Subject: [PW!] [WC] Day Three: Storm Making Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 05:48:41 GMT From: Adrian Tymes <wingcat@pacbell.net> Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon O'dark AM found Aerie, still a mantine, resting peacefully atop her new friends, drifting on the waters of the Whirl Cup Stadium's harbor. Most of her companions were likewise asleep; the few that were not were keeping the group from literally drifting apart, but that effort was merely one of maintaining position. Their thoughts were as calm and serene as the nearly pitch black ocean, putting them close enough to sleep as to make no difference. Especially when it came to seeing the small motorboat nearby drifting towards them, its sole occupant observing the seven pokemon through night vision binoculars. Quickly double-checking his pokegear's scan, after double-checking that it was set to mute, he carefully raised a pistol towards the mantine, held his breath, aimed, and squeezed the trigger... *BLAM!* "Squirtle!" "Pokeballs GO!" "Squirt squirt!" The turtle pokemon, first to awake, batted away two of the incoming six pokeballs with quick jets of water, unable to stop the other four before they hit their targets, sucked them in, and floated where they landed. "Squirtle!" "Ah-ah-ah," the figure warned as the squirtle and the goldeen oriented on his vehicle. "Attack me, and your trainer dies. Did you know she's actually a ditto? Team Rocket came up with a special poison for dittos about five years ago." He brandished a vial. "This is the antidote. It'll take both of you to get it and save her, or you can fight me. Your choice." One underhanded toss later, the vial glinted in the scant moonlight before plopping into the water. Squirtle and Goldeen glared at the man, then set off towards the plop, Goldeen desparately feeling the currents and letting off brief bursts of supersonic sonar to trace the vial's position - not nearly as effectively as a marill could, but only needing a tiny fraction of the marill's range - while Squirtle followed, its eyes nearly useless in the dark. Once they had found the vial, utility reversed, with Squirtle grabbing the vial, heading back to Aerie, and using its hands to open the vial and pour the antidote into her wound while Goldeen trailed behind. By the time they got back, the only trace of their assailant was the fading roar of his boat's engine; even the ripples of his pokeballs had passed by. --- Having found no other way into the shop, Aerie contented herself to storm in Oldman's front door at 8 AM sharp, right when the timelock on said door opened. She did not stop to consider why such a small operation would have a timelock, or metal walls under wood veneer. "Why, good morning...Aerie, was it?" Oldman finished buttoning his shirt. "Care to 'rent' another pokemon?" "Can it, buster!" Aerie grabbed his collar and pulled him into her face. Or tried to, anyway, though the mass difference meant she pulled her face up to his, her feet lifting from the floor as most of her weight became supported by the counter. But the effect was the same. "You tried to kill me last night!" "Oh? Where was this?" "Out in the harbor, when you took back my pokemon! Don't play dumb with me!" "Out in the harbor, you say? Impossible. I was in my shop all night. Isn't that right, Officer Jenny?" he called over his shoulder. A bleary-faced Jenny peeked around the doorway to the back rooms, then blushed, ducking a bare shoulder back behind the doorway. "Morning already? I...umm, that is, yes, he was here all night. He and I were, ah, um, discussing security procedures." "Pretty loudly, too," Aerie muttered. "What was that?" Oldman smiled. "You said something about a thief who walked in here yesterday and ripped off a whole team of pokemon while threatening me?" "WHAT?!?" "I mean, who else but a *thief* would walk away with my pokemon when the paperwork wasn't properly filled out? Why, I never even got to scan their pokegear!" "You...you..." Ignoring her, Oldman continued, "Now, if you'd like to present your pokegear, I'm sure I could rent out one of these fine pokemon I just got in last night. I mean, *all* trainers in the tournament have a pokegear or a pokedex, right?" Aerie growled, then let him go. Walking up to the tank with a krabby and a shellder, she pressed her hand to the glass. "I'll get you out of here, I promise." "Krab. Krab krabby. Krab krabby." <Don't worry. We wanted to be in the tournament. Maybe we'll fight for someone else.> She smiled, nodded, and walked out the door. Once she was gone, Oldman re-adjusted his shirt. "Officer Jenny, I believe you should talk to her once you get dressed." "Are you saying she's the thief?" "I'm willing to forgive that." He frowned. "But someone tried to kill her last night. Possibly someone on my staff, someone less forgiving than I. Possibly someone pretending to be on my staff, trying to set me up." He looked to the seel and poliwag in the next tank. "I *thought* those four looked familiar." Unfortunately for Officer Jenny, she got down to the beach just in time to see the squirtle and goldeen pop under the waves, following their temporary trainer. [OOC: So, the rental shop list as of the start of Day Three is Shellder, Poliwag, Krabby, Seel, Totodile, Wooper, Chinchou, Staryu, and Marill.]