POKÉMON:  WARRIOR'S DESIRE

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters do not belong to me.

TIME:  That same day

LOCATION:  Dragon’s Lair, Blackthorn City

            “I really can’t begin to tell you how glad I am to see you here,” James said to his trainer with a sigh.  “After all I’ve been through it’s nice to see at least one other person who still cares...”

            “Bully, my boy!  You can’t give up just yet.”  James’ trainer was a distinguished gentleman who spoke with a thick British accent.  Several times before, he has been a world heavyweight champion.  Granted, he is a stern contender in his division, but the man known as Dudley is more than willing to take a young pugilist under his wing every now and then.

            An African-Anglican [Englishman], Dudley has amassed a great fortune in his lifetime, all through his success in the ring.  He made a name for himself through his power, surprising speed to accompany it, and immaculate in-ring attire.  He’s currently wearing something he’s most likely seen wearing in the ring – a short-sleeved tuxedo shirt, olive green dress slacks (with a yellow pinstripe down each leg), with matching suspenders and bowtie.  A thin, black mustache adorned his face, curling up at the ends.  “I would’ve thought that a young lad like yourself wouldn’t know the meaning of the word ‘quit’, James.”

            “I don’t,” James was quick to object.  Dudley had finished taping up James’ left hand, and seeing it finished, he held out his other hand to Dudley.  “But...it’s hard sometimes.  Considering what I’ve been going through recently, it’s a wonder I still have what little hope I have with me now.”

            “Just remember who – and what you’re fightin’ for, Jimmy!” Meowth reassured, clenching his shaking paw.  “Your freedom’s on the line...and so is Jessie’s!  You don’t wanna owe the rest of yer life to Team Rocket, do you?”

            “Obviously not!” James shouted back.  A loud tearing caught his ear.  He saw Dudley pocket the remaining athletic tape and looked at his hands.  “I have to win...” he pounded his one fist into his other palm.  “...no matter what the cost to myself, or to anyone else!”

            “Bloody good, boy.  Now get out there and take back what’s yours!”

            With shouts of encouragement coming from his corner-man and -Pokémon, James stepped into the ring.  He cracked his knuckles and started to jump up and down in place as he waited on his opponent.

            The challenger had a steely glare in his brown eyes.  Everything he was currently wearing was one shade of blue or another.  He was dressed in a full deep blue hakama, and had a powder blue jacket overtop of it (though his arms weren’t in the sleeves).  Blue forearm bands, trimmed in red, adorned each arm.  Even his blue hair hung down in his face and obscured his right eye.  His belt was neatly tied around his waist, and its markings on one end of the belt define him as a 3rd Dan [3rd Degree, or sensei level] of Tang Soo Do.  His name is embroidered into the opposite end of the belt in yellow letters – Artemis Falkner.

            “Rocket scum,” Falkner said – in flawless Korean – as he met James in the center of the ring.

            James’ eyebrows furrowed.  “What did you say?” he asked.

            “I remember who you are,” Falkner said with a disgusted sneer.  “You and that damned Team Rocket attacked my gym and tried to steal my Pokémon – and the Pokémon of that Ash Ketchum!  And yet you dare show your face in my presence?  You disgust me.”

            James was upset by Artemis’ words, but in an angry way.  “Well that was then, and this is now,” he answered.  “Things change, you know.  Sure, I may have been a proud member of Team Rocket back in the day, but that day has come and gone.  I have a score to settle with the lot of them, and I won’t rest until I’ve won this tournament, I’ve taken down Team Rocket, and Jessie and I can finally be free!”

            The glare in Falkner’s eyes remained, but his lips were pursed in wonder.  Never would he expect such noble words to come from the mouth of a (former) Team Rocket agent.  “I see...” he said quietly.  “I find your cause interesting, but I could never relate to it.  I’ll just have to destroy you and bring glory to the Violet City gym.”  He pointed at James suddenly.  “So prepare yourself!”

            “Is that it?” James asked, his arms folded.  “You don’t have any better reason to fight than for that?  Well I’ve got news for you, birdbrain!  There are more important things in the world than yourself, and if you fight only for fame and fortune, you’re going to be in for a huge disappointment!”

            Once again, Falkner was at a loss for words.  Maybe he has changed since then, Falkner thought to himself.  Perhaps this isn’t the same James who attacked my father’s gym and endangered –

            “BEGIN THE MATCH!”

            Artemis was dispelled from his thoughts as the official called for the start of the match.

            The fight was being held in the Blackthorn gym itself, so again, like at Indigo Plateau, you were allowed one time out of the ring before being disqualified.  Unlike the Plateau’s ring, though, this wasn’t raised above the floor itself.  Everything would be on the level for this fight.

            With a loud kiay, Falkner fell into an offensive stance, while James started off in his boxing stance.  While James was adept in boxing – and in his blue trunks with white trim, the initials JVM embroidered in black letters on a yellow patch dead center on the waste of the trunks – it wasn’t the only style of combat he knew.  Aside from ballet, James’ parents had him trained in the art as a form of self-defense.  Despite having little regard for their prodigal son, his parents felt sorry for the fact that he would get beat up in school frequently.  James was a natural, his trainers soon discovered, and continued to push him through his training.

            Later on during his education, he signed on to his school’s wrestling team and eventually made the varsity squad at the 125 lb. weight class.  He was still a bit of a wimp emotionally, and despite his skill, efforts and dedication, was still chewed out by his teammates.  They were a very disconnected bunch, indeed.  When he was enlisted by Team Rocket, he, like all other cadets, were taught what was called Rocketto Dan assassination techniques.  His skills with previous martial arts forms and learning Rocketto Dan served to compliment one another.  Even though one would never tell considering how much he uses his Pokémon in battles, James is one lethal customer.

            Now is the time for James to prove how lethal he can be.

            When he saw James’ boxing stance, Artemis smirked.  Thoughts of the sport of boxing registered in his mind as just that – a sport.  Not something to be taken seriously; what with all its controversy, scandal, the pomp and circumstance and the like.  Immediately, Falkner assumed that by concentrating all his attacks on the lower half of James’ body, he could easily beat the defunct Team Rocket member.  If only things were that simple. 

            With that in mind, it was a surprise to Falkner when a number of side, sweep and roundhouse kicks met nothing but air when trying to attack James.  James’ quick footwork and dodging guided his nimble frame around the attacks.  He sidestepped another kick that was aimed at his chin, and moved in just as quickly.  James threw a hard left hook, followed by a flurry of right jabs, and finished off the combo with a left uppercut.  Falkner staggered backward, but as James tried to land a haymaker, he dipped down and swept James’ legs out from underneath him.

            James quickly kipped up, and for the moment, maintained his boxing stance.  Feeling he could take the Rocket rogue in close combat, Falkner moved in to attack.  How wrong he was.  Again, after blocking a handful of punches, James was quick to retaliate.  He pelted Artemis’ torso with heavy punches, and when he felt Falkner’s chin just barely graze the back of his head (a body blow won’t necessarily knock an opponent out, but it will make their guard slip), James’ head shot up, and caught his chin on the back of his head.  Falkner staggered first backward, and then forward, right into a brutal right hook that floored the bird Pokémon master.

            As per the rules of the tournament, a fighter who didn’t answer a ten-count when being knocked down would lose.  The referee just managed to get James to back away as he approached the downed Falkner, but by that time he was already on his feet again.  As the official backed off, James was back on the offensive, gliding at the now angry Falkner with his fist cocked back.  Falkner surprised James when he batted away the lunging fist with a crescent kick, and surprised him even more when he slammed his fist right into James’ throat.  James was left off-balanced and gasping for breath as Falkner followed up with a series of kicks – a few side kicks to James’ face and stomach, followed by a spinning roundhouse, laying out James.

            “Come on, Jimmy!  Get up!” Meowth shouted from the corner.

            “Bloody ‘ell, if that ain’t gonna work, try something else!”  James pulled himself to his knees as Dudley started shouting.  “Come on, lad!  How many styles do you know?”

            Of course, James thought.  He saw Falkner move in as he appeared lost in thought, only to be hoisted above James’ shoulders as he stood.  He held him in place for a few moments – his arms clamping down on the back of his neck and the backs of his knees – before pitching sharply to his left side with a hop.  As he landed, the brunt of the impact was dropped upon the back of Falkner’s shoulders and upper back.

            Artemis was quick to get back up, ignoring the sudden wailing of pain in his back.  As he regained his bearings, he saw James’ stance had shifted.  The rigid, uptight boxer stance was abandoned in favor of a Greco-Roman style wrestling stance.

            “Oh,” Falkner said, “I see.  So you’re not just another boxer...”

            “Just shut up and throw down, birdbrain!” James shouted in response, beginning to circle his opponent.

            Falkner started to test the waters a bit with this new fighting style James was trying to use.  He faked a few kicks, but for the most part, James wasn’t biting.  James wasn’t about to let a deadlock fall between the two of them, but at the same time he didn’t want to run face first into the sole of this guy’s foot.  So to take the offensive, he sought an alternate route.

            Getting a slight running start, James jumped over Falkner, putting himself behind his opponent and for a slight moment, Falkner’s back was to him.  James hauled ass as his foe turned around, and he plowed over him, taking him down with a headlock.  As he held on to the hold, James instinctively settled back, pressing everything from the shoulders up on Falkner against the ring, partially waiting for the referee to call a pin fall victory over the opponent.  But this wasn’t a wrestling match.

            If he held on long enough, he could get Falkner to tap out, and then he’d win the fight.  Ha.  James should be that lucky to win a fight so easily.  He managed to hold on as long as he could, until Artemis’ leg snapped up, the arch of his foot slamming into the bridge of James’ nose.  James rolled off at the sudden pain, clutching his nose.  Falkner was the first to recover, and kicked James hard in the ribs.  He waited for James to get up, and took the opening he had been waiting for.  As James stood, he rained all hell on the would-be nobleman, assaulting his body first with a flurry of punches, before slapping his head around with several impressive kicks.  James was taken aback by the assault, and was down for about a count of 6 before he resumed fighting.

            “Face it, rocket garbage,” Falkner spat, “you just can’t win.”  James settled into a sidelong stance.  As Falkner spoke, he was silently calculating how he would take down the bird master.  He didn’t want to resort to using some of his Rocketto Dan techniques, but the situation was looking rather bleak.

            While it may sound impressive, Rocketto Dan is quite simple compared to other styles of fighting.  It combines basic techniques taken from several forms of martial arts, as well as street fighting.  A Rocket agent studying under this style knows how to attack the body’s many pressure points.  They also know how to attack the vitals on the body, inflicting about ten times as much damage as the force they put behind each blow.

            The more Falkner looked down his nose at him, the less remorse he would feel for using some of these techniques.

            “Where’s your valor now, rocket?” Falkner continued.  “For all the righteousness you speak of, you certainly don’t have as entirely too much to back it up, do you?”

            Back this up.

            With a growl of anger, James rushed forward, his eyes locked onto a single spot right on the tip of Artemis’ nose.  Falkner saw this as a blind rush, and figured this anger-induced rush would be simple to deal with.  James’ moved his head just out of the way enough to dodge a backhand punch from Falkner.  His hand shot out at the exposed hand before Falkner could draw it back, and the tips of James’ index finger and thumb pushed into a certain spot on Falkner’s wrist.  For just a brief moment, Falkner’s eyes shot wide and his head tipped back as he wailed in pain; his entire arm felt like it was being electrocuted.  This temporary pause in Falkner’s participation in this fight was all James would need.  In one instant, he stepped in, slamming a wrestling shoe-clad foot down on his left instep, while at the same time, driving his exposed palm into his nose with about as much force as a sledgehammer.  Falkner staggered backward sharply, dizzy, hurting, blood starting to pour from both nostrils.

            He was still standing.  James would fix that.

            “Time for me to finish this,” James said to himself, settling back into his boxing stance.  His fist was drawn back, and he tensed up, trying to focus as much of his energy as possible into his fist.  His teeth ground against one another and his hand started to hurt as he waited for his moment – the perfect moment after the birdbrain stopped staggering and faced him.

            There!

            “You asked for it!” James shouted.  “Mortal attack!  ROCKET FIST!!!”  Like earlier, James shot towards Falkner, fist ready to fire right through his face.

            As James plowed forward, his entire armed burned with his strength.  In his mind, he pictured an aura around his arm glowing like a piece of debris falling to Earth and burning up in the atmosphere.  Regardless of what he envisioned his attack to look like, it still had the same effect.  James’ fist slammed into Falkner’s face with all his might.  Falkner was blown backward a good ten yards from the impact, and rolled about five more.  The referee checked Falkner once his body came to a stop, and when he found him unconscious, did not bother to count.

            “Artemis Falkner is unable to battle!  The winner of the match is James von Malice!”

            The small crowd on hand popped in approval as the Team Rocket renegade emerged victorious.  His corner crew greeted him as he walked over to them, all pleased with his performance.

            “Good show, von Malice,” Dudley said, shaking his hand.  “You’ve got a true warrior spirit in ya, boy.”

            “You got this tournament in da bag, Jimmy!” Meowth said.  “As long as ya don’t forget what yer fighting for, you can’t lose!”

            Never before had James taken anything from any member of Team Rocket so dearly, so closely to heart.  He couldn’t forget whom he was fighting for.  It wasn’t just for himself, but for Jessie as well.  The freedom of both of them.  That was exactly the reason he was in this tournament.  As long as he kept that in mind, there was nothing that could stand in his way.  He had to fight on, for both his sake and Jessie’s.

            He has to keep hope alive.

NAME:  Artemis Falkner

STYLE:  Tang Soo Do

DOB:  11 November 1980

HEIGHT:  5’5”

WEIGHT:  148 lbs.

HOBBY:  Aeronautical activities

FAVORITE FOOD:  Sushi

MOST IMPORTANT:  His bird Pokémon

LIKES:  Flying, bird Pokémon

DISLIKES:  People who insult Flying-types; air pollution