Subject: [PW!] Turning Points Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 08:47:45 GMT From: Rob <robfrompw@yahoo.com> Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Continue wrote: > A slight look of skepticism can still be seen on Nurse Joy's face when > Drake asks > her "Hey, what about Spunky here? Can you treat him?" > > "Hm? Oh, sure." Nurse Joy's sense of duty buries her other thoughts > for the moment > and says "Just have him lay down here." > > "I'll be in the next room." The Dragonite tells the Nidoking, after > which the > others head back into the front room. Once they are far enough out of > the room that > it seems Nurse Joy won't be able to overhear the conversation, Drake > prods "Now, > about that explanation..." Marcia stares at nothing in particular in silence, imagining some of the things that might have happened to her if Nurse Joy had fired her, until Drake waves in front of her face, successfully getting her attention. Marcia blinks, "Hmm? Oh, yes, my explanation. I'll tell you everything that happened since the last time I saw you, which was over five years ago, even though you seem to think it was the other day. Actually, that very same day the Pokemon Beauty Contest was held at Porta Vista was one of the turning points in my life. After I had run away from your Ditto friends, who were keeping me captive, I ran off into the forest and hid for weeks. I spent that time training myself and my Pokemon, realizing that I had gotten too clumsy and overweight from all the time I spent lounging in the Saffron City alleyways..." Spunky the Nidoking shudders when he hears Marcia mention the Saffron City alleys, since that's where Marcia had killed his Sarah-momma's beloved Fearow. "I became so into my training, that I was neglecting my Team Rocket quotas." Marcia shrugs, "I never really did care for stealing Pokemon just to send them off to Headquarters, so the Boss had gotten used to only receiving a couple of Pokemon per month, but when nearly two months had passed and he had not received a single Pokemon from me, he gave me a call on my Communicator. I remember the day clearly, for a few reasons. I was training my Zubat..." * Flashback * "Zubat, Bite." Minax points at the wild Drowzee, wondering why the past two Drowzees she encountered fainted after just one Bite, when just the other day, it took two or three Bites to down them. She watches as her Zubat zips down towards the Drowzee with his mouth wide open, then grins when her Bat Pokemon digs his fangs into the Drowzee's head. The Psychic Pokemon cries out in pain and falls to the ground, fainted. "Good work, Zubat. Either those Drowzee you defeated the other day were so high in level that you've gained quite a bit of experience, or these Drowzee are weak. Perhaps your Bite attack has just become more powerful?" Her small blue Zubat beams, happy that he's gotten so much better at defeating Psychic Pokemon, even though he doesn't know the reason why either, "Zuuu..." "It's strange." Minax glances down at the Pokeball attached to her belt, "I've been thinking that the prosthetic wings I built for Pidgeotto were what's been making his Gust attack more effective against Grass Pokemon, but now that your Bite attack is more effective against Psychic Pokemon, I'm not sure that's the reason. Maybe there's a nuclear power plant somewhere near Porta Vista and the radiation's been affecting all of us? I think we should leave now, anyhow. I'm stronger, you're more powerful, Pidgeotto's in top shape, and even Omelette's Pound attack packs quite a punch." She looks over at her two foot tall Chansey and smiles, noticing how much the Pokemon has grown in the past few weeks. Minax notices that lately she's caring more about Omelette's well-being than killing or stealing Pokemon... Rrrrrring... rrrrrring... The noise is familiar to Minax, even though she hasn't heard it for quite a while. Her hand darts into the sack at her side, she rummages through briefly, and pulls out her Communicator. She flips the device open and sees that a shadowy figure is looking back at her, "Minax! Where have you been?" "Boss..." Minax narrows her eyes. She hasn't talked with the man on the screen for a long time and was starting to enjoy her independence, "What an unpleasant surprise. I've been busy. Training and such, near Porta Vista." "I do not like your tone one bit, young lady." The Boss tells Minax, his shadowed face clearly glowering, "Report to the Viridian Gym immediately. I would like to have a word with you. You haven't sent us a Pokemon in months. If you don't start acting more like a member of Team Rocket, I'm going to assign you a partner starting next year to keep track of your activities, so you best behave, since I know how much you enjoy your freedom." Without a farewell, the screen goes black. "Whatever." Minax throws her Communicator back into her bag, then turns around to head out of the forest, but she sees a large sparkling red Hypno. The Hypno's crimson color and the fact that he's sitting on a rock, petting a Meowth on his lap, reminds Minax of the Boss. She clenches her fists, digging her long fingernails into the palms of her hands, and tells her Flying Pokemon, "Zubat, before we leave Porta Vista, I want you to Bite that red Hypno, right on his big, stupid head." She watches, licking her lips, as Zubat flies over to the Hypno and Bites his head. The Hypno drops the Meowth he was petting and stands up. Minax reaches for her long skinning knife, "That's it, now Leech Life." Right after the Hypno attempts to Headbutt Minax's Zubat and fails, the Zubat latches onto the Hypno's head and drains his energy until the Pokemon falls to the ground, fainted. Minax pulls her knife out, and Omelette the Chansey watches in fear as Minax raises it up high... ...and drops it, when her Zubat glows. Minax watches in awe as her beloved first Pokemon, who she's known as a Zubat since she caught him over twelve years ago in Mount Moon, grows larger. A few seconds later, when the evolution is complete, the most noticeable change on her larger Bat Pokemon is that he's grown eyes. Once Minax's first Pokemon's eyes adjust to the light, he looks at Minax, to finally see that she's just as beautiful as his echolocation had told him she was. His huge mouth opens up in a D-shaped grin and he flies over to her, showing off his larger wing span, then licks her face with his immense tongue and exclaims, "Golbat!" * End of Flashback * Marcia hugs her huge Crobat, who remembers the day he evolved into a Golbat as vividly as Marcia does, "...and in some ways, it was my Golbat, and Omelette too..." Marcia nods over to her Blissey and they both smile, "...who helped me realize that my life stealing and killing Pokemon was wrong. When I found out that they weren't evolving into more powerful Pokemon because my behavior was making them unhappy, I knew I had to change my ways. In the end, Golbat and Omelette were the ones who helped me stand up to the Boss of Team Rocket, not just a Hypno who reminded me of him. I say it was the end, since the day I left Team Rocket, I stopped calling myself Minax, and deciding that I had finally grown up, began calling myself Marcia, vowing to keep my Pokemon happy." Drake notices that, indeed, her Pokemon have evolved into a Crobat and a Blissey, which would not have happened if Minax had not truly given up her evil ways. "I haven't intentionally hurt a Pokemon for years now. I came to Johto when I was twenty-five, studied at a school for Pokemon nurse's assistants for a year, then got a job here in this Pokemon Center. Omelette soon evolved, then Golbat did a few months later." Marcia puts her hand on Aerie's head, "Just the other day, Aerie here found me around the same time Doppler met up with me for the first time in years. I'm taking care of her while Doppler looks for your old friend Mimic, who he thinks is about to do something horrible. I just hope Doppler is actually searching for him, not messing around with some poor trainers' minds or something." -Marcia