Subject: [PW!] A Comical Cruise Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 01:20:31 GMT From: Rob <robfrompw@yahoo.com> Organization: AT&T Worldnet Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Robert yawns as he climbs out of the bed in the cabin he was assigned to yesterday when he boarded the S.S. Aqua. He looks down at the purple Pokegear strapped to his right wrist. Remembering what the captain of the ship announced over the P.A. system shortly after he boarded the ship yesterday night, he realizes the ship is going to dock at Olivine City in about an hour. "Uh oh, I overslept! Now I only have a few minutes to find the ship's captain and convince him to drop me off at Red Rock Isle instead of Olivine so I can look for the Dragon Scale I lost... So what are you waiting for, Robert? Stop talking to yourself, go out there, and find that captain!" Glad he slept fully clothed so he doesn't have to spend any time getting ready, Robert steps out of his cabin. The first thing he sees when he steps out is a large man wearing a tight black outfit and a long red cloak casually walking down the hall towards the nearest bathroom. Robert quickly retreats back into his cabin and locks the door behind him. "It appears the ship's been taken over by strangely-dressed pirates! But maybe I'm still asleep and this is just a dream..." He pinches his arms a few times, then shakes his head, "Nope. I guess I'll just have to go out there and investigate." He grabs the Pokeball attached to the first slot on his belt, enlarges it, and drops it on the floor. A Golem materializes, stretches out the limbs protruding from his boulder-like body, and greets his Trainer, "Gol, Golem!" "Golem, can you do me a favor?" Robert tells his most loyal Pokemon, "I want you to guard my back as I walk through the ship - I think pirates might have taken over the ship while I slept and I want to find out what's going to happen next. Now, I figure these pirates probably use Water Pokemon and I know that Water attacks hurt you quite a bit, but you're the strongest Pokemon I have with me." "Golem." Golem nods and puts up his fists, ready to help Robert. Golem is even willing to Self-Destruct if necessary to protect his Trainer. "Thank you! Let's roll." Robert unlocks the door, opens a creek in it, and peeks outside. Seeing that the man with the cloak is no longer in the hallway, he steps outside the cabin once again, this time followed by his Golem. He looks left, then he looks right, and seeing that him and his Golem are the only ones presently in the hallway, he dashes towards the nearest stairway, and quickly climb up to the ship's deck, where he finds a blonde five year old girl with blue eyes who's dressed like Bubbles the Powerpuff Girl. "..." Robert blinks when he encounters the colorful character and asks, "Are you, by any chance, a pirate or the daughter of a pirate?" "Whaaa? No, I'm Bubbles. I'm a Powerpuff Girl! Heeeheeheee!" The little girl giggles then asks Robert a question, "Are you Mojo Jojo?" Robert furrows his brow, "Who's Mojo Jojo?" "YOU ARE, AREN'T YOU?! Bad monkey! BAD monkey!" The girl starts humming a tune as she runs circles around Robert with her arms outstretched. "Oh no, he's too strong for just me! Where's Blossom and Buttercup?! Did you take them and tie them up and lock them up somewhere?!" "What are you talking about?" Robert backs away from the hyperactive child, "I'm not a monkey and I didn't lock anyone up anywhere!" "Hi, Spawn!" The little girl waves beyond Robert towards someone emerging from the stairway behind him, "You done peeing already?" Robert turns around to encounter the same intimidating man he saw the first time he stepped out of his cabin. He sweatdrops and contemplates which attack he should tell Golem to use if the man tries to attacks him. "Katie, I thought I told you to stay in our cabin." The caped man walks right past Robert and grabs the girl's arm, "And don't call me Spawn, call me daddy - we're not going to start playing pretend until we get to the Comic Book Convention at Olivine." "Comic Book Convention?" Robert wipes the sweat from his face, now almost sure the man isn't a pirate, "I didn't know there was a Comic Book Convention at Olivine City." "It starts tonight and lasts until Friday." The girl's father explains, "This cruise is packed with people from Kanto who are going there for Spring Break. If you're gonna go, I suggest you dress up like your favorite comic book character - you get half off admission. Anyway, I've got to go clean up my cabin - the ship will be arriving in Olivine in about a half hour." "Half an hour?!" Robert glances at his Pokegear, "Hey, before you go, do you know where the captain's cabin is?" "Thataway," says the man as both he and his daughter point in the same direction. "Thanks for the info - bye!" Robert waves to the Spawn-lookalike and the Powerpuff-Girl-wannabe as they walk down the stairs then he recalls his Golem and bolts towards the captain's cabin. He enters the room and when he walks in, a leggy person with long black hair dressed as Wonder Woman sits in the captain's chair, struggling to don one of two red leather boots. "Hi... are you the captain of this ship?" When the Wonder-Woman-lookalike nods, Robert strokes his black goatee, "That's odd, I thought the captain of the ship was male..." "Who said I'm not?" The costumed captain asks in a deep male voice, the same voice Robert heard over the P.A. when he arrived on the ship. "Wonder Woman just happens to be my favorite comic book character and I'm going to the Convention at Olivine. Now, what can I do for you?" "Uh..." Robert is a little disturbed by seeing such a deep male voice coming from such an apparently feminine body, but he doesn't mention it and simply skips ahead to asking the captain for the favor he came to ask, "Do you think you can drop me off at Transit Town on Red Rock Isle instead of Olivine City? It's on the way and I lost a Dragon Scale there during the Whirl Cup Competition I'd like to look for..." "Hmmm..." The captain stops fiddling with the red boot in his hand and says, "In the tradition of ship captains helping complete strangers in exchange for unusual personal favors, I'll drop you off at Red Rock Isle if you help me put my boots on. This was the largest size available at the Celadon Department Store and I thought they would fit fine, but I've been trying to get them on for a while now with no success." Figuring it's not as bad as giving the captain a massage, Robert agrees, "Oh... kay. I think all you need is a little lubrication." He grabs a Pokeball off his belt and drops it on the floor of the cabin. In a flash of white light, a Seadra materializes on the floor, balancing on her tail. Robert commands, "Seadra - shoot a small burst of Water Gun at that man's legs!" The spiky Water Pokemon looks around the cabin, trying to find the man Robert is talking about with no avail. She then looks up at Robert. Robert points at the captain of the S.S. Aqua, "Use Water Gun on that person's legs - gently, though." Seadra isn't sure why Robert called the person a man since the human looks decidedly female, but she shoots a gentle Water Gun stream from her snout at the captain's legs anyway. "Good job," says Robert as he pulls Seadra back into her Pokeball. Once the captain's legs are soaked from the knees down, he once again attempts to don his red boots. After a brief struggle, he manages to get both of them on and says, "Thank you, kind stranger! The ship will be docking at Red Rock Isle in just a minute - hurry to the top deck!" As Robert races to the top deck of the ship, he hears the captain announce over the P.A. system, "Hello, passengers, this is your captain speaking - we will be making a brief unscheduled stop at Transit Town on Red Rock Isle in just a moment. We will be arriving at Olivine City in approximately fifty minutes. Thank you once again for choosing the S.S. Aqua for your traveling needs." When the S.S. Aqua docks at Red Rock Isle's Transit Town, Robert is the only one to leave the ship. As the fast ship sails away moments later, Robert walks down the town's streets, heading to the local Pokemon Center. Being on Red Rock Isle reminds Robert of the people he met the last time he was on the island, and as he goes through the mental list of the people he met, he gets an idea. He switches his Pokegear to Phone mode, searches through his directory of telephone numbers, and calls his friend, Travis Backwater. The Pokegear rings five times and just as Robert is about to hang up, Travis' face appears on the Pokegear's screen, "Hello? Robert? Oh, hi - sorry it took me so long to pick up the phone. I keep my Pokegear in my backpack since I don't get many calls. Long time no see. What's up?" Robert waves at his Pokegear's screen with his right hand, "Hey, Travis, I'm on Red Rock Isle. Is there any chance you're here too?" Travis shakes his head, "Nope, but I'm pretty close. I just arrived at Olivine City the other day. Becky and I have been sightseeing here, but we're going to challenge Jasmine for a Mineral Badge soon. Why are you on Red Rock Isle? Is there an event there I didn't hear about?" "Remember how I ran off the last time I was here to catch the ship back home?" Robert waits for Travis to nod, then continues once he does, "I didn't even check my belongings before I left and a few weeks after I got home, I realized I lost a Dragon Scale at some point either during the Whirl Cup or right after. I need the Dragon Scale to evolve my Kingdra - I was hoping you'd be here too so you could help me look for it." Travis offers, "Becky and I can take the next boat over there if you want..." Robert smiles, "That's nice of you to offer, Travis, but I don't want you and Becky to go out of your way. You two should challenge Jasmine just like you were planning to. If I don't find the lost Dragon Scale at any of the Pokemon Centers on Red Rock Isle or the Scarlet City Coliseum, I'm just going to head over to Olivine City and try to win a Mineral Badge myself. We can even meet up somewhere when I go there in a few days. By the way, I heard there's a Comic Book Convention over there this week. Are you going to go?" "I might." Travis shrugs, "Becky and I haven't decided yet, but it might be fun. I'll let you know next time you call." "Thanks - hey, I think I'm almost at the Transit Town Pokemon Center." Robert glances up, sees a Pokemon Center, then looks at his Pokegear's screen again, "Yep, I am. I'll call you later. Bye for now!" After Travis says farewell, Robert hangs up the Pokegear's Phone and enters the Transit Town Pokemon Center, planning to ask the resident Nurse Joy if anyone brought a Dragon Scale to the Center's Lost and Found. -Robert