As the Indigo Plateau’s annual Pokémon League tournament nears, controversy has erupted over one of the most popular trainers over the past few months, trainer John McCain, particularly his choice of Pokémon for this series of battles.  The accusations began once he announced that he would be relying on his Palin to win the tournament.

“Bulls***!” exclaimed rival trainer Barack Obama upon hearing this news.  “Did anyone see his Palin the last time he used it in battle?  A month ago it was just a level 14 Pokémon, not really presenting anything new.  Now he wants us to believe that he trained the Palin to a level 60 in just a month?  I smell a level-up cheat.”

Obama’s words echoed the opinions of many other Kanto citizens.  The region is fervently following the preparations for the tournament, set to take place in only two months.  McCain and Obama are favored to be the two highest-placing trainers in the tournament, which has only increased the tension between fans of the two.  Their showdown is certainly an interesting match-up: Obama will use his Jobiden, an experienced rock Pokémon whose first tournament occurred twenty years ago; McCain refuses to retract his announcement to favor his Palin.

McCain has refuted these claims of Pokefraud.  In an interview with the trainer, he told us that “people don’t realize that the Palin is more than a Pokémon you can train in its natural habitat.  It actually has some potential.”  However, when addressed with the Palin’s rumored weakness – that it is incapable of performing effectively without constant control of its trainer – McCain refused to comment.