[PW!] Better Slate Than Never

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Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

"I hate my life," said Karl.

"Puhsy!" exclaimed Iceduck, struggling as always to pronounce his species'
name - "Psyduck" - properly.

"Look at me!" said Karl.

Iceduck took a good look at Karl's white hair, his square Pokéball
medallion, his strange logo-free clothing, his pointed nose and wondered
what exactly Karl was getting at.

"I'm too shy!" said Karl, dropping his voice to a whisper as he thought he
saw someone walk past.

"Fetch!" agreed Nomak, his Farfetch'd.

Karl sighed. "I need to conquer these nerves, or we'll be on this ship
forever."

Karl reached a decision. He looked up. He straightened himself. He put on
a determined face. He stormed through the ship like a man possessed. He
made his way relentlessly to the lifts and pressed the relevant buttons.
Arriving at his destination, he pushed the door open with all his might,
stamped into the room and pulled out a PokéBall, releasing an Unown shaped
like a squiggle of some sort.

"FIX IT!!" he double-exclaimed, showing off his temporary bout of courage.

Nurse Marcia gave him an appraising look.

The wind was immediately taken out of Karl's sails.

"This Unown..." said Karl. "It used to be shaped like an S. It
got...broken, though. I was wondering if there was a way to fix it."

Marcia took a look at the deformed Ess.

"You want me to restore this Pokémon's shape, then..." she murmured.

"Yes," said Karl.

A few more moments of silence passed.

"Or if you can make it into a K, I'd..."

He trailed away under Marcia's shocked expression.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

STEFFAN HEDD ALUN wrote:

> Karl reached a decision. He looked up. He straightened himself. He put on
> a determined face. He stormed through the ship like a man possessed. He
> made his way relentlessly to the lifts and pressed the relevant buttons.
> Arriving at his destination, he pushed the door open with all his might,
> stamped into the room and pulled out a PokéBall, releasing an Unown shaped
> like a squiggle of some sort.
>
> "FIX IT!!" he double-exclaimed, showing off his temporary bout of courage.
>
> Nurse Marcia gave him an appraising look.
>
> The wind was immediately taken out of Karl's sails.
>
> "This Unown..." said Karl. "It used to be shaped like an S. It
> got...broken, though. I was wondering if there was a way to fix it."
>
> Marcia took a look at the deformed Ess.
>
> "You want me to restore this Pokémon's shape, then..." she murmured.
>
> "Yes," said Karl.
>
> A few more moments of silence passed.
>
> "Or if you can make it into a K, I'd..."
>
> He trailed away under Marcia's shocked expression.


Nurse Marcia narrows her eyes at the rude Trainer who's standing
before her, forcing him to sweat under her withering glare for several
seconds before pointing to the counter that's in front of her. "I'll
need to get a better look at your Unown. Put it on the counter."

Karl, feeling increasingly embarrassed about his initial outburst,
immediately acquiesces to her demand. He plucks the levitating Unown
S out of the air, and places it on top of the counter.

When the Unown is in her possession, the first thing that Marcia does
is quickly examine it from all angles to check for any traces of
shininess. Only after she's convinced that Ess is a regular Unown
without any time-freezing abilities--or worse still,
personality-changing, wish-giving abilities--does she relax her hold
on its body, and proceed to examine its contusions. As she runs her
hand gingerly over one of the unnatural creases in the Unown S's body,
she raises her eyes to meet Karl's. "How did this happen?"

"Er," Karl falters for a moment, then gestures to his Farfetch'd, who
is trying his best to look innocent. "Nomak here kinda...decided to
use it for fencing practice."

"Far," Nomak boasts, figuring that since Karl's let the cat out of the
bag, there's no need to be shy about his exploits.

"I didn't ask about your Farfetch'd." Marcia clarifies, "How could
you, as a Trainer, allow your Pokemon to get injured like this?"

Karl explains, "I do try to keep Nomak out of trouble, but..." he
sighs. "Believe it or not, he usually doesn't listen to me."

Marcia glances from the strutting Farfetch'd to the shy-looking
Trainer and remarks, "I'd believe it. When did this happen?"

Karl speaks in a meek voice, "About three months ago."

"Three months ago!?" Marcia exclaims incredulously. "Why didn't you
bring it to a Pokemon Center before now?"

Karl looks at his shoes. "I was afraid I might get yelled at.
So...can you fix it?"

"Yes, I can fix it." Marcia says, still shaking her head in
disbelief. She picks up the S-shaped Unown with both hands, preparing
to transport it into the treatment area of the Pokemon Center. Before
leaving, she turns to Blizzard the Persian, who hasn't said a word
since entering the Pokemon Center, "I still don't know why you came in
here, but I'll take care of you later. Injured Pokemon take
priority."

"<Very well,>" Blizzard responds. She is sitting on top of Sting the
Tentacool, pinning him down to prevent him from lunging at Marcia's
Slowpoke. "<Take your time, caregiver. I would not be one to take
your duties lightly.>"

Marcia stares at the Persian for a long moment, not at all certain of
what she said. Finally, deciding she has more pressing matters to
attend to, she just shrugs her shoulders in agreement, "Right." She
removes two Pokeballs from her belt, intending to recall Luthor and
Parasite before taking Ess into the back room.

"CATWOMAN!" Luthor the Slowpoke abruptly bellows, having finally
decided on the perfect way to address the Persian who he hasn't seen
in over a year. Caught off guard by his outburst, Marcia lowers the
hand containing his Lure Ball.

"<Greetings, Luthor,>" Blizzard purrs, a hungry look in her eyes, "<it
is pleasant seeing you again. I believe you still owe me a dinner.>"

"Do not trust her, Rogue!" Luthor bitterly cautions Marcia, not
listening to Blizzard's greeting at all. "Luthor made the mistake of
trusting Catwoman once. Luthor even offered her a chance to join his
army--and how did she thank him? By forming an army of her own!
Catwoman is the most devious and cunning of villains. Not only has
she convinced the brutish Killer Croc and antisocial Penguin to aid
her in her misdeeds, she has even crossed continuities to recruit the
traitorous Dr. Octopus to her side!"

"TentaCOOL!" Sting screams, enraged that Luthor has called him by his
slave name. He claws rabidly at the wooden floor of the Pokemon
Center with his tentacles, trying to pull himself out from underneath
Blizzard so he can strangle Luthor.

Marcia never even entertains the notion that Luthor might be telling
the truth. She presses the recall button on her Slowpoke's Lure Ball
and firmly states, "Luthor, it's time for you to get some rest,"
seeking to contain him before his delusional ranting sparks a fight.

A blast of Confusion sends the ball flying into a wall! Marcia stares
at the Slowpoke in shock. Knowing what she knows about Luthor's
personality, she isn't really surprised that he attacked her, but she
is amazed that he was able to react so quickly.

Luthor's lips curl into a slow smile of satisfaction. "Luthor
anticipated your betrayal, and took the precaution of readying his
psionic attack long before you reached for his Lure Ball," the
Slowpoke growls out in explanation. "Luthor is well aware of your
deceitful nature, Rogue, and from the moment he met you, he vowed to
remain vigilant. You may have gotten the better of Mystique, but
Luthor shall not fall victim to the same mind games. Make no mistake
about it, Luthor's Psychic powers are dwarfed only by the potential of
the power he will possess once he is fully evolved. If you cross him,
Luthor will destroy you, just as he will destroy Catwoman and her
pitiful assortment of minions."

Marcia sighs, and walks over towards the wall to retrieve the Lure
Ball.

Karl stands with his mouth hanging open, torn between feeling amazed
by the fact that Luthor can talk, and being disturbed by his obvious
psychosis. Nomak simply laughs derisively, thinking it stupid of
Luthor to speak English when ideas can be expressed so much more
succinctly in Poke-speak.

Cerberus the Dodrio lowers one of his long necks and speaks into
Blizzard's ear, "<White Lioness, mayhap we should ask the Slowpoke to
join our army. Cerberus thinks he's scrappy.>"

"COOL <no,> tent<hole!>" Still unable to extract his body from
beneath Blizzard, Sting has to settle for flailing his tentacles
around in fury.

"FARF!" Nomak chimes, as much enraged by the suggestion as Sting is.
He cannot fathom why Cerberus is thinking of recruiting Luthor, when
he is so obviously superior to the Slowpoke in every way. When
Blizzard, Sting, Avalanche, and Cerberus all turn to stare at him, he
makes a big show of jabbing at the air with his leek, and squawks out
as ferocious a battle cry as a Farfetch'd can squawk. "Feehh!"

"Persian." Blizzard sizes up the Wild Duck Pokemon. "<Cerberus, it
was you who suggested we seek out allies within the walls of this
facility. Would you consider this diminutive creature to be a
potential asset?>"

Cerberus stares down his three beaks at the smaller bird. "<Aye,
Farfetch'd have their place on the battlefield.>"

Nomak puffs out his chest in pride.

The Dodrio continues, "<In Cerberus' experience, they make excellent
cannon fodder.>"

Nomak sputters and begins to choke violently. Iceduck the Psyduck
rushes to his aid, slapping Nomak on the back until he dislodges the
spittle from the Farfetch'd's throat.


TBC?


--Beth

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

"Rob" <robfrompw@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9YYlc.5114$a47.1275@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> The angry Slowpoke contained, Nurse Marcia grabs the deformed Unown
floating
> beside her. She's about to take it to the treatment area of the Pokemon
> Center, when she gets an idea. She tells the only other human standing in
> the room, "You look like a typical Pokemon Trainer, what with the white
> hair..."
>
> Surprised that someone seems to be addressing him, Karl asks, "Who, me?"
>
> "Do you SEE anyone else with white hair in this Pokemon Center?"
>
> Karl points at Blizzard. "That Persian has white hair."
>
> "Does that Persian LOOK like a typical Pokemon Trainer?"
>
> "Hmm..." Karl pauses to think about it.
>
> "Ugh. 'No'. The answer I'm looking for is 'no'." Marcia sighs. "Look,
forget
> about who has white hair. I just wanted to ask you if you can understand
> Pokéspeak."
>
> "I sure can!!" Karl double-exclaims, happy that he might be of some use to
> someone.
>
> "Good." Nurse Marcia points at the Tentacool pinned under the Persian that
> Karl pointed at earlier, "While I treat your Unown, can you please find
out
> what that Tentacool knows about the Slowpoke I just recalled? I'm trying
to
> cure Luthor of his delusions, so I'd like as much information about him as
I
> can get."

Nurse Marcia left the room, leaving Karl alone with the quartet of strange
Pokémon.

"Hi," he said, greeting Sting the Tentacool. "My name's Karl."

"Tenta tent," said Tentacool condescendingly.

Karl was speechless. He opened his mouth a few times, but couldn't get any
words out for several seconds.

"Tent tenta COOL?"

"You swore at me! Those are really bad words."

"Cool!"

"I mean, I assumed you and that Slowpoke were enemies or something," said
Karl sulkily. "But what have I ev-"

"COOL!" exclaimed Sting. "Tenta tent cool coola tent!"

"At least he speaks politely," said Karl, who'd not picked up on Luthor's
insanity.

"Tent!" snorted Sting. "Cool tenta tent tent coolta cool, tent cool cool."

"Actually, I thought he was perfectly pleasant!" exclaimed Karl hotly. "And
anyway, how can you talk about Slowpoke that way when you're so
foul-mouthed.

"Fetch," whispered Nomak, making a clever pun based on the word "fowl".

"Pur," purred Blizzard softly. "Persian sian, purrrr."

Karl smiled. He preferred this Pokémon's softer tone, despite being rather
alarmed by her words.

"Look," said Karl, and this time he looked at Avalanche and Cerberus as
well. "All I want is to know what's going on between you lot and that
Slowpoke."

"Drio?" asked Cerberus enquiringly.

"Otherwise the nurse will be annoyed with me," said Karl, as though of all
the things in the world, he knew that this specific fact was a constant,
never inaccurate.

"Drio."

"Why can't you just TELL me?" snapped Karl. "I mean, why is it so important
to you that I'm kept in the dark? I don't want to get too involved in this.
I just want to help the nurse out."

"Purr," breathed Blizzard. She found this boy quite amusing. He was quite
flustered around the nurse, as though he couldn't deal with a member of the
same species, but left in a room full of Pokémon - who were, of course, much
more of a threat to his well-being than the nurse was - he confidently
demanded answers. She reached a decision, and jumped down from atop Sting,
keeping her eyes on Karl as she approached him.

Karl, not understanding the body language of a Pokémon not owned by a
trainer, followed his instincts.

"Iceduck! Use your Ice Beam!"

Iceduck released a beam of ice, hitting Blizzard's face. Both Karl and
Iceduck realised that they'd made a huge error of judgement as they spotted
the look on Avalanche's face.

TBC?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

Steffan Alun wrote:

> "Purr," breathed Blizzard. She found this boy quite amusing. He was
quite
> flustered around the nurse, as though he couldn't deal with a member of
the
> same species, but left in a room full of Pokémon - who were, of course,
much
> more of a threat to his well-being than the nurse was - he confidently
> demanded answers. She reached a decision, and jumped down from atop
Sting,
> keeping her eyes on Karl as she approached him.
>
> Karl, not understanding the body language of a Pokémon not owned by a
> trainer, followed his instincts.
>
> "Iceduck! Use your Ice Beam!"
>
> Iceduck released a beam of ice, hitting Blizzard's face. Both Karl and
> Iceduck realised that they'd made a huge error of judgement as they
spotted
> the look on Avalanche's face.

"GRAAAAAN!!!" Avalanche pauses to let out a reverberating roar before
lunging at Karl, mouth open and fangs exposed.

"Oh no..." His first glimpse inside the maw of the advancing Tyranitar
leaves Karl in a state similar to paralysis, but when the sulfuric stench of
the Pokemon's breath permeates his nostrils, the sensation is enough to
prompt him to action. With speed that is nearly unreasonable, he grabs his
own Pokemon--first Iceduck, and then Nomak--and dives to one side, narrowly
avoiding the snapping jaws. He scrambles across the floor and ducks behind
the Nurse's Station; flattening himself against the back wall and hoping the
four-foot-tall counter will prove to be a suitable barricade against the
beast.

"Graan!" Avalanche grumbles in annoyance, stopping short in front of the
counter. Too lazy to step over the obstacle, and unable to easily reach
across it, he opts for completely different plan of attack, and fires a
Flamethrower at Karl's head.

"You've gotta be--" Karl presses his Pokemon to the ground, barely managing
to duck the powerful stream of flames. The flames dance out of existence
a few inches above Karl's body, narrowly avoiding anything combustible, but
still making him unbearably hot. The second that Avalanche stops for
breath, Karl jumps to his feet, and begins pounding frantically on the door
leading to the treatment area. "HELP! HELLLP!!!"

From her work station inside the treatment area, Nurse Marcia hears the
pounding, the shouting, and the roars that follow. Without taking her eyes
off of the Unown that she's reshaping, the blue haired nurse grouses, "I
gave that Trainer the simplest job in the world, and he's already asking for
help. What's the matter with kids these days?" Disgusted by Karl's
ineptitude, Marcia puts down her pair of pliers, reaches into a nearby jar
of cotton balls, selects two puffs, and sticks them in her ears. "If I
can't hear it, it isn't happening."

Karl continues to pound on the door for another five seconds, hope fading as
help fails to arrive. Hearing the sound of movement behind him, he turns to
brace for another wave of attacks. As Avalanche prepares to exhale another
blast of flames, Karl asks weakly, "Please don't kill me."

"Pur." Blizzard is rubbing at her cheek with one forepaw, trying to brush
the ice crystals from her fur. At the same time, she is monitoring the
unfolding battle with the detached interest of a child who's watching a
particularly boring television program. After listening to Karl's plea, she
turns to her Tyranitar companion, "<Avalanche, that will suffice. Cease and
desist.>"

"Ran," Avalanche grunts. He's annoyed that Blizzard is ordering him around,
but figures that as long as she's unharmed, there's really no reason for him
to continue to bully Karl. He shoots the Trainer a dirty look, and sits
down on the floor.

Karl remains in his hiding spot, heart beating rapidly. He stares at the
opposing Pokemon unblinkingly, unsure of what their next move will be.

"Persian," Blizzard says after a few seconds, "<I like this human. He is
courageous, yet not too proud to beg for his life. He has moxie, but he
knows his place. I propose that we make him an honorary member of the
Brotherhood.>"

"Cool <that> tent, tenta!" Sting roars. "<The Brotherhood has too many>
cool<ing members already! You let that> tacool <Dodrio join, and now any>
tent <we score has to be split four> cool<ing ways. If *this*> ta coolta
<joins, we'll be> cool<ed even worse, so> cool <that> tent, <and OFF the>
tenta coolta <before he> tent<s up our bottom> cool<ing line!>"

"Purr." Blizzard responds calmly, "<Sting, you are being rash. Please
contain your emotions, and kindly consider both sides of the issue before
making your decision.>"

Sting thrashes around, enraged. "COOL! <You can't let every> tenta
tentcool <we meet join the Brotherhood! We'll lose our mystique!>"
Realizing that Blizzard isn't listening to him, Sting balls the tips of his
tentacles in utter frustration. "Cool<ing> tent...<fine, let's hear your>
coolta <argument.>"

Blizzard nods politely. "Shan. <I have suggested that we allow this human
to join our party. You have objected. I am double your size and quadruple
your level. You are vulnerable to my Thunderbolt attack.>"

Sting's eyes are suddenly the size of dinner plates. A full minute of
silence passes before they slowly begin to narrow again. "Tent <you.>"
He mutters, "<Do whatever the> cool <you want, I'm the> coolta
<treasurer, anyway.>"

A hesitant voice pipes up from behind the Nurse's Station.
"Er...so...you're NOT going to kill me?" Karl thinks this point deserves
clarification.

"<Do not worry, human.>" Blizzard gazes at him through glistening blue
eyes. "<Now that you are officially part of the Brotherhood, you shall be
granted immunity. None in this room shall harm you.>"

"What about people in other parts of the Pokemon Center?" Karl gestures to
the door behind him. "That nurse is the one I'm really worried about." He
ponders, "Actually, I think she'll spare me if you guys can just tell me a
little bit about her Slowpoke. What do you say?"

Blizzard smiles. "<Naturally, you shall be privy to such knowledge, as you
are now a member of our in-group.>"

"Member of..." Karl repeats, his eyes taking on a glassy look as the
reality of his situation suddenly dawns on him. "Oh my god..."

The four wild Pokemon exchange looks, wondering if Karl is about to be sick.

"Oh my god," Karl dances excitedly, "I'm a member of a group again! Do you
know how long it's been since I've been considered a member of a group?"

The four Pokemon shake their heads.

"It's been a long time!" Karl states emphatically. "Oh, I've encountered
groups--the Search Party for Smasher, the Unown Hunters--but none of those
groups ever invited me to join them. But now! I'm part of a group again!
I'm a functional, interacting member of society again!"

Nomak quietly murmurs, "Fetch," thinking that if a group intended for
Pokemon is the only group that Karl can get into, Karl is probably less
functional than he thinks he is.

"I'm a member of a group again! I have people to travel with again!
I'm--oh no..." Karl's eyes suddenly widen in terror. "I'm going to become a
zombie again!!"

"<Zombie?!?>" A loud voice booms from Cerberus' middle beak as the Dodrio
uses his left and right heads to cross himself. "<By Lugia's
wings--Cerberus likes not the sound of that! Warrior though he may be, this
Earth-Bird does not wish to tangle with the occult!>"

Karl cuts in quickly, "Oh, but I didn't mean that literally. See, it's just
that the last time I traveled with a large group, I lost control of my
actions for a while--"

"<Then travel with us you shall not.>" Blizzard sniffs. "<We have no
desire to deal with zombies.>"

"Wait, you don't understand!" Karl's face falls. This is his chance to
join a group, and he's blowing it! "I--"

"Purr," Blizzard lies down on the floor and begins to groom herself. "<This
is an unfortunate turn of events. After accepting you as my underling, I
had intended to order you to brush the dander out my undercoat. However, I
do not wish to see my fur tainted by the hands of the undead.>"

Karl protests hotly. "But I'm NOT--eww, that sounds really gross."

Blizzard is clearly offended. "<Ridiculous child, better men than you have
risked their lives for a chance to touch my coat. If you cannot
comprehend the value of my offer, then you clearly are not fit to join the
Brotherhood.>"

"You know..." Karl scratches his head, having second thoughts
about joining the Brotherhood by this point, "...maybe that's for the best."

Nomak and Iceduck both quack in agreement, approving of their Trainer's
choice. The Brotherhood members simply shrug.

Glad that the wild Pokemon haven't attacked him for refusing to join their
group, Karl decides to press his luck. "So, for old time's sake, do you
think you can tell me about that Slowpoke?"

Blizzard and her cohorts huddle briefly. After a few minutes of
deliberation they reach a decision, and Sting toddles over to Karl, one
tentacle extended expectantly. "<Sure, we'll talk,> 'Cool. <Fee for
non-members is $12.95 a minute.>"


TBC?


--Beth

 

[Rob]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

Bandraptor wrote:

> "You've gotta be--" Karl presses his Pokemon to the ground, barely
managing
> to duck the powerful stream of flames. The flames dance out of existence
> a few inches above Karl's body, narrowly avoiding anything combustible,
but
> still making him unbearably hot. The second that Avalanche stops for
> breath, Karl jumps to his feet, and begins pounding frantically on the
door
> leading to the treatment area. "HELP! HELLLP!!!"
>
> From her work station inside the treatment area, Nurse Marcia hears the
> pounding, the shouting, and the roars that follow. Without taking her
eyes
> off of the Unown that she's reshaping, the blue haired nurse grouses, "I
> gave that Trainer the simplest job in the world, and he's already asking
for
> help. What's the matter with kids these days?" Disgusted by Karl's
> ineptitude, Marcia puts down her pair of pliers, reaches into a nearby jar
> of cotton balls, selects two puffs, and sticks them in her ears. "If I
> can't hear it, it isn't happening."

Despite the cotton she's just placed in her ears, Nurse Marcia hears a quiet
voice telling her to be gentle. Having spent many months working with a
psychic in Violet City's Pokemon Center, she knows right away that the
squiggle-shaped Unown she's treating just communicated with her
telepathically.

"It's not like I can will you back to your proper shape," Nurse Marcia
remarks, picking up her pliers. She clamps the pliers on the part of the
Unown she imagines to be the lower end, then uses the pliers to slowly bend
the Psychic Pokemon's body. Suddenly, Marcia feels a burst of pain in her
right leg. "Ouch," the blue-haired nurse complains, "Look, Unown, I'm not
the one who bent you out of shape. You shouldn't blame me for the pain
you're experiencing now. You should blame your negligent Trainer and his
violent Farfetch'd."

Marcia starts seeing mental images of all the nice things Karl did for his
Unown. She continues to curve the Unown into an S-shape during the picture
show in her mind, trying to concentrate on her work instead of on the
Unown's psychic glorification of his Trainer.

When the show in her mind is over, Nurse Marcia comments, "So, you think
your Trainer isn't negligent, huh? You think he's actually your friend?
Well, explain this, then. Why is it that when he caught you in the Ruins of
Alph, he looked about three years younger than when he actually started
paying attention to you?"

Silence.

"He obviously spent three years of his life neglecting you, leaving you to
rot in a Pokeball," argues Marcia, switching from bending the Unown's lower
half with her pliers to bending its upper half, "If someone imprisoned me
for three years of my life, I'd hate that person, not love him. But maybe
that's just me."

Karl's Unown contemplates what Marcia just said.

"Brace yourself, this one's going to hurt," warns Nurse Marcia, before
bending the Unown's upper prong into its correct position. She then returns
to the Unown's lower prong, hoping to remedy the Unown's remaining kinks.
When the Unown squirms in pain, Nurse Marcia says, "If you think THIS hurts,
imagine how much pain you'd be going through right now if I had indulged
your Trainer in his desire to mutilate you so that you would resemble the
first letter of his name."

The Unown knows that the nurse isn't lying about Karl's wish, having
witnessed Karl voice it. At the time, the Psychic Pokemon figured that Karl
was just kidding.

"It wasn't a joke. I could see it in his eyes," Nurse Marcia tells the Unown
she's treating, much to the Unown's surprise. The Unown wonders if Nurse
Marcia is also psychic, then the blue-haired nurse says, "I'm not a psychic.
You're just telepathically exuding your thoughts and feelings. I thought you
were doing this on purpose, but I guess either the pain of this procedure is
weakening your usual mental blocks or you're having a mental breakdown
because you're realizing your beloved Trainer isn't as perfect as you once
thought. It's not healthy to place that much love and trust in just one
person, especially when the person doesn't feel the same way about you."

The Unown glances away from Marcia, not wanting to hear what she's saying.

"The truth hurts sometimes," admits Nurse Marcia, "But I hope that when you
leave this room, you're not only physically fixed, but mentally fixed as
well. Blind devotion to any one person, group, or thing can have devastating
consequences. Remember that."

The blue-haired nurse tugs the Unown with her pliers one last time, fully
correcting the shape of the Pokemon's lower prong. When she sets the pliers
down, Karl's Unown is once again shaped like the letter "S". Nurse Marcia
pulls the cotton balls out of her ears, drops them in a nearby waste bin,
and heads towards the locked door leading to the lobby of the Pokemon
Center. The Unown she was just treating hovers over to the door and waits
for her to unlock it and go through. When Nurse Marcia and Karl's Unown
re-enter the lobby of the S.S. Tidal's Pokemon Center, they see Karl hiding
behind the front desk.

"ESS!!" Karl double-exclaims in utter joy, seeing his Unown's current shape.

"Yes." Her eyelids lowered, Nurse Marcia condescendingly remarks, "Very
good. That's what the Unown's shaped like now. An 'S'."

"You don't understand! 'Ess' is the nickname I gave the Unown you just
fixed."

Nurse Marcia mutters to herself, "I hope this idiot never has to name a
child."

"Boo yeah!" Karl says, admiring his Unown.

Marcia asks, "Boo yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm happy that you fixed Ess." Karl explains, "I say 'boo yeah'
whenever I get really happy. You see, it all started when my friends and I
got free tickets to a concert in Johto's National Park and..."

"Spare me the origins of your catch-phrase," Marcia interrupts, not the
least bit interested in Karl's rambling, "What did you find out about the
Slowpoke?"

Nervous to reveal his lack of information to the nurse, but not one to
sweatdrop, Karl braces himself for the worst and blurts out, "The Tentacool
won't talk unless he gets money. I remembered to pack my NES and sunglasses
for this trip to Hoenn, but I didn't bring much money and..."

"How much does he want?"

"$12.95 a minute."

Marcia narrows her eyes. "Okay, forget about the Slowpoke. Just find out
what the hell those Pokemon are doing here, let me know, then get out of my
sight."

-Marcia

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

>He headed for a nearby building, and turned the corner. At the same
time,
>however, a girl wearing a cloak was walking from the opposite
>direction, and she was knocked to the ground as Karl ran into her.

She fell hard on the pavement. Glaring up at the clueless boy she
shouted beneath her hood (which had slid back slightly with the
impact), "Couldn't ya have watched where you were go---KARL?!"

Karl took a step back, confused. "What? Who are you?"

The hooded girl stood, a grin revealed on her face. She flipped back
her hood and threw her arms wide. "KARL! IT'S ME! VIXXEN!" And indeed
it was the blonde spunky girl, complete with big raichu ears,
yellowish circles sparking with electricity on her cheeks, and a long
whip-like tail complete with a lightning-shaped blade on the end. Her
skin was slightly tan, and her arms had metal bracers on them, a
memoir from her 20th birthday. "How've ya been?!"

Karl gulped as he stared at her. "H...hey." He had never talked to her
face to face before, or without any one around them. Her overwhelming
personality seemed to throw his into such shadow that he felt he could
hardly stand in her presence. "I've been...good."

"Well," she corrected him, that grin still plastered on her face.
"Well," he repeated numbly. She bounced forward and hugged him
tightly, which surprised him greatly. In fact, it surprised him that
she even remembered his name, considering he was always in the
background. "/I/ have been on the ocean for months, trying to get to
this godforsaken city. Jason's GODDAMN LAPRAS CAN'T EVEN FIND A
STUPID....yeah." She coughed slightly and peered around. "Never mind."

Karl blinked. Once, twice...what comes after that? Oh well, three
times. He wasn't aware of the word "thrice." She threw her arm around
him. "So where are you going?"

"Ah..." he attempted to respond. "Wull..." he continued. "Yeah," he
finished.

"Then I shall accompany you to Ahwullyeah and beyond!" She struck a
heroic pose. "For...I don't know where any one else is and you struck
me as a pretty cool person yerself. So...OFF WE GO!" She struck out
her path and marched down the street back the way she came when she
suddenly stopped and marched back. "Hey, have any idea where, uh, we
can hook up to some power? My teevee ran out a few weeks ago..." She
showed him her portable tv which she had gotten for her birthday along
with her bracers, and it indeed was quite dead.

"Um..." He wanted to suggest the pokemon center but he also didn't
want to go back -- nor did he think he was welcome there. As he
stumbled through his mind, which was full of rocks, pitfalls, and
potholes, she thought up an answer for him.

"Isn't there an inn around here somewhere?"

"Ah...i think so..." he replied.

"Then LET'S GO!" She grabbed his hand and ran down the street
willy-nilly, ignoring his clumsy tripping.

TBC

The least likely couple of journiers on the FACE OF THE PLANET!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

"Bandraptor" <bandraptor@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5e15dcde.0405200229.29bf7aab@posting.google.com...
> "All right, kid," Graham says gruffly, "you're coming with me!" He
> slaps a pair of handcuffs around Karl's wrists, and starts to muscle
> him through the door. "Your little stunt here cost me valuable time
> that I could've spent tracking down those two Team Rocket members! As
> punishment for the aggravation you've caused me, I'll see to it that
> you're thrown off this ship!"
>
> "What stunt?!?" Karl protests before getting shoved into the hallway.
>
> Sting the Tentacool wants to know, "<What punishment? That dried up>
> tac <called him in here to bounce us...>"
>
> Nomak explains, "Fetch," reciting the full amassed volumes of
> psychological research from the western world.
>
> The assembled Pokemon all shrug, and follow Graham out into the
> hallway.

Karl followed Graham miserably, half-heartedly tugging at the handcuffs.
Behind him, Sting was sharing his opinion of the situation in no uncertain
terms. Karl considered pointing out that cursing limits one's vocabulary,
but since Sting could only say his name anyway, decided against it.

Graham reached the lifts, then paused and looked over at Avalanche.

"We'll take the stairs," he said. "Exercise will do you good."

As they started to walk, Graham pulled Karl closer by his handcuffs.

"Let's continue that chat now, shall we?" said the security guard. "Are
these Pokémon yours?"

"Shan!" snorted Blizzard. Karl looked at her, apparently hurt. "Persian
purr!" she laughed.

"Yes," said Karl defiantly. "Yes, they're MY Pokémon. I train them. They
are mine."

"Shan!"

"Coolta COOL tenta tent cool!"

"Ran!"

"Tenta coolta TENT cool tenta..."

Karl was slightly amused by the brotherhood's reaction, not least of which
because the security guard had no idea what they were saying.

"You should do a better job with that Tentacool, then," said Graham. "My
three-year-old niece evolved hers in a matter of weeks."

"Cool tenta tenta COOL!"

"Persian, shan."

"Tent."

"I've been concentrating on Iceduck," said Karl. "He's called that because
he knows Ice Beam! Which is so cool, because most Psyducks don't. Mine
does."

"Right."

"I hope he'll evolve some day!!" he double-exclaimed. Suddenly aware that
he was boasting his own Pokémon too much, Karl decided to sell his story of
training the other Pokémon by sharing some details. "Iceduck's not my only
Pokémon with Ice moves, though. My Persian does too!"

"Shan?" said Blizzard curiously.

"It's why I named her Blizzard!"

Blizzard was lost for words. How a trainer could be so consistently
clueless was beyond her.

"And you trained that Tyranitar, did you?" asked Graham.

"I sure did! From a Larveltine. She's very obedient."

"Ran?"

"Shan, persian shan."

"RAN?!"

"But Doctor Octopus is my most recent capture," continued Karl, who'd only
heard Sting referred to by name from Luthor.

"Coolta, cool coolta tent!"

"You're a comic book fan, then?" asked Graham.

"What, sorry?"

"The name. Where'd you get it?"

"Ohh, that." Karl's mind had to work at double-speed. "Well, 'doctor'
kinda rhymes with 'octa'. And...I decided to include the 'pus'
bit...because when I caught him, some pus was leaking from his tentacle."

"TENT!"

"Please stop talking," said Graham, for once earning the brotherhood's
approval. They'd arrived at the main deck. "Now, get off the ship. And
recall your Pokémon."

"Erm..." started Karl.

Blizzard sat down, in a comically obediant pose. This would be
entertaining.

"I don't like keeping them cooped up in Poké Balls. I mean, it's too weird.
How can Tyranitar fit in such a small Ball?"

"One of these Resistance types, are you?" asked Graham, who was familiar
with the group. "When will you people LEARN? Poké Balls are NATURAL!"

"Erm..." Karl didn't know what this Resistance thing was, but he knew that
Poké Balls were synthetic. "Aren't they man-made, though?" Of course,
Karl's vocabulary didn't stretch to the word 'synthetic'.

"Modern ones are, but they can be made out of Apricorns," replied Graham.
"Anyway, I don't want a debate. Get off my ship."

Karl quickly obeyed, hoping to get quite some distance away from the ship
before Graham realised the brotherhood weren't going to be following him.

He headed for a nearby building, and turned the corner. At the same time,
however, a girl wearing a cloak was walking from the opposite direction, and
she was knocked to the ground as Karl ran into her.

TBC?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

"Amber" <kitsunenoasobi@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:df411eb.0405202108.3d51cdff@posting.google.com...
> "So where are you going?"
>
> "Ah..." he attempted to respond. "Wull..." he continued. "Yeah," he
> finished.
>
> "Then I shall accompany you to Ahwullyeah and beyond!" She struck a
> heroic pose. "For...I don't know where any one else is and you struck
> me as a pretty cool person yerself. So...OFF WE GO!"

Karl allowed himself a smile as Vixxen turned around and started walking
back up the street. She liked him? They hadn't spoken properly since their
initial meeting, and Vixxen had been quite wary of him at the time. In
fact, had it not been for ANOTHER crazy-looking girl with a sword, Karl
wouldn't have stuck around with the group at all. Part-Pikachu was fine,
but that elf - or whatever she was - had unnerved him, as though her very
existence mocked his entire world.

> "Hey, have any idea where, uh, we
> can hook up to some power? My teevee ran out a few weeks ago..." She
> showed him her portable tv which she had gotten for her birthday along
> with her bracers, and it indeed was quite dead.
>
> "Um..." He wanted to suggest the pokemon center but he also didn't
> want to go back -- nor did he think he was welcome there. As he
> stumbled through his mind, which was full of rocks, pitfalls, and
> potholes, she thought up an answer for him.
>
> "Isn't there an inn around here somewhere?"
>
> "Ah...i think so..." he replied.
>
> "Then LET'S GO!" She grabbed his hand and ran down the street
> willy-nilly, ignoring his clumsy tripping.

It took a few moments for the situation to sink in. Karl looked at his
hand. Yes, she was holding it. Skin contact. For the first time ever.

Although the girl still scared him with her huge personality, Karl couldn't
help but feel a little bit more confident. Vixxen was familiar. He'd spent
over a year in her company, even though he hadn't really talked to her. And
whatever the case, she was infinately better than the judgemental nurse or
the pre-defined group of rather mean Pokémon.

Karl was relieved to see an inn in the distance. He'd lied about thinking
there was one, as he'd never been to Slateport before. They arrived
outside, and Vixxen gave the building an appraising glance.

The Ralts And Spinda Inn was a small building with two floors. The windows
were fairly grubby, but a warm glow from inside gave it a cosy look. The
conversations inside also carried through the air, and the tone sounded
quite friendly.

"Looks good!" said Vixxen. "I guess we'd better stay the night here. It's
getting late!"

Karl's mouth dropped open. He desperately scanned the second floor,
counting the windows. Please, please, PLEASE let there be more than one
emty room, he thought.

They entered the building and found themselves in a very narrow corridor.
They entered a door on the left-hand side and walked into the bar. Vixxen
pulled up her hood.

The room seemed just as grubby as the windows, but the clientele encouraged
the two visitors that this was a welcoming place. A thin man with a grey,
wrinkled face stood behind the bar, and a Ralts and a Spinda walked on the
bar itself, passing people drinks.

"Hi there!" Vixxen finally released Karl's hand. Karl suspected she'd
forgotten that she'd been holding it. "We'd like a place to stay, please."

"Alright," said the barman, speaking with an Irish accent. "A double room,
is it?"

Karl and Vixxen exchanged a glance. Vixxen had an indifferent look on her
face, but Karl looked utterly terrified.

"Have you got two singles?" she enquired.

"We have one single and one double," said the barman.

Karl let out a sigh of relief. They could take both.

"We'll take the double!"

"Whut!"

The barman passed Vixxen the key in exchange for some money, and directed
her upstairs. She excitedly entered the room, Karl trailing behind.

Karl felt sick as he entered the room. A double bed! He'd have to sleep on
the floor. Unless...

"I think I'll go check if that single roo-"

"Don't be silly," said Vixxen, who was opening the cupboards and drawers to
check their contents. "There's no need to spend money on a second room.
We've already got plenty of space for both of us here."

Karl sulkily started to unpack. He looked at his sunglasses. He wasn't in
the mood for them anymore.

"Didn't you used to have black hair?" asked Vixxen.

"No," said Karl. "You're thinking of Bob."

"Oh, yeah! And you... Weren't you half Meowth?"

"Nope. That was Solo."

"Oh, of course," said Vixxen, remembering. "He was the other one."

"The other what?" asked Karl.

At that moment, the Ralts and the Spinda from downstairs arrived. Spinda
was carrying some towels and assorted soaps, shower gel and shampoo. The
Ralts had a small television set which still seemed far too big for it to
carry; Karl suspected that it must be a Psychic Pokémon, and that it was
manipulating the television with its mind.

"Awesome," said Vixxen. She thanked the Pokémon, who placed the towels and
products on the bed and plugged in the television. They left for
downstairs.

Karl watched Vixxen for a while and realised he felt uncomfortable with the
silence. He switched on the television.

"...reports of a missing magician have yet to be formally issued, but
conerns are still being raised over..."

"Oh, cool," said Vixxen curiously, turning around. "News from Hoenn! It'll
be nice to know a little bit more about the place."

"Yes," said Karl. "I suppose it will."

"...and back to today's headline news, the criminals behind the break-in at
then Verdanturf Penitentiary have yet to have their identities confirmed,
but police are blaming the nature-loving terrorist group known as Team Aqua,
despite rumours that..."

Karl began to stand up, wanting to go outside and talk to Ess, as he'd
always done whenever he had nothing to do within the group back in Johto.

"Where are you going?" asked Vixxen softly, still focused on the news.

"Uhhh," Karl started. He settled on saying, "Nowhere." He sat down again.
Somehow, he was content not to make excuses and leave for the time being.
He closed his eyes, simply enjoying the fact that he had company who didn't
criticise his skills as a trainer or wanted to eat his Pokémon.

TBC?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

> Karl began to stand up, wanting to go outside and talk to Ess, as he'd
> always done whenever he had nothing to do within the group back in Johto.
>
> "Where are you going?" asked Vixxen softly, still focused on the news.
>
> "Uhhh," Karl started. He settled on saying, "Nowhere." He sat down again.
> Somehow, he was content not to make excuses and leave for the time being.
> He closed his eyes, simply enjoying the fact that he had company who didn't
> criticise his skills as a trainer or wanted to eat his Pokémon.
>
> TBC?

She fell into her usual habit of staring at the television, grinning
like a stupid kid. She reached threw off her cloak and it happened to
land on Karl's head, which surprised and confused him, and he suddenly
wondered if there was anything on under that cloak. Of course there
was, he thought. He would have noticed otherwise. Just to make sure,
he chanced a peek at her legs, which he could see through the folds of
fabric -- he'd not thought to take the cloak off of his head -- and
indeed they were jeaned.

"Hoo boy, when's Laddy on?" she inquired out loud. He remembered her
obsession with Laddy vividly. Every night, treat after treat had been
lost to that television. He chose not to respond and she completely
ignored it. Suddenly she looked over at the cloaked lump who was
sitting on the edge of his bed.

"You ok there?"

A long pause and then a muffled "oh...are you talking to me?"

Sweatdrop. "You're the only other one in the room!"

"...oh I guess you're right."

TBC

Yarr I gotta go to lunch and my independant study now. Toolooralay
folks!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon (More info?)

"Amber" <kitsunenoasobi@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:df411eb.0405211026.3025d94d@posting.google.com...
> "Hoo boy, when's Laddy on?" she inquired out loud. He remembered her
> obsession with Laddy vividly. Every night, treat after treat had been
> lost to that television. He chose not to respond and she completely
> ignored it. Suddenly she looked over at the cloaked lump who was
> sitting on the edge of his bed.
>
> "You ok there?"
>
> A long pause and then a muffled "oh...are you talking to me?"
>
> Sweatdrop. "You're the only other one in the room!"
>
> "...oh I guess you're right."

Vixxen pulled the cloak from Karl's head, laughing. She returned to
watching her beloved television programme. Karl watched her for a while.
She turned her head.

"What's up? What are you looking at?"

"Oh, sorry," said Karl. "I was just... I don't know. Staring into space."

Karl had always been fascinated by Vixxen. The girl was half POKéMON, for
crying out loud, yet she was perfectly comfortable with herself and never
seemed to worry about saying the wrong thing or making a fool of herself.

In the past, he could watch her and try to emulate her confidence, and she
wouldn't notice because she was surronded by others. Here, though, her only
friend was Karl.

Karl smiled to himself.

"Wait! Are you saying my head's SPACE?"

"Uhhh," said Karl, stuggling to find an escape route. "I meant like...not
empty space...but, like, stars and-"

"Stars? You're saying my head contains stars?"

"Small sta-" started Karl, but stopped himself before he said something
dumb. "Your eyes have solar systems." He was too late.

"My eyes are like stars?!" said Vixxen. Then, thinking about the
comparison, she squealed, "Thankyou! You have pretty eyes too!"

"Wha-" Karl had green eyes. They clashed with his white hair and made him
look weird.

Karl replayed the conversation in his mind quickly. It didn't seem to make
sense, so he gave up.

The programme ended, and Vixxen hopped onto the bed. She started to bounce
a bit, and Karl got up.

"I'll be right back," he said.

"Where are you going?" asked Vixxen softly, who was now bouncing higher and
higher.

"Just going to let my Pokémon out," said Karl, who wanted to talk to Ess.

"You can do that in here!!" said Vixxen. "Liven the place up a bit!"

"Liven the place up?!" spluttered Karl, for Vixxen was now standing on the
bed, jumping with all her might. "Vixxen!" The first time he'd said her
name. "You don't know how strong the floor is. You'll go through-"

"Let Iceduck and that other one out!" squealed Vixxen. "Was it a Spearow?"

"Farfetch'd. His name's Nomak. Anyway, I meant my-"

"Go on, Pokémon are fun! And yours are only small. I can't exactly let
Lapras out."

Karl didn't have the energy to debate the matter further. He released Ess.

"Oh, wow, you have an Unown? That's so COOL!" beamed Vixxen.

This was the closest Ess had ever been to her, since Karl always seperated
from the group to release it in the past. Ess immediately understood why
Karl envied and admired the girl so much. The last thing Karl would do
would be to jump on a bed in a strange place.

Karl sat down on the floor, halfheartedly pressing the buttons of his NES
controller, pretending to play a game.

The door opened. It was the Spinda from downstairs. It stuffed a piece of
paper into Karl's hand and left again.

Karl read it:

"Keep the humping down, for pity's sake! I've still got customers!"

"Uh, Vixxen?" he said. "You need to stop that."

"How come?"

"They think we're-" Karl could bring himself to say it. He looked from the
letter to Vixxen, trying to decide which was least embarassing. He settled
for watching Ess, who was floating around the ceiling.

FLUMP! Vixxen had stopped jumping and had landed on her stomach. She
scrambled under the covers, rolling around in them and making herself
comfortable.

"Mmmmm!" She pulled the sheets around her and rested her head on the
pillow. She hadn't slept in a real bed in months.

"Right," said Karl. "Ok." He pulled some spare clothes out of his bag and
used some t-shirts to create a makeshift pillow. He pulled a warm jumper
out of the bag to serve as a blanker. "Goodnight."

Vixxen looked up curiously. She saw Karl's clothing bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm sleeping," said Karl.

"Karl, there's a bed right here!"

"Well, YOU'RE in that, and-"

"Come in, Karl! It's a double bed!"

"Oh, I couldn't do-"

"KARL!"

Karl submissively climbed into the bed. He looked a great deal less
comfortable in it than Vixxen did. Vixxen quickly fell asleep, but Karl's
eyes remained open for a long time.

From the ceiling, Ess projected some images into Vixxen's mind, to make sure
that she'd wake from a night of wonderful dreams.

- End Of Thread