From: Bandraptor (bandraptor@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] Bottom of the Pecking Order Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000-12-01 23:45:30 PST It is already night time in the Safari Zone, meaning that Nori and Rubix have been walking for many, many hours. The pair is coated with mud, after crawling through the burrow dug by the Arcaninen; and covered from head to toe with nicks and bruises, having spent the better part of the day hopping barbed wire fences. With the bright light from the moon, in addition to Nori's flashlight, the pair has been slowly working their way through the darkened Pokémon Preserve; and now, just past the fence that lies directly in front of them, they can make out the outlines of Fuchsia's guard station and Cycling Road. "I think this is the last one." Nori boosts Rubix over the top of the chain link fence, then clambers over herself. "Finally." Rubix hurriedly rolls to the side, in order to avoid having Nori land on him. "We would've been outta there a lot sooner, if you hadn't gone out of your way to pick up that Moon Stone." "Giovanni asked for that Moon Stone months ago. If I went back empty-handed, it would've been my neck." She pauses, "Now, let's get to the Pokémon Center...we have to heal Cerberus." She pulls the blue and white Ultra Ball from her pocket, to illustrate her point. "Hey..." Rubix strains to see through the darkness, "Isn't that the special Rocket Ball you were supposed to use to capture that one Persian?" "Oh, yeah..." Nori strokes her chin, "Blizzard. I wonder what ever happened to her?" (Author's note: Here you must insert a montage of Blizzard doing any number of things--winning a Nobel Prize, battling Mewtwo, eating Darwin...) "Hold it right there!" The girl and the Wartortle squint, as a light much brighter than that of the moon or the flashlight is shone directly in their faces. "I know what you're up to," the unmistakable voice of Officer Jenny rings again, "and you're not going to get away with it, you Pokémon-poaching thieves!" "Er..." Nori begins to sweat, realizing that, after walking out of a restricted area with a Pokéball in hand, she must look very much like a Pokémon poacher, "I know this may look bad, but we....um...we..." She racks her brain, trying to come up with a way to explain the situation, without mentioning her lying to get into a secret research facility, stealing an irreplaceable piece of equipment, and accidentally maiming a Dodrio, "We................Rubix, help me out here." "I had no part in this." "Don't think you can talk your way out of this." Jenny chides, "You have 'guilty' written all over you. You're probably members of Team Rocket!" She pulls out a Pokéball, "Go, ARCANINE!" A Machamp pops out of the Pokéball, rushes towards the pair, and sends them flying with a well-coordinated swing of its four arms. Jenny sweatdrops, "Nice work, but the next time you try to restrain someone, you're gonna have to restrain yourself as well." Nori lets out an exasperated sigh, as she goes rocketing through the air, "Why is it that everything today has involved me getting beaten up or taken down by rampaging Pokémon?" "It could be worse," Rubix answers, "At least it wasn't a real Arcanine." "That's a Seismic Toss up." "I wish I had a way to Counter that." Nori smirks, "You couldn't Detect it?" "Kame, give me Strength." "Just Endure the hit." "Could this scene be any more cliché?" "Yes--" Nori braces herself as they begin their decent, "YA NA KANJIIII~!" * * * "Ugh, where are we?" Nori opens her eyes, to find herself lying on a couch, inside a building of some sort. She notes with some relief that it cannot be a jail, since all of the doors appear to have secure locks. "Hello? Is anybody there?" "Nyte?" A blue creature with big eyes and a sweet voice leans into her field of vision, and waves its tentacles about cheerfully. It occurs to Nori that the creature is quite cute--until she realizes that it's sitting on her head. And that another one is attached to her leg. And that a third is clamped to her arm. "Gyaaaahhhhh!!! They're out for blood! They're trying to avenge the Omastar I ate last night!" She leaps off the couch, and runs around in a circle, trying to shake the snail-like Pokémon from her body. The Omanyte gurgle happily, clearly enjoying the ride. "Toor, somebody has a guilty conscience." Rubix gets to his feet, "Pity you can't trade it for a sense of dignity." "So. You're awake." The door to the room swings open, and a man who looks for all the world like Marlon Brando walks in. He continues in a bored voice, "I saw a huge crater right outside my window, and thought that perhaps a meteor had landed. Then I realized it was just you two. Anyway, welcome to the Grandpa Canyon Laboratory. We're a satellite for the renowned Cinnabar Lab...surely you've heard of it. Our specialty is resurrecting Pokémon from fossils. We set up here during the Great Fossil Rush, since so many trainers had fossils that they wanted to have revived. But now the rush is over, and we don't see very many fossils." He points to Nori, "You. Do you have a fossil for me?" "No..." Nori produces Cerberus' Pokéball, "I have a half-dead Dodrio..." "Close enough." The scientist doesn't bother to hide his disappointment, as he starts towards another room. "Back in the old days, there were trainers lined up out the door, all waiting to see me. And now? I'm a convenient, late night alternative for kids too stupid to find their way to the Poké Center." They reach a room with an overhead light and a computer, both of which are being powered by a lone Magneton. The scientist opens the door to a small chamber, which is wired to the computer, and sticks the Pokéball inside. "This machine here was designed to resurrect dead Pokémon. Needless to say, it'll be more than enough to heal your wounded Dodrio. This should only take a couple of minutes. Can I get you anything in the meantime? Coffee? Soda? No? Good, because I don't have any. I rarely entertain guests these days, so I don't bother to prepare for them. Porygon, run program RECOVER." "Recover?" Nori boggles, "Porygon can do that?" "Porygon can do that?" The scientist rolls his eyes, "What do you expect them to do, fly? From this point on, just don't say anything. I've got kids barging in here at all hours, talking like they don't have a brain in their head. Yeah, this is exactly how I want to spend my night." Rubix makes a face at Nori, "Tell it, mac daddy." "Quiet, you." The scientist responds without so much as glancing in his direction, "Pokémon are meant to be seen, and not heard. Seen, captured, and in very rare cases these days resurrected by my machine, but definitely not heard. Can Pokémon vote? I think not. And why? Because nobody cares what they have to say. Now sit still and be quiet, unless you want to be resurrected by my machine; in which case, by all means, say something, and I'll be happy to do the job of killing you in the first place." Nori makes a face at Rubix, "Yeah, what he said." The scientist swivels around in his chair, and stares her down, "Kids...can't...vote...either." "Er..." Nori backs away, "Can kids be resurrected by your machine?" "Shall we find out?" She responds humbly, "No, sir." and takes a seat on the floor. The room is very quiet for the next few minutes, then the computer beeps loudly. The scientist removes the Pokéball from the chamber, and hits the release button. "There. Your Pokémon's all healed." Cerberus materializes on the ground in front of the scientist. The last thing it remembers is being near death in the middle of a forest, so it can't understand how it came to be fully healed, and inside a sterile laboratory. Its three heads glance around in all directions, trying to make sense of their surroundings...and eventually, all three sets of eyes come to rest on Nori. The bird lets out an enraged caw, and charges her on the spot--but before Cerberus can eviscerate her with its sharp claws, the Magneton drops from the ceiling, and paralyzes it with a well-aimed Thunderbolt attack. "Happens all the time," the scientist mumbles, as he recalls the incapacitated Dodrio, "Pokémon die on their feet, come to supercharged with adrenaline...it's not unusual for them to attack their owners. But I can see I'm boring you. Fine. I did my bit. You can see yourselves out. What's the matter with you two? Why are you just standing there?" He starts towards Nori and Rubix, who are both backed up against the far wall, trembling violently. "Here's your stupid Pokéball. Do whatever you want in here, or leave...I don't care. I'm going to bed." "Er...thanks for healing my Pokémon..." Nori stops shaking long enough to catch the Pokéball when he tosses it at her, "That machine of yours is really something else." "Yeah." The scientist shoots her a sidelong glance, as he exits the room, "It's a Deus Ex Machine-a. Goooood Night." * * * "You know..." Nori slowly turns Cerberus' Pokéball over in her hand, as the door to the laboratory slams shut behind her, "It didn't even cross my mind until that scientist said it...Cerberus is mine now." Rubix shrugs, "So?" "It's been a long time since I've captured a new Pokémon, that's all." She pockets the ball, and begins to walk. "Giseisha and Akuni have been obedient since I first caught them...and Magmar and Nemesis have never been too objectionable. But...I don't know about this one." "Don't tell me you're *afraid* of it..." "Of course not!" Nori snaps defensively. Rubix grins coyly, "In that case, why don't you send it out now?" "Who says I won't?" Nori pulls a Pokéball from her belt, "Pokéball, go!" "Shaaaaabokku!" Rubix narrows his eyes, "That's Giseisha." "Er, so it is." Nori sweatdrops, and reaches for another Pokéball, "Pokéball, go!" "Licki!" "That's Akuni." "Pokéball, go!" "Mag!" Rubix slaps a hand to his forehead, "Let me give you a hint. Cerberus' Pokéball is BLUE. All of the others' are RED. It shouldn't be this hard." "Don't rush me!" Nori takes a long look at Cerberus' Pokéball, then hurls it as far away as possible, and takes off running in the opposite direction. Cerberus bursts from the ball while it's still in the air, and hits the ground running. It blazes a trail straight through Nori's other Pokémon, knocking them aside in its haste to reach Nori; and as soon as it's near the girl, it launches into a machine gun-like barrage of Drill Pecks, aiming to stab its beaks through her lungs. "Aaaaahhh! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up!" Nori nimbly dances to avoid Cerberus' onslaught, "Aaaaahhhh!!!! Would you cut it out?!? I...just...wanna...talk to you!" Rubix whistles, "You're surprisingly skilled at dodging Pokémon attacks." She scowls, "I've had lots of practice!" "Hmph. Well, don't say I never gave you anything." Nori begins to respond, but in her moment of distraction, she's hammered with a Wing Attack to the ribs, and sent skidding across the ground. When she next opens her eyes, she sees the Dodrio rapidly advancing on her, so she waves her hands in front of her face, and cries, "Wait, wait, wait!" Nori is genuinely surprised when the Dodrio screeches to a halt several feet in front of her. It taps one of it large feet impatiently, and glares down at her with all six eyes. She swallows, and begins to speak, "Look, you don't have to do this. I'm not trying to hurt you, and neither are any of my Pokémon. We're all one, big, happy family." Rubix scowls, "I'm not happy." Nori returns the look, "I thought you had no part in this." "You're not happy either!" "Don't you have anything better to do?" Cerberus lets out an angry caw, and Nori responds with annoyance, "Listen, you. So I ran you through with a machete. Big deal. You tried to kill me on purpose, and you don't see *me* holding any grudges. Life goes on. Now, get over it." All three beaks respond in unison, "DRIO!" Nori stares back questioningly, "Drio?" Rubix translates, "It says it ain't taking orders from no kid." "Is that so? Well, it doesn't have a choice!" Nori pulls a small object from her backpack, and flourishes it dramatically, "I've got a Cascade Badge!" Cerberus looks unimpressed, "Drio." "Maybe it's over level 30?" Rubix suggests. "No matter." Nori reaches into her backpack again, "Because I've also got........a Rainbow Badge!" "Drio." "Maybe it's over level 50." "Then I'll show it..." Nori pulls yet another object from her bag, "...a Marsh Badge!" "Drio." "...Over level 70?" Nori looks incredulous, "No way. Do you really think so?" "That, or it just doesn't give a flip about badges..." "Well, there's one way to find out for certain." Nori pulls a Pokédex from her pocket, and uses it to scan the Dodrio. The handheld computer beeps, then begins to drone in its mechanical voice, "Dodrio. The Triplebird Pokémon." Cerberus cocks its three heads, then walks around behind Nori, so as to get a better view of the Pokédex. "A rarely seen Pokémon whose three heads work together to create complex plans. The three cooperative brains are said to represent the balance between the elements of Fire, Thunder, and Ice. This Dodrio is at level--" *SMACK* The Pokédex falls shattered to the ground. "..." Nori looks at the broken Pokédex, then up at Cerberus, whose left head is swung over its right shoulder in a follow-through position. "You dumb bird!" Nori explodes, "That was my only Pokédex! What'm I supposed to do now?" "Drio." Cerberus shrugs unconcernedly. "Of all the..." Nori stops, when she hears an odd beeping coming from her backpack. She rifles through it for a moment, and comes up with a small communicator. "What?" "Mizuke." Nori immediately recognizes the shadowy visage on the viewscreen as Giovanni's, "I couldn't help but notice that your Pokédex has gone offline. I'd hate to think you were tampering with it, especially after I so generously programmed it to send all of your excess Pokémon directly to headquarters." "Er...no sir!" Nori hastily responds, "I think it must've had a bug in it..." she sighs, "because a Flyer just trashed it." Giovanni mulls over this rather cryptic answer, and decides not to pursue the matter. "Secondly, about that Moon Stone you sent me..." "Yeah?" "It's nothing but a lump of black sugar!" He rotates the camera around, to show a hoard of Clefairy, who are happily swarming over the supposed Moon Stone. Nori frowns, "So that's why they were selling it so cheap--er, I mean...it's too bad I had to dig so deep to find it! That's a good two weeks of hard labor down the drain." Giovanni wordlessly returns the camera to its original position. When he once again begins to speak, his voice barely contains his irritation, "I must have been out of my mind to send a little whelp like you out into the field. Report back to base immediately...repercussions are in order. Giovanni out." The viewscreen flickers off. Nori simply stares at the communicator for a few minutes after that, either shocked by Giovanni's reaction, or simply in too much pain to move. Finally, she pockets the device, shoots Cerberus a withering glare, and addresses her other Pokémon in an icy tone. "Everyone. Back in your Pokéballs. NOW." The four Pokémon contemplate this command for a fraction of a second, come to the conclusion that they should not even *think* about disregarding Nori when she's in such a foul mood, and quickly retreat into their Pokéballs. Once they're gone, Nori gets to her feet, holding one arm against her injured ribcage. She stares fixedly at the Dodrio, her jaw clenched in a resolute fashion. Cerberus sees that she means business, and stiffens momentarily; then narrows all three sets of eyes, opens its beaks, and lets out a soft, dangerous, and decidedly menacing hiss. A gust of wind blows by. Nori speaks very slowly. "Now, listen very carefully, because I'm only going to say this once." Cerberus sneers in challenge, "Dri?" She throws herself at the Dodrio's feet, "Please, please, please obey me! I already have one Pokémon who disregards my every order, I don't think I can handle two! I know I don't deserve your loyalty, and you probably hate me after what I did to you...but I really, really need to get to Viridian City, and my Porygon's too weak to handle that long a flight. If you'll just help me out, just this once, I swear I'll never ask for anything again! Ow--I think I landed on my rib." Cerberus' three heads huddle together, and after a moment of discussion, the bird unfolds its tiny wings. "Drio." Nori rises to her knees, astonished, "...Really?" "Do." "Cerberus, you're the greatest!" She gives the bird a big hug, then hops on its back. Cerberus kicks off with its big, clawed feet, quickly accelerating to such a high speed, that it barely seems to be touching the ground as it runs. It angles its wings upwards, measuring the air currents; then begins to flap them rapidly, until finally, it begins to lift off the ground. Once it's safely in the air, Cerberus relaxes slightly, tucking its long legs up against its body, and holding its wings out straight, so as to glide. Nori grips the feathers on its back tightly, "Thank you for helping me, Cerberus. I know they did some horrible things to you back in that lab, and you probably won't believe me when I tell you that humans and Pokémon can be friends. But...I hope I can help you to realize that, in time. Until then, I'm content to know that you've forgiven..." She trails off, "...Er, Cerberus? Cerberus? Why are you looking at me like that?" Cerberus flips upside-down, hurling her from its back. She tumbles to the ground, and seeing the bird circle around above her, quickly produces its Pokéball, hoping to recall it before it can attack her again. As if anticipating this move, Cerberus dives towards her, targeting the blue and white Ultra Ball with all three beaks...but Nori is faster, and the Dodrio finds itself captured by the infrared light that serves as the Pokéball's recall system. It lets out a shriek of frustration, then its body converts to energy, and is sucked into the ball with such force, that Nori is nearly knocked backwards as a result. She lets out a heavy sigh, "On second thought, maybe I'll just walk." TBC... -Beth, of the ever changing sig.