From: Newton P. Haights (newhaights@aol.comanyte) Subject: [PW!] Reminiscence Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000-12-28 19:18:56 PST { OOC: Kruton: You can finally add me to your site. Lordlocke: There, are you happy? I had a funnier idea, and your damn insistence on posting this pre-2K1 made scrap the whole thing. } It was a dark and Gloomy night. It was raining Meowths and Growlithes. One might even say it was Purin. Er... *ahem* ...I mean pouring. One might also say it was the perfect night for what Andrew had to do. "Don't worry, Grampa. I didn't forget." he whispered under his breath. Andrew walked into the center of Lavender Town, a town he was quite familiar with. Not so much for the local landmarks -- although he HAD heard of Robert's Diversity Gym -- as for one very important one. The Pokemon Tower. Andrew clutched the lily as he entered the tower. So many memories... ***Pallet Town, 5 years ago, September 7th*** "Tag, you're it!" "Aww..." "Now you have to stand like, like Pokeman and wait for the Diglett to run underneath you!" { OOC2: So I plugged Agent's character. It's the closest thing to Superman Freeze Tag I could think of. } While the children played on, their parents watched from off to the side. Except one. With Roger and Charlotte O'Reilly off registering their child for the Pokemon League in a month, James O'Reilly, Roger's father, took his stead. "Interesting games kids play, eh?" The other parents agreed. One mother piped up, "So, Jimmy, your grandkid is getting registered for the League next month?" "Yeah. First paperwork is due this Friday, I believe." "Indeed...you know, when my little Ash gets registered, I just know he'll make me proud too." Another grandfather piped up, "I agree. He shows a lot of kindness, and I'm sure that will show up in his training." "Well, that's nice of you to say, Samuel." "Thank you." { OOC3: Yeah, what else did you expect? (Remember, Sam's supposed to be Oak's first name.) } Mrs. Ketchum looked over to Mr. O'Reilly. "What about you? What kind of trainer do you think he'll be?" James pondered for a moment, then said, "Hrrm...I don't really know. Could be anything. But if he's anything like I was, he'll make his name...somehow." ***Back to present...*** Andrew went to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist looked up. "Hello, and welcome to the Lav -- oh, hi, Andrew." "Hi, Grace." "Oh...is it that time again?" "Yeah." Andrew left his coat at the door. Odd, considering "warm and cozy" isn't the first thing one thinks of about the Tower, but it was as if the usual chill of the tower didn't bother him. This was the 5th year Andrew did this. Nothing much, just lay a flower upon his grave and stand in quiet reflection. Usually, Andrew would be bored doing something like this, but ever since he had passed on, Andrew felt a strange twinge inside, as if this was the only thing that had ever had any permanent impact on him...until he met Gads and Mara, of course. Andrew walked up the stairs to the next floor and approached the grave. Although it was built for a person, it didn't look out of place among the Pokemon memorials. Exactly the way James wanted it. Andrew laid the lily and thought... ***Pallet Town, September 7th*** "...he'll make his name...somehow." There was an eerie quiet on the deck. James broke the silence. "I'm going to go get a drink." The eerie silence continued as the other parents just listened as James got a glass down... *clink* *slide* *rattle* *pour* *step* ... *groan* "What was that?" Mrs. Red wondered. *GROAN* "H-help...help! I - I think I'm having a --" *THUMP* Mrs. Ketchum whirled herself around and ran into the kitchen. "Oh my god..." She ran back outside. "He's having a heart attack!" "Oh my god!" "What do we do?" "I'll call 911." "Sam, do you know CPR?" "Yes. Stand back." Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak ran into the kitchen. Professor Oak promptly started gving CPR. Five minutes later the EMTs came. Gary looked over to Ash. "Hey, what's the amb-a-lance doing here?" Ash shrugged. "I dunno. Andy? You know?" "I dunno...Hey, is that...Grampa? What are those guys doing with grampa?" Mrs. Red ran over to Andrew. "Don't worry," she told Andrew calmly. "It'll be ok..." "What'll be ok?...Grampa...Grampa!" The ambulance drove off. ***Lavender Town*** That was the last he ever saw of James. Andrew let a tear. For the next ten minutes, he just knelt there in sadness. He always thought of that day. Every time he came. He shed another tear. Eventually, he got up to leave. Just before he left, he turned around and whispered -- "I'll never forget you, grampa. *snif*" TBC