From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net) Subject: Re: [PW!]A Migratory Response Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000-10-14 22:17:15 PST syke108 wrote: > The family started to travel, and had no clue as to where there > travels were taking them, only that there was a lake alongside this > area. A strange scent gave them pause. Around a corner came another Two-Legged...but this one seemed different than the others. It seemed chubbier than the others, its features arranged in almost a parody of the ones who had taken their father. It was a bit further inland than they, so they huddled together to go between the lake and its path, when it abruptly turned and ran towards them. As one, they spun around to run away, only to see that another one, possibly its brother, had snuck up behind them. "MR. MIME! MR. MIME!" <OOOGA BOOGA! OOOGA BOOGA!> The vulpixes tensed to run, but a glint from the yellow light above revealed a wall where there had been none before, thankfully between them and the intruder. Another quickly appeared in front of the other. Still, this left them trapped between the plain to one side, and the lake to the other. Just as they began to bolt towards their only exit, a flurry of red stones came from that direction. The initial ones landed short, causing them to back towards the water. The family could smell each others' fear. They were safe for the moment, but none knew for how long. Which was probably why they all jumped when the ground opened up in their midst and a ninetails poked his head out. "Nine! Tails!" <Hurry! This way!> Two seconds after their salvation dissapeared back underground, the first pup warily poked her nose into the hole, then bolted down it. All the other pups soon followed, with Firefly and Loriana entering last. Underground, the sunlight from above shone faintly, while a burning stick lodged in the rescuing ninetales' tails provided most of the illumination. <You are safe now. They will not look down here.> Loriana cocked her head and looked at the newcomer. He smelled like one of their breed, but something was not quite right. The ninetales caught her examination, and looked back at her. <What, not even a 'thank you'?> <What is...'thank you'?> <You really haven't been around humans much, have you? You can always tell the unspoiled: *human* ways tend to rub off on pokemon after just a month, at most. I'm afraid I'm guilty of that. Still, it has its advantages...like knowing how to rescue you guys.> <Hu-man?> Loriana blinked. <You mean the Two-Leggeds who throw the red rocks?> <Yes. 'Human' is what they call themselves. And 'pokeballs'...ah, but that can wait. C'mon, I'm sure this tunnel will hold until we're out of it, but I still want to get topside as soon as possible.> He nodded his head down the tunnel, and started walking. <We can talk on the way.> The others glanced among themselves, and started looking around. There were no other exits, and the hole above looked too steep to climb back up even if they wanted to. The ninetales halted further down the tunnel, and looked back. <Are you coming or what?> <Coming!> Firefly yelped, then faced her pups. <Let's go.> A few minutes later, the newcomer and Loriana walked side by side up front, Firefly covered the rear, and the rest of the pups moved in a rough herd between them. Loriana took another glance at the burning stick in the ninetails' tails. <Doesn't that hurt?> <Nahh, not if you're careful and you know what you're doing. Like I said, the one good thing about living near humans is you pick up their tricks, and they got a lot of 'em.> <Is that where you are leading us? To the Two-Leg...err, to the humans?> <Kinda. Don't get me wrong, they're not *all* bad. Just most of 'em. Just a few, really; most of 'em just mindlessly follow whatever easy examples are set for 'em, good or bad. The only humans where we're going are the good ones. I know: I picked 'em myself.> <You picked...> Loriana blinked. <Did you throw the red stones at them?> He snickered. <You've got a lot to learn, pup. Nahh, they and I work against the makers of the red stones. We'd like to get rid of 'em all, eventually. In fact, part of the reason I saved you is that I thought some of you might like to join the fight, once you knew what all was going on.> <We're just trying to find a new home, where the humans won't come for us.> <You won't find it. Humans are *everywhere* these days. On the ground, under the sea, in the air, *in* the ground...you're lucky to have gone as long as you have without having more exposure to them.> <In the air...? But they don't have wings.> <They make 'em. We can summon fire from within, they can summon all kinds of devices and contraptions from...well, not quite the same place, but it might be easier if you thought of it that way, for now.> Loriana shook her head. <That's impossible.> <Y'wanna see?> <Can you show me?> <Right now, if you want.> <Sure!> He looked straight at Loriana, his eyes glowing in just the way that ninetails' eyes did not. Loriana froze, her mind seeing scattered glimpses of vehicles, cities, laboratories, factories... ...trainers, pokemon fights, almost incomprehensible machines, a mental leash inside the red stones... ...pokemon laboring under cruel whips, young pokemon of many species crying as researchers dissected them alive, injustice upon sociopathic injustice, and a rising hatred of the whole system... Firefly looked up when Loriana howled. <Hey, what's going on?> <Nothing to worry about, ma'am. Just showing your pup here what she wanted to be shown.> <My name, mister, is 'Firefly', and you can call her 'Loriana'.> He shrugged. <Then you can call me 'Doppler'. Everyone else does.> Back at the hole, the two mr. mimes and their assistant tangela picked up the fake pokeballs, and wondered how many of the family Doppler would ultimately recruit into the Pokemon Resistance. TBC? > (Well, Loriana's on the move and will soon leave her family on her > own. She's now halfway between Fuschia and the Snorlax sleeping spot. > if you wish, you can write the story and catch Loriana, as I said > before.) [<shrugs> Doppler doesn't use pokeballs to "catch" his teammates, but ok...]