From: BBD127 (bbd127@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] A Meeting in Cerulean Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/05/01 "Hm." "What?" "Take a look at this." Procyon pointed to some words on the little black screen of his Pro-dex. "Dodrio. Attacks: Peck, Growl, Fly, Drill Peck. Yeah, so?" "So, Taron, he didn't know Drill Peck before." Taron shrugged. "So he learned it. Cool. What's the big deal?" "Dodrio don't learn Drill Peck. They learn the attack while they're still Doduo. And I checked him as a Doduo. He didn't know it then." "Hm.." Taron paused, then smiled. "Maybe your little Pro-dex isn't as pro as you'd like to believe." Procyon glared at him. "Maybe." "Well, what do you think it is?" "I don't know. I guess he learned it just before evolving." "I guess." The two friends (for so they could be called, by now) were walking steadily along a small dirt path that cut through the woods. They had left Mount Moon behind some time ago and were now on their way to Cerulean City. The conversation was light, the expectations high, the spirits adventurous, and the muscles weary. "I'm tired," groaned Procyon. "When are we going to stop and rest?" "Dodriodo," complained Bulletwing. "Oh well, I suppose you're not really used to walking," commented Taron. "Recall your Dodrio if you like, and we can stop for a little while." Procyon needed no encouragement and the two put down their packs to rest by the side of the road. Meanwhile, Tumbleweed went exploring ahead, tireless as ever and ready for excitement. The two young trainers had not stopped long when they heard an excited cry. "Shrew, sandshrew sand sand shrewsand!!" Taron looked up instinctively. "Tumbleweed?" The two ran ahead to see what was going on. It was not a long wait. The duo was greeted by a small sandshrew, hopping up and down and pointing excitedly. "Shrew shrew shreeeew!" it squealed. "We made it," smiled Taron. "Cerulean City. About time." He turned to Procyon. "Who's the gym leader here?" "Says here it's some girl by the name of Misty." "Misty, eh?" He turned to Tumbleweed, who sweatdropped. "Don't worry, little guy. I know she's a water trainer. I won't send you against her." He paused thoughtfully. "Now, as to who I *should* send..." While he debated the matter silently, the two of them proceeded onward to find a hotel, a Pokecenter, and the Cerulean Gym. Procyon had found a clearing in the woods and was training his Pokemon there. They were really not very strong yet, he knew, and he was quite determined to make them the very best they could be. His Dodrio had been ordered to fly several miles and back to build endurance, while Blueberry was practicing its Doubleslap on a balloon. Procyon was training Pleiades personally, as it was his newest Pokemon as well as his least experienced. "Ok, Pleiades, try it again," he was saying. "Give it your very best Water Gun. I want you to fill up this whole bucket with water." "Staryuuuuuuu..." it said, squirting out a steady stream of water from its bright center. It continued for some time, but by the time the bucket was half full the stream had been reduced to a tiny trickle. Moments later the Staryu collapsed. "Yuuu.." "I know it isn't easy, but we've got to build your endurance. We'll keep working on it. Now, let's try this..." While Procyon set up a series of tin cans for the Staryu to aim for, Taron was far from being lazy himself. "Tumbleweed, Dig underground! All right, now come up again! Pierre, you call that a Harden? Come on, I want to see a *real* Harden!" ...and so on. Together they were as happy as Pokemon trainers can be, doing what they love and having all the time in the world to do it. After some hours of this, Procyon sat down and turned to look at Taron. "Well, are you about ready yet?" "For Misty?" He grinned. "What else?" Taron shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure my team is particularly suited for combat in a water gym. Why don't you challenge her first?" "Sounds good to me." He got up and recalled his Pokemon to their respective balls. "Ready to go?" "Sure!" "Who's that?" "Who? Where?" Procyon pointed. "Over there." "Oh, gee, well thanks for showing me, I'll just look over there and see what you mean and- OH WAIT, I'm blind, never mind then." Procyon stuck out his tongue. "Fine. It's a guy sitting in the middle of the street, holding up a sign that says ?ADVENTURE IN NEED OF A ADVENTURE. ANY OFFERS???' Like that. And he's got a Growlithe with him." Taron shrugged. "So? Ignore him." "I don't think we can." "Huh? Why not? Just walk past him. There are tons of weirdos in cities like this, why are you so interested in one person looking for an adventure?" "Because," said Procyon. "I don't think he's just another NPC. I'm fairly sure he has his own WG, and that means we have to meet up with him." Taron turned to face Procyon. "What on Earth are you talking about?" "Uh... I mean, I think he looks interesting, and we should go and talk to him." Taron gave up in a sigh of exasperation. "Fine, suit yourself." The two trainers approached the man in the street cautiously. Procyon approached him first. "Hi. What's your name?" The boy looked at him suspiciously. "Who are you?" Ignoring the question, Procyon gestured to the sign. "You say you're looking for adventure?" He nodded. "We're having a little adventure of our own. Want to join us?" "Procyon?!" shouted Taron. "You're just going to invite him along, just like that, without even asking me?" "Uh... do you care if he comes along?" "Arrggghhh... why are we doing this again?" "It'll help if you don't ask too many questions." Procyon turned to the boy in front of them. "Welcome aboard. Now, let's try this again. I'm Procyon, he's Taron. You are...?" He paused a moment, then said, "Suikuaktu." He paused again, and gestured to his Growlithe. "This is Takyaki." Procyon shook his head. "Um... ok. Well then, come on, Sookatooki, you're part of the group. I'm heading over to the Cerulean Gym to battle Misty. Tag along if you like." The boy glared at him. "It's ?Suikuaktu,'" he said. "And I'll come." The twosome, now enlarged to a threesome, set out to face Cerulean's Gym Leader. TBC