Croconaw: "Pokemon belongs to Nintendo. The 'Oh sweet pineapples' phrase belongs to GlassSuicune." eyes Glass menacingly

Glass: "W-w-why are y-y-you l-l-looking at m-m-me like t-t-that?!"

Croconaw: licks his lips

Glass: "Mikhail, your Croconaw's looking at me like he wants to eat me!" bolts off very quickly

Croconaw: pursues the fleeing humanoid Mirage

Mikhail: "I'd help ya, but I'm a little tied up right now..."

Glass: "The Colosseum battles are made up! I didn't think to write down those Trainers so I had to make 'em all up myself! Please enjoy the lame battles!!!" wishes I knew Quick Attack

Chapter 9: The Great Colosseum Challenge!

Tory opened his eyes and yawned. 'Morning already?' "Hey, Mikhail and Mysty! Wake up silly humans! You're burnin' daylight!" The Espeon grabbed Mikhail and Mysty with Confusion and began shaking them, "Up, up, up!"

"Okay! Okay! Stop it already!" Mikhail screeched. "My head's spinning..." Mysty groaned. Tory grinned, "Mission accomplished!'" Mikhail and Mysty stared at him, then shook their heads.

Mikhail and Mysty recalled their Pokemon, packed up the camping supplies -Mikhail actually did find it-, and walked into Pyrite Town, ignoring Cail's 'death glare'. They then -for whatever reason- walked inside the Sheriff's office. Officer Johnson bolted in, bumping into Mikhail and began bouncing in a circle.

"Chief! There have been reports of Silva stealing a gear! Gear has been reco- oh! You're not the Chief!" Johnson yapped, staring at Mikhail, who had been listening to him with his left eye twitching in annoyance. "Johnson, I'm over here, " said the Chief at his desk, "By the way, I already knew about the gear."

"Oh oh! There you are Chief! You're such a kidder! Haha!"

Mikhail and Mysty then realized they had to register for the Colosseum challenge and immediately ran out the door towards the Colosseum, at speeds that would amaze even Sonic the Hedgehog.

You can bet the receptionist was wide-eyed when the two barged through the doors screaming, "WE'D LIKE TO REGISTER FOR THE CHALLENGE!!!" Mikhail and Mysty fell to the ground. Ignoring this, the receptionist asked the typical question, "First and last name? Both of ya."

"Mikhail Starlight!" cried Mikhail. "Mysty Knight!" cried Mysty. "Are you entering as a Tag Team, or solo?" asked the receptionist. Mikhail and Mysty looked at each other, wondering what the best choice was. If they went as a Tag Team, they risked losing and both being kicked out...

"Solo, I guess." Mikhail answered. The receptionist scribbled that down. "You're both entering with your respective Pokemon? Speak now, or be stuck with whatever not-so-good Pokemon you might be carrying." she said bluntly.

"I'm entering with the Pokemon I've got with me."

Mysty nodded and said, "Me two." The receptionist continued scribbling on the piece of paper. "Okay, you may enter. Good luck, you'll need it!" she said sourly. The small bar was raised and Mikhail and Mysty walked into the Colosseum battle arena.

DAY ONE...

Mikhail stood on the blue Pokeball-shaped circle on the arena floor, looking at his opponent who stood a good couple feet from him. But the Bodybuilder was still intimidating. Mikhail was thankful this was a Pokemon battle and not a wrestling match.

"On the red Pokeball we have Bodybuilder Derek, a local Trainer!" cried the announcer. The crowd cheered and Derek flexed his muscles, further intimidating Mikhail. "I'm going to crush you into so many pieces people will have to use radar to find you, little man!" Derek laughed, making Mikhail even more thankful the Pokemon were doing the fighting.

"And on the blue Pokeball we have his opponent, Cool Trainer Mikhail, from the neighboring region of Johto!" the announcer shouted with as much enthusiasm as before. The crowd cheered, but not as much, as they didn't know Mikhail. Mikhail only waved. "I'm no pushover, buddy!" he yelled to Derek.

"Now, let the battle begin!" cried the announcer. "Go, Machop and Sentret!" cried Derek. "Shadow, Tory, I choose you!" cried Mikhail. Both Trainers stared each other down, as did the Pokemon. This would be quite the battle.

Sentret Quick Attacked Tory and was then sent flying with Return. Shadow then jumped after the Sentret and Bit it, KO'ing it. Machop then Low Kicked Shadow, sending him sliding across the floor.

"Return Sentret! Go, Clamperl!" cried Derek. Tory KO'ed Machop with Confusion and Shadow used Secret Power on Clamperl. Clamperl then used Bubble Beam on Tory, beating him down hard. After the attack was over, Tory struck with Confusion and Shadow finished it off with Tackle. "I lost to this shrimp?!" Derek cried in denial.

"And the winner of this battle is Mikhail!" shouted the announcer, "Well done, Starlight!" The crowd now cheered wildly, having enjoyed Mikhail's performance. Mikhail gave them a modest smile and recalled his Pokemon, leaving the arena before Derek could act upon his previous threat.

A couple hours later Mikhail was in the waiting room looking at the list of Trainers who made it through Round One. Mysty was on the list. So far so good.

DAY TWO...

Mysty eyed her opponent, who looked like she thought Mysty would be easy to beat. "On the red Pokeball we have Chaser Kaitlyn!" cried the announcer. The crowd cheered, remembering Kaitlyn's previous battle. "You're going down little red-head!" she yelled cockily.

"And on the blue Pokeball we have her opponent, Pokefan Mysty!" the announcer shouted. The crowd cheered, obviously expecting a great battle from her. "We'll see about that!" she shouted.

SOMEWHERE IN KANTO...

("Hey Misty! There's a girl on the radio with pictures that looks just like you!") Psyduck declared, pointing at the TV. Ash, Misty, and Brock just stared at him, wondering what the heck he was trying to tell them. They never glanced at the screen and saw Mysty.

BACK TO ORRE..

"Go, Poochyena and Taillow!" cried Kaitlyn. "Sparky, Noctowl, take 'em out!" cried Mysty. Noctowl looked back at her Trainer, obviously planning something not-so-nice. Mysty took a small step away from the owl.

Sparky fired ThunderShock, leaving Taillow with only one hit point. Noctowl Shadow Rushed Mysty, making her fall flat on her back. "I knew it... I knew it..." Mysty groaned, while Noctowl cackled.

Sparky stared at Noctowl in shock and was Pecked by Taillow. ("Owowowowowowowow....") the spiky yellow fox groaned. Poochyena then Bit Noctowl, causing her to give it a death glare. Tired of all the Pecking, Sparky sank his fangs into Taillow and KO'ed it.

Mysty told Noctowl to use Shadow Rush and she actually obeyed. Poochyena was sent flying and landed on Sparky, who screamed. Sparky then charged ThunderShock, but didn't have to use it, as simply charging it KO'ed Poochyena. Kaitlyn recalled her Pokemon, "I was wrong... I'm the one who went down..."

"And the winner of this battle is Mysty!" cried the announcer, "Well done Knight!" The crowd was cheering more then they did yesterday. Mysty was proving to be a Trainer they could respect. Same with Mikhail, who had downed another Trainer before this battle. Mysty waved and smiled at the crowd, wondering why she never participated in a Colosseum challenge before.

DAY THREE...

'Oh sweet pineapples, another one...' Mikhail thought as he stared at his opponent, who was a female Bodybuilder, 'How come nearly every person I meet in this region has to be some musclebound maniac? And this lady doesn't even look like a lady anymore!' Mikhail shook his head. Now was not the time for one of his paranoid moments.

"On the red Pokeball we have Bodybuilder Valerie!" cried the announcer. The crowd, as usual, cheered like heck. Valerie clenched her left fist and slammed it into the open palm of her right hand. She then pointed to Mikhail and said darkly, "I'm going to crush you like a Wurmple..."

"And on the blue Pokeball we have her opponent, Mikhail!" cried the announcer ( this is getting old fast). The crowd cheered loudly and a couple people even said, "Don't let her intimidate you, Mikhail! You're WAY better then she is!" Mikhail smiled slightly and told Valerie, "Y'know, I've totally defeated wrestlers who thought they were cool and I'm not against doing it again!"

"Go, Smoochum and Wooper!" cried Valerie. "Shadow, Tory, I choose you!" cried Mikhail. Tory struck Wooper with Confusion and nearly KO'ed it. Shadow ran to Smoochum and Bit it, knocking its health into the yellow.

Wooper slapped Tory with Mud Slap and was immediately Returned. Wooper was KO'ed and recalled. "Go, Pichu!" cried Valerie. Smoochum then got Shadow with Sweet Kiss, Confusing him. The black fox tried to counter attack, but ended up Biting his tail.

"Return Shadow!" Mikhail cried, recalling Shadow, "Croconaw, I choose you!" Croconaw looked back at Mikhail, a small gleam of gratefulness in his eyes. Tory ran up to Smoochum and KO'ed it with Return, saying, ("NO ONE CONFUSES MY BROTHER EXCEPT ME!")

Pichu then used Charm, lowering Croconaw's Attack. Croconaw then Shadow Rushed Pichu, knocking it into the red. Tory finished it off with Return. Valerie recalled her Pokemon and fell to her knees, "The Wurmple's the one who stands victorious..."

"And the winner is... oof!" cried the announcer, as a humanoid Suicune knocked him out of his chair. "Yeah, yeah. The people know already! Sheesh!" she cried, "And the reader already knows the crowd's cheering like an atomic bomb is gonna go off tomorrow!"

Mikhail looked at the list to see which Trainer he would face tomorrow. His eyes widened.

Mysty.

Note: Well there ya have it, Chapter 9! review please? Ooh, I wonder who's gonna win? We'll find out next week, I guess. Yes, the female Bodybuilders actually do not look like women to me with how they're animated in the game... That, and both Bodybuilders scare the daylights outta me. BTW, Can someone submit their ideas of what they think the mind-altering drug that makes Shadow Pokemon should be called? Now, just for fun...

Meaningless Tidbit of Information Edition 1: How Mikhail and Mysty got their names:

Mikhail got his name from Michael, the XD: Gale of Darkness hero ( that game was the only time I ever kept a default name). The name 'Mikhail' means 'Michael' in Russian ( last I checked. But I do know for a fact it means 'Michael' one way or another). So in a way, you can say I named 'Wes' after Michael ( since I played XD first)... The Starlight last name comes from my fascination with stars. That, and Mikhail does become a shining star in a way.

Mysty is a more interesting story. On my game, her name is spelled 'Misty', because she looked like Ash's ( cough) girlfriend ( cough). When I started writing this story, I became aware Ash and co. would most likely cameo one way or another so I replaced the 'I' with a 'Y' to avoid confusion. Now that I think about it, 'Mysty' looks cooler. The Knight last name comes from me wanting to give 'Rui' a more involved role then just standing by seeing Shadow Pokemon and saying odd things.

See ya later alligator!