Subject: [PW!] Farmward Bound Date: Sat, 08 Dec 2001 00:23:43 GMT From: Rob <robfrompw@yahoo.com> Organization: AT&T Worldnet Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Luthor the Slowpoke struggles to keep his head above water as he swims from one side of the lake that Mount Mortar is casting its large shadow on to the other, and despite his panting, he yells out as he approaches the lake's western shore, "Do not be fooled into thinking that you are in command, Supergirl! Luthor is swimming not because you commanded Luthor to, but because Luthor wants his physical prowess to match his awesome psychic powers and Luthor knows that swimming is an excellent exercise!" A few seconds after he finishes this sentence, he crawls onto the shore and collapses from exhaustion before Sarah's feet, "Luthor is not tired... Luthor is..." Before Luthor finishes his rationalization, Sarah says, "Good job, Luthor! You deserve to rest now," and recalls him into his Lure Ball. "Cyn!" Blazer, the Charcoal-coat-clad Cyndaquil standing next to Sarah, grins - not only has Sarah let him roam free outside of his confining Fast Ball for the entire afternoon, but she has just shut up that Slowpoke that has been annoying him for the past hour of training. Barbie, the Mareep standing at the other side of Sarah, narrows her eyes at Blazer, giving him a look of suspicion. Since she doesn't understand Cyndaquilese, she thinks that Blazer has just told Sarah that she should sin. Barbie trusts Blazer less than she trusts Luthor, mainly because Blazer was friends with Mimic, who in her opinion was the most deceptive, suspicious character she's ever met in her entire, albeit still rather short, life. She snarls a little when she quietly murmurs, "Reeree..." Sarah, unable to understand both of her Pokemon and oblivious to any sort of rivalry between them, crouches down and hugs her Mareep with one arm and her Cyndaquil with the other, "Oh, it's so great that you two get along so well! We're all one big happy family!" Sarah's voice startles the Teddiursa sleeping in her satchel, waking him. When he sees Barbie's fleece just inches from Sarah's bag, he hops out of his bed and grabs onto Barbie's yellowish, fluffy, comfortable fleece. "REEP!" Barbie feels something tugging on her fleece and she immediately thinks it's either Mimic or some evil fiend. Not really caring who it is, since she fears she might be killed if she takes the time to check, the paranoid Mareep runs around, kicking her legs back and forth, until she dislodges the baby Teddiursa clinging to her, who flies over towards Blazer, knocking him over. "Quil..." Blazer frowns and what Barbie has just done to the young Teddiursa, so he rolls up his coat's sleeves and marches over to where Barbie is still flailing about like a mad Pokemon. He taps on her fleece and she instinctively releases some pent up electricity, Thundershocking Blazer, who Leers at her for doing so and retaliates by attacking her with Ember. The baby Teddiursa stands by, giggling at the fireworks show. "STOP!" Sarah falls to her knees and starts sobbing, sad that her Pokemon are being so aggressive towards each other, "Who am I kiddin'? Ya'll don't know how to behave like a happy family since none of you have even seen a happy family!" She looks at Barbie, who's just now starting to calm down, "Barbie, even you would steer clear my family and the other Mareep in your flock. I might not be endin' my Pokemon Journey, but I really think we should all pay a visit to my folks back on the farm, even if I don't have a buncha Badges to show 'em, mainly 'cuz you three, and Luthor and Sunkern too, gotta learn how to behave properly from my family!" Blazer turns to Barbie and crosses his arms and blames her for what happened, "Cynda Daquil." "REE?!" Barbie shakes her head at Blazer's accusation and argues, "Mareep reereep mareep!" Sarah notices that her two first Pokemon are starting an argument, so she shouts, "Stop fightin'!" She grabs her Fast Ball, pulls Blazer into it, and hides it away in her satchel. She picks up her Teddiursa, who looks disappointed that the scuffle between Barbie and Blazer is over, and tucks him into her satchel as well, hoping he'll be able to go back to sleep. The shepherdess stands up, pulls out her wooden crook, latches it onto Barbie's neck, then leads her westward down Route 42, back towards Ecruteak City, just as the sun sets. As Sarah heads to the Ecruteak City Pokemon Center, she stops crying, but recalls something that worries her... "Oh, Barbie, I hope this mornin' Bob didn't think I was askin' him where the Gym is thinkin' I wanted to battle the Gym Leader right away..." Sarah gasps before adding, "If he did, he might still be waitin' for me to come back! I can't believe I forgot to tell him that I wasn't ready to fight any Gym Leaders until I train some more..." Indeed, when she arrives outside the oriental but also time-travel-themed Pokemon Center, she sees the familiar faces of Bob Raiser and his Girafarig. Both of his Girafarig's heads looking quite annoyed, but Bob doesn't look the least bit bothered. He smiles when he sees Sarah approach, "How'd it go, Sarah?" "I... I... I'm s-s-sorry I..." Sarah's face darts straight down - she's normally intimidated by guys, but she's even more intimidated now since she feels she's wronged Bob, "...I d-didn't... g-go to the Gym... I asked... 'c-cuz I... j-just want-wanted to know... for later... for when I go... but n-not now. I just... was trainin' today..." Bob moves Sarah's chin up with one hand and says, "It's not a big deal, Sarah, really! I actually got to train some of my Pokemon with people who came to visit the Pokemon Center while I waited here. Since you're training too, would you like to battle me? We could have our Mareep teach each other some of their moves." Before Bob reach for his Mareep's Pokeball, Sarah stutters, "N-no! Y-your Mareep's p-probably t-too strong... for Barbie to b-beat..." Bob Raiser glances at Sarah's trembling Mareep, or at least the parts of her that aren't hiding behind Sarah's skirt, "Hmm, not to brag, but I think you're right. But you're in luck..." Bob pulls a small Pokeball out of his backpack and enlarges it, "Earlier today, I took Bouncer here out of storage. He's my weakest Pokemon. Your Mareep could battle him and she'll probably gain some experience points. At the very least, she'll gain some experience, even if it doesn't come with points!" Sarah had heard of bouncers before, even though she'd never been anywhere near a club in her life, so she's scared that Bob's weakest Pokemon might be a Snorlax or some other huge monster, but since Bob believes Barbie might be able to beat his Pokemon, she decides to take a chance, "All... right... let's battle..." "Go, Bouncer!" Bob tosses his Pokeball. When it hits the ground, a small brown round Pokemon with a long fluffy tail and a white ring on his belly pops out of it and squeaks, "Sentret!" Bouncer the Sentret immediately balances himself on his tail and scouts the area with his eyes, looking for his missing opponent. Sarah sidesteps, leans down, and pushes Barbie towards Bob's Sentret. She then tells her frightened Mareep, "Barbie, start out with a Tackle attack!" "Defense Curl!" Bob shouts out to his Sentret, wondering if the fact that Barbie's scared will let his slow-moving Pokemon use Defense Curl before she attacks him. When Barbie finally looks up at her opponent, Bouncer's small appearance gives her the courage to leap towards him in an attempt to Tackle him. However, before she makes contact, Bouncer coils his tail and hops out of the way, "Sent!" In mid-air, as Barbie crashes onto the ground, Bouncer Curls up into a ball before landing. Bob remarks, "I didn't call him Bouncer for nothing." Sarah watches as her Mareep gets up and looks around nervously until she spots the small brown ball on the ground. Sarah says, "Barbie, use Thundershock!" "Bouncer, Tackle!" Bob watches as his rolled up Pokemon bounces up and down like a basketball twice before launching his curled up body towards Barbie. As Bouncer spins towards Barbie, Barbie's fleece fluffs up. She shoots out a Thundershock attack that electrocutes Bouncer in mid-air, but this attack doesn't stop the Sentret's inertia - he does manage to Tackle Barbie! After Tackling Barbie, Bouncer attempts to bounce away from her, but he can't since he's paralyzed. Bob notices the difficulties his Pokemon is having, but he knows that sometimes Pokemon can overcome paralysis, "Bouncer, hang in there. Try another Tackle!" "Barbie, one more Thundershock should be enough!" Sarah shouts, adrenaline soaring through her system. For most people, a simple battle between a low-level Mareep and a weak Sentret would not be very exiting, but since Sarah thinks she's about to win, she's exhilarated, "You can do it, Barbie!" "Reep." Sarah's Mareep narrows her eyes at the paralyzed brown ball directly in front of her and her fleece fluffs up to three times its original size. Bob's Sentret manages to overcome his paralysis and he hops up to Tackle Barbie's head, but before he can, the Mareep releases a powerful Thundershock attack! "Ssssss..." The Sentret's brown fur stands on end and he unfurls his small body as the surge of electricity runs through it. Bouncer falls down to the ground, limp and defeated. Sarah raises her wooden crook up high in celebration, "Yay! We won, Barbie!" Her Mareep is just as happy as Sarah is since she seriously dislikes fainting, "Ree!" "Way to go, Sarah!" Bob celebrates and his Girafarig rolls all four of his eyes when his Trainer cheers after having lost, "Want to train one of your other Pokemon?" Sarah glances over at Bob and smiles, "Th-thanks, Bob... for helpin' me train and stuff... but I g-gotta be... goin' now. I'm g-gonna go home... back to m-my farm, y'know, s-since Christmas is comin' soon... I h-hope y-you do well... on your Journey..." She calls Barbie over to her side and heads southward, farmward bound. -Sarah