From: TheRunt (therunt411@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] Shrew Love Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/03/23 (For your convenience, a summary of this episode appears at the bottom) "So you're positive this is the way out?" asks Runt for the fiftieth time, annoyance oozing from his voice. {I told you I'm sorry -- But you don't realize how hard it is to navigate this place} "Mmm-hmm." After a few more minutes, a beam of daylight hits Runt in the eyes. {Told ya} As they exit the forest, the group rubs their eyes. Soon enough their eyes adjust. "Okay, so how much time did we lose?" asks Runt as he looks down at his watch: [Date: March 20, 2000 Time: 12:20pm] "THREE MONTHS!?!" he exclaims in shock, "I missed Christmas, my Birthday, New Years, Valentines, and St. Patrick's Day? How the heck did we lose three months? Damn, that forest is almost as bad with time as Windows is with memory... Fine, where are we?" [Nearest City/Town: Viridian City.... Approx. Direction: East SE] "How did --" Runt shakes his head, "Forget it... There's got to be a closer place with a phone..." {How 'bout that house over there?} Runt turns around to see a nice house only a few hundred feet away, "Perfect." Within 75 feet of the house they begin to hear somebody shouting, "Repeat after me you moron! San-D Sh-Rew, SanD ShRew." Concerned, the group breaks into a run. Soon they can make out a guy about Runt's age spraying a chained up Sandshrew with a Super Soaker. Enraged, Rolly leaps upon the trainer and begins slashing at him. Runt quickly grabs his Pokémon before he can too much damage. "What's his problem?" asks the kid, aiming his squirt gun at Rolly. Rolly struggles to break free of Runt's grasp, "Shwew! San-Shwew SAN!!" "Great, another freak," comments the kid. "Rolly, relax. Let me handle this or you'll have to go back in your ball." "sanshwew san san," mutters the armadillo Pokémon as it stops struggling and glares at the other trainers. "That's better," comments Runt. "Now, would you mind telling me why you're shooting that poor Sandshrew with a high powered squirt gun?" "And just who do you think you are?" "I'm Runt Cloverwood, and you?" "Well, Runt, I am Ace Solefield - And I'm trying to fix this defective Pokémon." Ace turns, once more, to his Sandshrew, "Speak!" "San shwew," she says pleading with her eyes. "What's wrong with it?" asks Runt. "It can't even pronounce its own name right," Ace replies bitterly. He hits the Pokémon with another blast of water, "'Course not that I'd expect you to understand with that mutant you got there..." "Listen, there's no need to get nasty." Runt comments, "If you don't like her, why don't you just release her?" "Are you mental? I didn't spend all morning looking for a Pokémon just to release it." A smirk crosses his face, "Tell ya what - We'll do a battle. Winner gets to pick any of the loser's Pokémon." "What?!" "You heard me. If you win, you can have this pathetic creature," he says, spraying her again. "If I win I get to choose any one of yours. Now do we have a deal, or are you gonna get lost?" Rolly struggles free from Runt's grasp, but is quickly grabbed again. "Shwew...San shwew-shwew san, san shwew," he says looking up a his friend and master. "Shwew?" asks the female Sandshrew, her eyes lighting up. "Shwew-san shwew?!" Runt sighs and shakes his head. "Fine, you have a deal." "Great, we'll each use 2 Pokémon - Guests first..." "Tiny go!" cries Runt. "Fine then. Porter, I choose you," yells Ace as he chucks a Pokéball and a Lapras materializes before the young dragon. "Tiny - Wrap attack now!" commands Runt "Porter, Let's start things off with Mist." As Tiny tries to get a grip on the Lapras, a fine mist begins to surround it. "Tiny, Keep squeezing!" "Porter, Mist again," declares Ace. Tiny holds on tight to deal more damage, but some much mist builds up that the dragon ends up slipping off. "Tiny, Horn drill!" "Porter, how 'bout and nice song for the people?" Tiny dives for the water/ice Pokémon, but just misses it. Porter then begins a haunting melody. Tiny struggles to stay awake but ultimately fails. "Tiny - Wake up!" Runt begs. "That wurm needs to chill out. Porter, Ice Beam." An icy blue beam shoots from the Lapras' head and encases the unconscious Dragonair in a block of ice. "Porter, Body Slam." "Not so fast, me bucko. Tiny, Return," he tosses out a black and red Pokéball "-- Pride, Seismic Toss." As the Lapras' body is about to come smashing down on the wurm-cicle, it is replaced with a blood red Pinsir. The Pinsir then grabs the behemoth and flings it high into the air. The unfortunate transport Pokémon lands right on top of a sharp rock. "LaPras!" it squeals in pain. "Damn you -- Porter, Return! Go Kingleer!" "Pride, Seismic Toss," orders Runt. "Kingleer, Crab Hammer!" The Pinsir leans forward to grab the crustacean, when then crab uses it pincers to pound the beetle right in the maw. Enraged, the feral bug pounces upon Kingleer and begins trying to crack it open. "Guillotine?" asks Runt in shock, "Pride -- Stop it, I did tell you to use Guillotine." "Oh, so that's how it's going to be," snaps Ace, "Kingleer - Guillotine, Now!" Runt's eyes grew big with horror as he watch the two beasts try to snap each other in half. "Ace, we've got to stop this! One of them could be killed!" "If you're so concerned, then call yours back..." "Sanshwew," cries the female Sandshrew, shaking her head in terror. Rolly runs over to try and free her, but is knocked flat by a blast from Ace's water gun. "PIN-SIR!!!" "KING-LER!!!" roars the combatants "Come on Kingleer, you've almost got him! Kill that stupid bug," cheers Ace as he pumps his super soaker and fires upon both armadillo Pokémon. Suddenly, something in Runt snaps -- his eyes burn with rage. He grabs Ace by the shoulders and punches him square in the jaw, then knees him in the happysack. Ace falls like a ton of bricks. "You - Don't - Treat - Living - Things - Like - That," screams Runt as he pummels the trainer. Suddenly, he stops, his mind is filled with a sense of peace and calm. {Relax...Let your mind be at peace...Relax} soothes Kreskin mentally. Recovering his wits, Runt looks towards the battle where both Pokémon seem to be in extreme pain. "Call 'im off," orders Runt. "Sure, just don't hurt me," whines Ace, "Kingleer, Return!" "Pride, Return... Now, you're gonna give me that Sandshrew and I'm not gonna report you to the NCPCP. Then we're just gonna go our separate ways and forget this ever happened -- Deal?" "Deal," sniffs Ace as he slowly gets to his feet. "Oww." "You all right?" "Yah, I'll be fine," he replies as they walk over to the Sandshrews. He removes the chain from the female's leg as Runt helps Rolly back up. As the group leave the property, the two Sandshrews walk paw-in-paw, occasionally nuzzling each other. A smile crosses Runt's face, "I think I'll name you Polly - What d'ya think?" "Shwew," replies the female, nodding enthusiastically. "San..." sighs Rolly, shaking his head... <To Be Continued...> Summary: Leaving the Forgotten Forest, Runt and crew discover that they lost 3 months this time. While trying to get to a phone to let his folks know that he was all right, Runt comes across a vindictive trainer by the name of Ace Solefield. Ace was trying to use aversion therapy to rid his new female Sandshrew of the same speech impediment that Rolly has. During a subsequent Pokémon Battle, Runt loses his temper and beats up Ace. In the end, Rolly gets the "girl" and the group goes off to find a phone. [For reading this far, you earn 2,097,152 Lucky-Clover Points (This offer may not be duplicated)] The Runt _______________________________________________________________ "Slow and steady wins the race."