.
Mim cackled with embers sprinkling from her flaring mouth. She laughed until she found nothing in her hands.
"Wha-Where did you go? Did you tele-?" asked Mim, frantically looking around the area.
"No, Mim. I have not teleported. I have become extremely small." Merlin's voice could be heard but its location was a complete mystery. "So small, you would need a microscope to see me. I am now a rare Pokemon species, though not yet categorized into any Pokedex."
"What are you?! Show yourself!" Mim was feeling something horrible in her body.
"I am far worse than any Poison Type. I have become a microorganism known to the few as 'PokeRus'. However, I am a special variety, one that will infect your cells rather than enhance them. Your entire immune system is helpless." Merlin had won. Mim huffed, puffed and coughed terribly with flaming mucus. She shivered between fevers and chills. She clutched her speckled face in shame and cried miserably.
Back as humans, Merlin tucked Mim away into her bed and checked her temperature. "Yes, just as I suspected. You won't be ready to get out of bed until for at least three…four hundred years. Then you'll be good as-I mean, 'bad' as new." Merlin departed safely with his fowl friends, leaving Mim to endure a terrible fate.