From: Dryad <dryad48@aol.commoner> Subject: [PW!][ATR] The Evolution Dillusion Date: Saturday, February 05, 2000 1:20 AM Derrick wandered around the outskirts of the Ivory Island base, which was pratically everywhere due to the barren landscape covered with clutters of clutters of clutters of tall, thin trees. Winter was begining to fade away and so the white blanket covering the treetops went with it. Abandoned buildings, stained with the red of the bloody war many months ago lonesomely slumbered along side each other within the faint cracks of dirt. Since the battle, those buildings haven't been touched, for many ATR agents were still trying to fix the bugs happening in the main control systems, far on the other end of the floating palace. One of the Pokeballs attached to his belt suddenly started shaking and fought it's way out. Derrick looked down to his feet and saw the familiar figure of regret, despair, and old-fassioned wisdom. A mystical aura surrounds Exeggcute's mind, but Derrick is one who cannot figure it out. A poet of a pokemon, and always had words of wisdom to speak, Exeggcute was now growing more insane every day, just as with the turning of the sun, Derrick grew more tired and charred from the fires of envy. It has been so long since Derrick could remember Venonat's teasing of it's surroundings. It never had a care in the world, but couldn't care more. He was extremely annoying, but he had his innocence wrapped around him like a rope tightly latched onto the docks to prevent the ship from sailing off by itself into the raging seas which rammed into the crew, causing them to plummet in the deep without a chance. Every once in a while, Venonat had reminded Derrick to just forget what was so wrong with the world and celebrate what was so right. That feeling would never come back now. When one feels like the seed of a weed, drifting away from the crowd into the swiftly swishing summer skies, they feel alone and separated from all else. Beedrill's sting has a venom. It's venom which has caused remorsely changed Derrick's course of life, was the same that helped fight of Team Rocket from the control centers. It was the same venom which helped win gym battles against such opponents like Lt. Surge. It was the same venom which provided the cure, Derrick's elixer to the disease. "If only he understood that," Derrick thought to himself. Now it is too late to understand anything at all, without their faith by his side, what else was there to do but throw in the towel? Derrick stared at a ragged Team Rocket shirt being slashed by the fury of the early winds. The shirt was clung onto a dying bush aside the wall of a building. Derrick slowly traveled his eyes up and stared at the window, then closed his eyes as his mind wandered with the lost colorless wind. - - - - - - - - - - Eyes opening, Derrick found himself lying on the cold metal floor of the ATR Base. Bandages covered his legs and chest with stains of blood and the foul stench emanating through. Darkness fell over Ivory Island whilst the clouds covered the sun, hinting a terrible fate. Derrick could see this through a hole in the roof. A shadow of a human figure came over him. Now, he had only one thing to say to this person, friend or not. "Is it over?" "My friend, it has only begun." Another person at his side spoke. Derrick squinted through the flickering lights. "S...Sirius?" The blur nodded. "Fell through roof..." "H...how long have I been lying here?" "Long," another voice interrupted. "Let Sirius get his sleep." "....." Derrick looked up to see the other person was Tank. "Will.. I make it?" "Probably, but I'm not making any promises. You have pneumonia, it's not too serious. I put you on a medication, so some side affects might occur." Tank turned to Derrick. "You might become psychotic, but that's a chance we'll have to take." "How many days have I been unconcious?" "You ask too much questions. Time matters no more. Just if I get my mission complete." "Mission?" "I'll explain in the morning, get your rest, you'll need it. Team Rocket is getting too close to the center and we have to hurry!" - - - - - - - - - - "You remember, don't you?" Derrick asked Exeggcute. "Yes, and I remember there was an old storage facility in the big basement, we should check it out," they responded plainly. "There isn't much to be done, but that must be done soon." Derrick smiled. Exeggcute seemed to be recovering from it's depression. Just weeks ago, it was to commit suicide, or evolved and risk a lifetime disabled. Those were not the choices limmited to Derrick's fellow Exeggcute, but it felt as if those were the options. Exeggcute had lost all it's self confidence. As they walked on throughout the halls, Derrick was striken with the painful memories of a once proud and wise pokemon making a drastic fall to despair. But as it seemed: like trainer, like pokemon. When Derrick refused to take the big step of evolving Exeggcute with the Leaf Stone, he felt he was doing what was right. After all, the doctor had said an Exeggcute missing a part while evolving could be permanently disabled, both physically and mentally. Derrick is still struken down by Exeggcute's little, but powerful words to strike repeatedly at Derrick's soul. *Where is our freedom?* they had asked. Where is our freedom? The thought still stuck in his mind as he stumbled into the old storage room, which was now filled with much cobwebs all over walls. Derrick knelt down towards a few boxes and opened them. There were potions, but they had lost their colour and vigor. There were evolution stones, but they were dull, faded, and cracked. There were TM's put the programming was jammed. In fact, the TM's were so old and unused, that they went only up to TM number 31, Mimic. Derrick studied a few old Anti-Team Rocket newspapers, trying to catch up on events that had happened long before he joined. When he had finished skimming through the pages of the fourth paper, he heard an unusual noise coming from behind a pile of crates stacked to the ceiling. Come to think of it, Exeggcute hadn't made any sound in a while! Derrick was immediately stunned by the repetition of the noise again and looked around. Paranoid shivers wrung throughout his body as he slowly crept towards the back of the crates with a poke-ball in his hands. His body was giving off tremendous amouts of sweat as he fastly turned his head to glare at every single dark corner of the vacinity with wide eyes. His body was experience extreme tremors as he slowly inched towards the crate pile and jumped to the side. What he saw was more dreadful than what he'd thought. There sat Exeggcute, with glowing eyes, meditating eyes, peacful eyes, focusing it's psychic energy. Above the Exeggcute was a huge crate levitating in the air. Derrick just gasped as Exeggcute made the items from withon come out. The crate contained . . . . . . "Leaf stones! Noooo!" Derrick cried as he jumped forward to protect Exeggcute from evolving into abnormal proportions. It turned towards him with a massive anger on it's face. Then, Exeggcute used it's psychic abilities to force Derrick to the corner of the room, into a pile of old cardboard boxes. "How.. what?" Derrick didn't remember Exeggcute knowing such a powerful ability. He looked to the side and saw a TM on the floor. Exeggcute appeared to have taught itself Psychic. Derrick just could sit and watch in horror as his dream of Exeggcute was shattered. Finally, one of the Leaf Stones, which was still full of shine, yet very unusual in shape, was drawn to Exeggcute. Before his eyes, Derrick witnessed the taking place of evolution, not by his command. His Exeggcute had gone past the boundaries of being obedient, way too far past it. Exeggcute's form began to emanate a bright blue glow, then it beamed white as it grew taller.. and taller... and taller... and taller. Derrick gawked as a huge tree approached him and glared at him, this time, with innocent eyes, and a stir of regret and pity for himself. It then closed it's eyes and communicated through mind. *I will continue with you in your world, master, but I now will be of more use than a glass of ice water on a cold, winter night. Now, master, I shall fail you no more. Derrick felt shocked. His pokemon called him master, like a slave. He used to be friends with all his pokemon, and now, this one reffered to him in a different manner. It seemed that Exeggcute, now Exeggutor, felt obligated to to bring fulfillment to Derrick as a good pokemon, but in that cost came the fulfillment of being a good friend. Derrick wasn't sure whether he liked the new Exeggutor, but he knew he had no other choice. Perhaps now it has achieved it's freedom. But one man once said, "To be free is to have achieved your life." Has Derrick achieved anything? Does he know how to find his life? To Be Continued _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~Dryad48: Weekly Quote: "They who would leap high must take a long run." -Danish proverb "Hide people from bad things and you've made them weaker." -Me