From: Rob (robfrompw@yahoo.com) Subject: [PW!] Hoping For A Happy New Year Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-12-31 17:17:02 PST Sarah, a blonde teenage girl wearing a white halter top, a beige skirt, and brown sandals, walks into the Violet City Pokemon Center, a small but angry Slowpoke in her arms. She approaches the front desk, where a pink-haired nurse named Joy is sitting with a superficial smile on her face. Sarah places the Slowpoke on the desk and says, "I-I'm l-lookin' for a nurse. I don't r-remember her name. She has blue hair. Is she in?" "You're thinking of Nurse Marcia. I'm sorry, but she left a few days ago to the Hoenn region," Nurse Joy says, "Her services were needed at a Pokemon Center in Slateport. Is there a problem with your Slowpoke?" "Y-Yeah..." Sarah leans forwards towards the nurse and whispers, "He has mental p-problems. He thinks he's the ruler of the entire world! Before, I d-didn't mind his delusions, but I recently d-decided to settle down with my f-family, and he's been extremely r-rude to me for m-makin' that decision. He w-wants me to find a crown for him that'll help him evolve, but I d-don't know what what... what he's talkin' about!" "Luthor does NOT have mental problems!" The Slowpoke on the desk scowls, "How dare you insult your master, Supergirl?! Luthor shall be swift in teaching you a lesson! Well, as swift as a Slowpoke can be. Don't even bother putting up mental defenses - Luthor can shatter them all!" Luthor narrows his eyes, deciding to hurt Sarah using his psychic powers. The Slowpoke's speech over, Nurse Joy comments, "I see what you mean..." Sarah continues, "Anyway, when I started thinkin' about what I could do with Luthor, I th-thought of Nurse Marcia since she helped me out when I was j-just startin' out as a Pokemon Trainer. I was hopin' she'd be able to cure Luthor's problems and give him to a traveler who could help him find whatever crown he's lookin' for. If Luthor's cured of his p-problems, then he'd be quite a catch, bein' a talkin' Slowpoke." The Slowpoke concentrates on Sarah's head, wanting to cause her great mental pain for claiming he's delusional. So far, he's only been successful in giving himself a headache. "Well, I'm not a Pokemon psychologist, but I know Pokemon Psychology is a field Nurse Marcia's interested in. She might be able to help him." Nurse Joy pets the furious Slowpoke, "I can take Luthor and send him to Nurse Marcia the next time I talk with her. How does that sound?" "Great! Thank you!" Sarah kisses Luthor on his now-trembling head, "I'm gonna miss you and your funny quirks, Luthor, but I know you wouldn't be happy settlin' down with me and my other Pokemon at the farm. I'll never forget you and our adventures together! I hope you find a good, understandin' Trainer who will treat you with love. Bye, Luthor!" On her way out of the Pokemon Center, Sarah feels an itch on her head. A quick scratch later, she's better again. "Curses!" Luthor Growls, angry that he wasn't able to hurt Sarah. His anger fades when his nervous system finally informs him that he was kissed on the forehead. "I WAS planning on hunting Supergirl down until she felt my wrath, but I've now decided not to. She was a decent evil minion, considering her heroic past. I just hope my next slave will be much more evil." He asks Nurse Joy, "Have you seen Magneto anywhere?" A little more than an hour later, Sarah arrives at the front porch of her family's farm. She removes her brown sandals before entering the farm, not planning to use them again for a while. Once inside, her Sunkern bounces into her arms and nuzzles up against her chest. "I'm happy to see you're feelin' better, Sunkern! Don't worry, I'm never sendin' you out to battle a Pokemon again. My Pokemon Journey's helped me realize that all not Pokemon are meant to be battlers." "Sunkern!" The Sunkern happily agrees to this realization, never wanting to be on the receiving end of a Hyper Beam again in her life. Hugging her Sunkern close, Sarah heads into the kitchen. There, Blazer the Cyndaquil, wearing his trademark Charcoal Coat, is using his Ember attack to keep a pot of food that Susan, Sarah's mom, is preparing for dinner. With a smile on her face, Sarah tells her mother, "Ma, I left Luthor in the Pokemon Center. I'm back home for good now. Is there anythin' you want me to do before dinner? Set the table or somethin'?" Seeing Blazer helping out in the kitchen, Sarah's Sunkern hops over to the Fire Pokemon, her eyes turning into pink hearts. Susan puts down a ladle she's holding and hugs her daughter, "I'm so glad you're not leavin' my side again, Sarah! I just wish you had followed the advice I gave you and hadn't left to begin with, then we could've spent the last two and a half years together..." "I don't regret havin' left, ma," Sarah explains, "I had to go, to see what the world was like. Seein' it, I realized I'm better suited for a quiet farm life. Had I not left, I would've been sad here, thinkin' about what life would've been like had I left. Some good came of my leavin', too... I met all my Pokemon friends, who love helpin' around the farm." Sarah smiles when she sees her Sunkern smother Blazer with kisses while Blazer struggles to concentrate on keeping the pot warm. "Yeah, Blazer's a big help around the house." Susan smiles and runs her fingers through her child's long blonde hair, "Please go call Teddy - it's his turn to set the table. Then go tell Uncle Bob, Victor, and Margaret that dinner will be ready in half an hour." "Sure thing, ma," Sarah runs to where her little brother's room is and knocks on its closed door, "Teddy, it's your turn to set the table!" "What?!" Teddy shouts to his sister, "But I JUST set it the other day!" "I'm just tellin' you what ma said, and I'm sure not gonna set it." "Awwwww, fine. I'll set it." Teddy opens his door and walks through it, sticking his tongue out at Sarah. He calls into his room, "C'mon, Teddiursa, help me set the dinner table!" A Teddiursa with metal claws follows Teddy towards the farm's dining room. Sarah then heads over to the farm's living room, where her grandfather and her grandmother are playing a game of dominoes. "Grandpa, Grandma, dinner will be ready in half an hour!" Margaret, Susan's mother, smiles at her granddaughter and says, "Thanks for tellin' us, Sarah. I should be able to win ten games by then!" "I'd like to see you try," Victor, Uncle Bob's father, tells Margaret. A sweatdrop appears on Sarah's face as she walks past her grandparents. Soon, she arrives at her next destination, the farm's ample tool shed, where her Uncle Bob is fixing a broken wheelbarrow with the help of Sarah's Tyrogue, who, being used to Chuck of the Cianwood Gym, prefers working alongside a manly man like Uncle Bob than hanging out with Sarah. Sarah clears her throat and waits for Uncle Bob to look at her before saying, "Ma says dinner will be ready in half an hour." Uncle Bob asks, "You'll be there, right?" Sarah nods, "Yes, I will. I'm stayin' on the farm for good." "Good." Uncle Bob grunts, then points his hammer at a nearby shelf as he tells Tyrogue, "Get me some more nails." Knowing that Uncle Bob doesn't express his feelings well, Sarah takes his saying "good" as meaning that he feels happy that she's finally settling down on the farm. She sneaks away from the tool shed as her Tyrogue fetches nails for Uncle Bob. Sarah's next destination is her own room, wanting to spend some time with her Flaaffy, who she imagines is hiding out there. When she arrives in her room, however, she doesn't see Barbie anywhere. "That's strange..." Sarah walks to the dining room, where Teddy and Teddiursa are almost done setting the table, "Have either of you seen Barbie anywhere? I've walked all around the farm and I haven't seen her." Teddy replies, "As I was tendin' the fields earlier, I saw her outside with the Mareep flock. She might still be there." "The Mareep flock? But she never used to get along with the Mareep... I hope they haven't hurt her!" Sarah runs out of the farm, where she sees her pink Flaaffy surrounded by a group of blue Mareep. The Flaaffy is waving her arms around, telling them about the many adventures she's had with Sarah. When Sarah arrives where the Flaaffy and Mareep are, she asks, "Are the Mareep treatin' you nicely, Barbie?" "Flaaf!" Barbie the Flaaffy nods with a smile on her face, happy that the Mareep finally accept her as part of the group. "That's wonderful! I guess they're impressed by how much you've changed since we left. I know you're very popular now, but wanna hang out with your old friend before dinner? I was thinkin' we could join grandpa and grandma for a game of dominoes before dinner." "Flaaffy! Flaf flaaffy flaf flaaffy!" Barbie waves to the Mareep flock gathered around her, saying that she'll see them again tomorrow, then walks alongside Sarah on her way back to the farm. As she re-enters the farm, Sarah says, "Barbie, I have a feelin' that we're gonna have a happy new year now that we've come back home." -Sarah (( NS: Thus ends the Sarah arc. I'm retiring her Writer's Guide. She will remain on her farm as an NPC, but I won't be writing for her anymore. She's been fun to write, and I hope some of you have enjoyed her stories. ))