"Plainly Tested," written by Freedom Fighter

Disclaimer:   I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters associated with the
show.  All names and likenesses are copyrighted by Nintendo, 4Kids Entertainment,
and anyone else who had a hand in creating the show.

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Prologue (06.24.02)


The hot summer sun beamed down on Azalea Town, home to Kurt, the inventor of the
Pokéball, and Bugsy, the gym leader.  It just seemed to be a normal day despite
the humidity.  Adults were going to work, children were going to school, tourists
were visiting Kurt's shop, and Pokémon trainers were heading to the gym to
challenge Bugsy.

The win-lose ratio against Bugsy had been 35-65 against trainers who didn't
start their journeys in Johto, but a more respectable 80-20 against trainers
that did originate from the area.  Needless to say, Bugsy did lose quite a bit.
But very rarely would a trainer completely overwhelm him and his Pokémon.
Especially against his Scyther, which was powerful regardless of whether or not
the Pokémon used his most powerful attack, the Fury Cutter.

Not even that same Scyther could prepare for what would happen next.


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"It's all up to you, Scyther!"

The bug Pokémon nods in compliance.  Bugsy wasn't about to give up the fight to
this mysterious trainer that had entered his gym.  All of his assistants stood
behind him.  Amy and May, the twins, were both bawling their eyes out in fear
and sorrow.  Al and Josh, the bug catchers, watched the battle unfold with
uncertainty.  And Benny, another bug catcher and also Bugsy's second-in-command,
stood by Bugsy's side, giving him advice on what to do next.

"We've got to keep fighting!" Benny shouts at Bugsy.  "No matter how hopeless
it seems!"

"I don't intend on giving up," Bugsy replies.  "I'll fight this battle to the
end, no matter the result!"

Bugsy, Benny, and the others stare at the mysterious trainer looking at them
from the other end of the field.  But before they could get into a staring
contest, the trainer pulls out a Pokéball and throws it to the ground.  A large
Pokémon comes out of it, but they can't tell which one it is.

"Which one is it now?"

"I don't know.  Be ready, Scyther."

"Scy-ther!"

The trainer then points at Bugsy.  As he does, his Pokémon charges right for
Bugsy's Scyther.

"Use fury cutter!" the gym leader quickly yells.

But it was already too late.  By the time Scyther winded up to perform the
attack, the mysterious Pokémon drill pecks him unconscious.  Bugsy gasps in
disbelief as Scyther falls to the ground.

To make things worse, the mystery trainer pulls out another Pokéball and sucks
Scyther into it.  The same Pokéball that had captured Bugsy's Metapod and Kakuna
just minutes before, and all of his assistants' Pokémon before that.

"Who are you?" Bugsy asks the figure, cautiously approaching him.

"I do not have a name," he replies with a ghastly voice.  "Names are for the
weak.  A trainer by any name is a fool.  A gym leader by any name is just
wasting my time."

Bugsy, unfazed by the trainer's statement, decides to take matters into his own
hands.  "You know, the only thing you are supposed to receive after defeating a
gym leader in battle is a gym badge.  You're not supposed to take our Pokémon."

"If you wish to stop me, then go ahead.  Then again, I just defeated all of your
Pokémon without breaking a sweat.  What makes you think that you're going to do
any better?"

Bugsy growls angrily, but he knew that the trainer was right.

"Although I will be kind enough to leave you a parting gift for you... and the
other gym leaders of the Johto League."

The figure then snaps his fingers.  In an instant, the walls of the gym
disappear.  Just after that, all of the forest trees, shrubbery, and bug
Pokémon that inhabited the inside of the gym disappear as well.  Only the seven
trainers are left standing where the gym just was.

"The gym has disappeared!" Amy exclaims.

"Disappeared, the gym has!" her twin sister May restates.

"How did he..." Al, Josh, and Benny all wonder.

"Just who are you?" Bugsy asks the trainer again.  But instead of answering
Bugsy's question, he gives them an ultimatum.

"Tell the other gym leaders that I am coming to test their battle skills.  Tell
them that if they do not defeat me in battle, then the same thing that happened
to you today will happen to them."

The trainer then starts walking away, leaving Bugsy and his assistants stunned,
to say the least.

"Aren't we going to try and stop him?" Josh asks.

"Why?" Bugsy retorts.  "We can't stop him alone."  Bugsy then turns to his
assistants and starts issuing orders.  "Amy and May, go find Officer Jenny and
tell her what happened.  Al and Josh, get in touch with all the other Johto gym
leaders and pass on his message."

The four nod before running off; Amy and May towards the police station, Al and
Josh to the Pokémon Center.  That just leaves Bugsy and Benny standing where the
gym no longer is.

"What about me?" Benny asks.

"Start looking around," Bugsy replies.  "We've got to figure out how he managed
to make the gym disappear.  We've got to figure out how he took our Pokémon.

"We've got to figure out... how the heck he beat us so easily."


End Prologue


That's the prologue, folks.  Prepare for a sci-fi twist the Pokémon world never
expected.  This will be a thrill for me to write.  I hope it's as equally
thrilling for all of you to read.

By the way, I will be following game continuity as much as possible in this fic.

With that said, come back for the first chapter... and see how Whitney reacts
when she finds out about this!