From: lordlocke@my-deja.com (lordlocke@my-deja.com) Subject: Re: [PW!]Heading Out. Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/03/26 > > Back at the Golden Raichu... > > "...hello, Mr. Schpeilbunk? Are you still there?" > > "Uh...never mind...some...thing...just came up." > > TBC? (You bet your snootchie bootchies!) (OOC: *Thwaps NH* Ya need to check other character's posts... DV the part about Panop flaking on his movie deal. Other then that, on with the SHOW!) Mara stopped giggling for a moment to make some commentary. "You'd think the fame would die down after the Games." Poor Gads, somewhere below the mob, was hoping for the same thing. However, that last fight had made Sketch more popular then ever. Her ability to shrug off a HYPER BEAM of all things not only rekindled the dying fandom, but gave her a whole NEW legion of fans to deal with. Little girls and boys, like before, was one thing, but a tough Cueball trainer, clad in spikes and leather, was desperately asking Sketch for her autograph like a... a fanboy. The crowd of Bikers now offering to escort Sketch out of Indigo was downright embarrasing. Monk-chan sat to one side, filling in MaChop, Mara's yet to be nicknamed Pokemon they had just picked up at the Pokecenter, about what had been going on since they had last met about a year ago. MaChop, being dim even for a MaChop, just nodded, not really understanding WHAT the Mankey was talking about. Andrew and Snicker were wearing nearly-identicle expressions: those of barely-controlled laughter. Stevon Schpeilbunk, meenwhile, had slipped into the crowd, and was now right next to Sketch. "Excuse me, Miss Jigglypuff?" Sketch turned around. Another fan! "You have just what I need for my next movie. Just sign here, and you're in!" Thinking it was just another autograph, Sketch happily signed on the bottom line. "Thank you! Now, come with me, and we'll head straight for Vermillion. My other movie's filming, albut slowly, there, and there's more then enough cameras, props, and crewmen to start shooting once we get everything else delt with." Gads, overhearing this last part, sprung up, sending a trio of Shorts Kids flying. "HOLD IT! WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Stevon showed Gads the contracts. "This Jigglypuff has agreed to appear in my new movie, fittingly called 'Sketch: The Movie.' Sure, I don't have a script, or a cast yet, but none the less, she signed these contracts. She needs to come with me in order to film it." Gads shook his head. "Not a chance. Don't I have to sign those papers too? After all, I'm her trainer..." Stevon simply wiggled his finger. "Nope. According to the law, only the actor in question, in this case, your Jigglypuff Sketch, has to sign the contracts. It says nothing about having the trainer sign too." Gads didn't like this answer. He nearly snarled at the director/producer, baring his fangs. His tail twitched angrilly behind him. A nice, light-blue aura surrounded Gads. "Listen pal, I don't know what you're up to, but if you don't tear up those contracts, I'm sending you back to Vermillion in a body cast." Stevon, a coward at heart, instantly dropped to his knees and began begging for all he's worth. "Please! Your Jigglypuff has everything it takes to get into showbusiness. I'm in trouble! My last star, Danotopticon or whatever, might not pay off. Dino and Futureistic- themed movies are on the decline these days..." Gads shot up at the slightly-familiar name, fixing it into the one he knew. "Panopticon?" That sent Gads reeling. 'Panopticon? In... show business? No WAY! Has he gone straight?' Stevon continued, "Yes. You've heard of my latest effort? I'm not sure the cybersaur's gonna make it big, but..." "Never mind. Sketch can star in your movie on one condition: Me and my companions come along too, free of charge, all expences paid while the movie's shooting." Stevon blinked. He hadn't expected Gads to give in so easily. "Uh, OK! You have yourself a deal! I'm expecting to see you at the Pidgeot Express in two hours." "We'll be there." Gads didn't even look at Stevon as he left. He instantly headed to Mara. "Change of plans. Veridian City'll have to wait." Mara looked puzzled. Gads had been waiting for some time now to challenge another gym leader. "Oh? What's up?" "Panopticon." Mara froze. "Panopticon? I though he died, or something." "Nope. Apparently, he went into showbusiness. He's been last seen in Vermillion, shooting a movie of all things." "And we're..." "Gonna make sure he's deciding to play nice. To be sure that he's gone straight, and not up to something." Gads, without realizing it, reached into his pocket and wrapped one hand around the nanite ruby shard. 'As long as I got this thing, Proteus isn't a worry... but Panopticon's still out there.' "Who's up to something?" Andrew, noticing Gads and Mara having a serious talk, headed over to see what's up. Mara paled, then pulled Gads to one side and whispered to him. "Should we bring Andrew? After all, he's not a fighter like us. If Panopticon decided to attack, and Andrew's there..." Gads just smiled. "This isn't a war mission. If the worst happens, we tell Andrew to run like hell. Besides, he IS a Pokemon trainer. Even if HE can't defend himself, his Pokemon can. Besides, he's tougher then he looks. Or acts." Andrew looked puzzled. "What ARE you two talking about. Some secret Dojo business?" Gads shook his head. "Nope. Closer to personal. Panopticon's been spotted in Vermillion." Mara chimed in. "Apparently, the battle with Vorge wasn't that menace's last." "Panopticon? You mean that cybersaur?" Andrew, while never having met Panopticon, had heard plenty from Mara and, more importantly, Gads. While not usually one to harbor grudges, Gads didn't trust Panopticon at all. Besides possibly Doppler, there was no one in the known world Gads liked less. Mara nodded. "Yep. We're gonna make sure he's out of the trouble business." "Or put him out of it. Either way, we're going to Vermillion." Gads finished. Meenwhile, Sketch happily continued signing autographs, oblivious to the events unfolding right next to her. A few hours later... "Here we are, Vermillion City." As the group got exited the Pidgeot express, Stevon was happy. He got a new superstar. And in the few hours that they had spent flying to Vermillion, he had lined up a cast, and had a crack team of writers working to have a script whipped out by tomorrow. Even if Pancrocticon didn't pay off, this Jigglypuff surely would. "I've never worked on two movies at once before... they're both sure to be smash hits!" Suddenly, an assistant ran up to Stevon. "Sir, we need more extras for the next fight scene!" "What? We had MORE than enough!" "That was before they got a good look at our star. They fled once they saw what he was." Stevon's mood dropped. "Great. Now I need extras who won't run onsight from a cybersaur. Someone who'll be able to act tough despite their foe. Someone like..." Gads, from behind Stevon, spoke up. "Us?" Stevon turned around, then started laughing. "We need TOUGH-LOOKING extras. Not a pretty-girl, the boy next door, and a cross between a cute lil' Mankey and..." Gads almost snarled at the director, giving him a good look at his fangs. "What's wrong about being part-Mankey?" Behind Gads, Mara looked ready to charge up and show Stevon EXACTLY what she thought about the pretty-girl comment. Andrew didn't know what to think about the "boy-next-door" crack, but decided to take it in a positive light. Stevon bigsweatted. "You made your point... be on the set tomorrow, and we'll film the scene." With that, Stevon left for the movie set. Gads smiled as he turned to Mara and Andrew. "Well, now we have an easy way of checking on Panopticon. Hopefully, after tomorrow, we'll only have Sketch's movie to worry about." Gads then remembered something. "Oh, yeah." Gads reached into his pocket and pulled out the nanite shard. "If Panopticon gets this back, who knows what could happen." Gads slowly, almost reluctantly, reached out and gave Andrew the shard. "Tomorrow, if Panopticon has really reformed, will be short and easy. However, if worse comes to worse, I want you to take this, run, and throw it into the Vermillion Bay, ya got it?" Andrew nodded, and pocketed the shard as they left to get lodging for the night. Snicker, Monk-chan, and MaChop followed closely behind, listening intently. Snicker and Monk-chan bore faces of dread, the latter knowing what they might be dealing with, the former hearing the stories from the latter. MaChop assumed some uneducated cheerfulness, glad that his trainer was taking him with her on this adventure. Taking up the rear was Sketch. As oblivious as ever, she happly 'donated' her talent and 'decorated' the various sights and people of Vermillion City with her pen. "JIGGLY JIGGLYPUFF!" TBC? From your friendly, neighborhood LORDLOCKE!