From: Rob (robfrompw@yahoo.com) Subject: [PW!] [SC] A Super Super Discount Megamall Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-12-12 00:30:40 PST Upon exiting one of the Silver Town Pokemon Center's elevators at around 9 AM, Robert heads to the nearest computer in the Center's lobby. His match against Ben will be starting in just a few hours so he's preparing for it now. He uses the computer's videophone to call his girlfriend, Mithril-rama. When her face appears on the computer screen, Robert smiles and says, "Good morning, Rilli! Did you tell Golem and Vileplume that I wanted them to come battle with me today?" "Sure did," Rilli nods, lifting both of her hands up to the camera on her end to show that she's holding a Pokeball in each one. Robert pulls a black Heavy Ball and a dark blue Great Ball off his belt. He takes a moment to look down scornfully at the Heavy Ball, "I still can't believe that... that... BUG Pokemon didn't tell me what he really was when I met him." He drops the Heavy Ball on the Pokeball slot next to the computer. "Please go easy on Pineco, Robert," Mithril-rama pleads on behalf of the Bagworm, "He probably just didn't want to let you down." She places the Pokeball containing Vileplume on the slot on her side and initiates the Pokeball transfer. As the Pokeballs are converted into energy, Rilli adds, "Besides, of all the Bug Pokemon in the world, I think Pineco is the best match for you. His Bug attributes are hidden deep underneath the thick bark surrounding him. He's even more covered than PallaPalla!" "Well... I guess you have a point," Robert admits as a Pokeball appears in the slot where he placed his Heavy Ball. He grabs the Pokeball, attaches it to his belt, and comments, "Your Parasect's mushroom does make her less creepy, and Pineco's bark does the same for him. Why, I couldn't even TELL he was a Bug Pokemon, and I'm normally a pretty good judge when it comes to Pokemon. Oh, by the way, can you train Murkrow while he's with you? I think he's going to evolve pretty soon." "I'll do what I can!" Rilli places Golem's Pokeball on the slot on her side. When she sees Robert put Murkrow's Great Ball on the slot on his side, she initiates another Pokeball transfer. Within seconds, Robert places Golem's Pokeball on the empty slot on his belt and tells his girlfriend, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, Rilli, but I need to go shopping for TMs to improve my chances of defeating Ben's team. I'll call you after my match! Have a nice day, my dear!" "You too, Robert, and good luck with your match!" Rilli blows Robert a kiss before her image disappears from the computer screen. "I miss her so much..." Robert sighs. He looks down at the seven Johto Badges pinned on the right side of his black shirt, "At least I'm just one Badge away from being able to settle in Lavender Town again..." Thoughts settling down with Rilli fill Robert's mind as exits the Pokemon Center and wanders the streets of Silver Town looking for a place that sells Technical Machines. One particular sign catches Robert's attention as he walks down Silver Lane - mainly because a buxom blonde babe in a business suit is barely balancing on a broken ladder by it as she bangs it with a hammer. The sign reads, in red letters that look freshly painted, "Jay's Super Discount Megamall". The nicely dressed business woman looks very out of place doing such a menial task, especially since her pearly white teeth are clenched on corroding nails. She removes one of the nails from her mouth and just as she's about to put it on the sign, her Clerk Senses tingle. Her eyes quickly dart to where Robert is standing and, seeing a potential customer, she spits out the nails and hops off the ladder. The woman greets Robert in am energetic, fast-paced, high-pitched voice, "Haaa-aay! Welcome to Jay's Super Discount Megamall! Please come in!" She ushers Robert into her store with a wide smile on her face before he can say anything at all. Once inside, she asks, "Now, how can I help you? Let me tell you how! I can show you around the store and help you pick out a new wardrobe (long-sleeved shirts are out of style - I'd go with a jacket if I were you), help stock you with the latest and greatest in Pokemon merchandise, show you brand new Silph Co. electr-" "Actually..." Robert cuts the saleswoman off, afraid that she's going to keep talking non-stop for the next few minutes if he doesn't, "I like my long-sleeved shirts very much, thank you. I'm here to buy one or two Technical Machines for my Piloswine. I have a match today against Steel Pokemon, and maybe even a Dragon Pokemon, so I'm looking for TMs that teach powerful Ground and Ice attacks. Do you have any in stock?" "Do *I* have any in stock? Do I have *any* in stock?" Jay asks twice, apparently shocked that Robert would bring her stock of TMs into question, "I have all kinds of TMs in stock! KTMs, JTMs, HTMs - if it's technical and it's a machine, you'll find it at Jay's Super Discount Megamall! Okay, wait, no - I take that back. If it's technical and it's a machine, you'll MOST LIKELY find it at Jay's Super Discount Megamall! Yeah, that's better. Wouldn't want to get sued for false advertisiiing!" Robert asks, "What do you have in terms of Ground and Ice attacks?" "When it comes to Ground attacks taught by TMs, no Ground Pokemon is complete without Earthquake in his or her arsenal," declares Jay as she leads Robert to an area in her store where she's set up three shelves holding TMs - an indigo one, a silver one, and a blue one, "Known as TM26 in Kanto, Johto, AND Hoenn, the Earthquake TM is a must have for anyone's who's seriously grounded in training Ground Pokemon!" "Sounds good..." Robert strokes his goatee for a moment before making up his mind, "I'll take one! What's a good Ice attack?" "One possibility is Blizzard, known as TM14 in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn due to an international appeal that rivals that of Earthquake," Jay suggests, gesturing to all three shelves, "Although Blizzard TMs were highly popular in Kanto when a bug in the KTM's program allowed Pokemon to perform Blizzards with almost 100% accuracy, these errors have since been corrected in new KTM14 models and now Blizzards in all three regions are equally inaccurate. If you want an Ice attack that will almost certainly freeze opponents in their tracks, your best bet is to go with the popular Ice Beam or Icy Wind, a TM exclusive to Johto!" "Hmm... when I battled Pryce's Piloswine, his Blizzard attack missed." Robert ponders his choices before saying, "I'll go with Ice Beam." "Great! Will you be taking a Kanto Ice Beam TM or a Hoenn Ice Beam TM?" "What, no Johto Ice Beam TM?" "The TM company here in Johto thought they'd be 'innovative' by having THEIR TM13 contain Snore instead of Ice Beam. It turns out their Snore TMs were met with snores from most of the people who live here in Johto. It's one of the reasons they're a laughing stock in the TM industry. When you think TMs, you think Silph Co. or Devon Co., not... wait, what IS the name of the Johto TM company? ..." Being that she's very uncomfortable with pauses, however brief, Jay simply continues, "Well, anyway, the fact that I sell TMs and can't remember should be enough proof that they're not the most well-known company in the world." Robert comments, "Well, since you don't recommend the Johto TM company and I've never heard of Devon, I'll take Silph's KTMs. How much?" Jay pulls two KTMs off the indigo shelf and rushes to the nearest cash register within the course of five seconds before replying, "Twelve thousand!" As he pulls his Indigo Credit Card out of his laptop case, Robert says, "That seems like a fair price." Jay beams when she sees the plastic card, "Wowiee! That's the first time anyone's not tried to hag- uh, what I meant to say is: debit or credit?" "Credit." Robert hands his Indigo Credit Card to Jay, who happily swipes it though the card reader. When the "authorized" message pops up on the register's screen, she hands Robert the credit card along with a pen and a receipt to sign. While Robert provides a signature, Jay stuffs the two KTMs he bought in a commemorative Silver Conference bag. The moment he hands her the receipt, she hands him the bag and exclaims, "Thank you for shopping at Jaa-ays! Have a safe and happy holiday season and when the time comes to buy your holiday gifts, think of Jay's Super Discount Megamall!" "I'll keep that in mind!" Robert nods once to Jay before heading outside of her store. On his way to the Silver Stadium, where he plans eat breakfast as well as lunch and watch the three matches of Round Two that will be held before his, he grabs his Piloswine's Pokeball, pulls KTM26 out of his pocket, opens the small machine's lid, places the Pokeball inside it, and shuts the machine. The KTM starts to whirr as it begins to teach the Pokemon within it how to create Earthquakes. -Robert