From: William Rendfeld (warendfeld@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] New Blood Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-11-25 17:52:31 PST I think I'll be safe with this story, considering G/S/C had a talking Murkrow... - New Blood The sun indicated mid-morning over a small patch of land between Violet City and Mt. Silver, the site of the Silver Conference. Curled up in his sleeping bag, Robert of the Diversity Gym silently slept, dreaming of his girlfriend Mithril-rama. Sitting beside him and leaning up against a tree was a small backpack and a second, rolled-up sleeping bag. A small keychain of Mew hung from one of the pack's zippers, marked with the initials 'ABM'. The owner of the pack and the bag, a young woman by the name of Alexandria Beatrice Masters (Alex to those who knew her personally), was a short distance away, awake since shortly after dawn, already fed and ready for the day ahead. At this point, Alex was diligently preparing for the Silver Conference, training her Chikorita, Nadyra, while under the watchful gaze of Surtur the Combusken. "Okay, Nadyra, here we go!" Alex cried as the pair stood down a large Raticate. "Reflect!" "Chika!" Nadyra replied as the large rodent bounded towards her, ready to execute a Tackle attack. The large rodent harmlessly bounced off Nadyra's spinning crest-like leaf and landed a small distance away. "Great start," Alex said in encouragement. "Now, Razor Leaf!" "Chika chika!" Nadyra cried out as she spun her leaf once more, releasing a small group of leaves and sending them towards the Raticate. "Raticate!" the large rodent cried as they struck, sending it rolling across the small dirt path. The Raticate quickly picked itself up, shook itself, then charged once more, performing a Quick Attack and knocking Nadyra aside. Nadyra quickly got to her feet, recovering slightly from the attack, as Alex cried, "Okay, Nadyra, let's finish this! Another Razor Leaf!" Once more, Nadyra sent several leaves flying towards its foe, this time knocking the now-defeated Raticate into the trunk of a nearby tree. It landed on the ground, its eyes now replaced by swirls as it said meekly, "Raticaaate..." "And Nadyra is the winner!" Alex cried out. "Chika!" Nadyra reciprocated in pride before gasping slightly. As both Alex and Surtur took notice, the small Chikorita took on the telltale glow of evolution and began to change. She grew larger, the bud-like bits on her neck growing into curled-up leaves and the leaf on her forehead growing dramatically larger. When the glow subsided, Nadyra let out a small; "Bay bayleef!" "<And now she is a Bayleef,>" Surtur noted. "<Not bad for a Pokémon barely two weeks into the journey.>" "Not bad at all," Alex noted. "Congrads, Nady-." Alex would have finished that sentence had a Murkrow not landed headfirst on her own head. Her eyes now like small dots, both she and the Dark-type fell to the ground, dazed. "<Alexandria!>" Surtur cried out in concern. "Bay bay!" Nadyra echoed. Alex began to rise to her knees, rubbing her head as she did so, and said, "I'm okay." Turning to face the still-dazed Murkrow, she asked, "But what about him?" The Murkrow slowly got to its own feet, shook his head slowly, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "That was fun." Alex and her two Pokémon stared in shock at the small bird before them, he turned to them and asked, "What's the matter, you've never seen a talking Pokémon before?" "Can't say I have, no," Alex replied. "I've heard rumors of a talking Meowth with Team Rocket, but I never totally believed them." Shuddering a bit, the small bird said, "Please don't say that word around me, it brings back a lot of bad memories." Her curiosity raised, Alex asked, "Why do you say that? Did that particular organization do something to you?" With a slight bit more sarcasm, the bird noted, "They made me who I am today." With a sigh, he continued, "My egg was laid in the wagon of a traveling show, and I was taken from my home before I could even figure out flight. Those people continuously grounded words and thoughts into my head, pumping me with grammar, language, all in an attempt to get a talking Murkrow. "<Why not try the experiment with a different Pokémon, I wonder,>" Surtur noted. "Parrot theory," the Murkrow replied. "We Murkrow have a lot in common with those things, including vocal cords. Besides, one of those scientists decided that it was a 'good idea at the time'." "So they made you into a gimmick," Alex summarized. "I can see that. But what are you doing out here in the wild?" The Murkrow quickly explained: "An odd thing about that. Seems a couple field agents and their talking Meowth were left in charge of guarding me at the base I was raised at. The two left my cage and a window open." With a thoughtful look, the Murkrow then noted, "Then there was that blonde and her partner who chased after me shortly afterwards. Very stubborn, them. Luckily for me, I was just a wee bit stronger than their two Pokémon." "And you've been hiding out around here since," Alex reasoned. "Exactly," the Murkrow noted. "At least until I fell on your head, anyway. Sorry about that." "No big deal," Alex replied. "Probably my own fault." "So, what exactly is a girl like you doing out in a place like this?" the Murkrow asked. "<We are on our way to the Silver Conference,>" Surtur explained. "<In fact, Alexandria was training Nadyra against that Raticate over there when she caused you to be jostled from your perch.>" The Murkrow gave Alex a sideways glance, and Alex added in her defense, "Like I said, probably my own fault." The Murkrow continued looking, then gave out a small chuckle. "At least you can admit to your shortcomings." Stirring the facts around in his head, the small bird continued, "So, the Silver Conference, eh? There's a little part of me that's wanted the fame, the glory, the honor of being in that nice big winner's circle." With a sad sigh, he noted, "But I guess that's not to be." A sly notion going through her head, Alex tilted her head slightly and asked, "Then why not come with us?" The Murkrow turned to her and said in surprise, "You crazy, girl? I'm a freak! You honestly think they'd let a freak compete?" "From some perspectives I'd be a freak, little guy," Alex noted. "Besides, I can do something for you that would be a lot harder out here than with me." "Like what?" the Murkrow asked. "Feed you," Alex answered. "And pretty well. I'm a decent cook. Besides, I can give you a crack at that glory and honor you want, plus a few people to talk with. What do you say?" The Murkrow mixed that around in his head, then decided, "Berries give me gas anyway." He flew up and landed on Alex's shoulder saying, "Just be warned kid, I've got a healthy appetite." "<Then you are in good company,> Surtur noted. "Bayleef bay bayleef!" Nadyra said in greeting to the new Pokémon. "What she said," Alex added, rising to her feet. "So, you got a name?" The Murkrow looked at her dramatically from beneath his fedora-like crest of feathers, and said, "They call me...ShadowWarrior." With a smile, Alex decided, "That works." With her three Pokémon in tow, she began heading back to the campsite and said, "C'mon guys, let's start making lunch." (Minor note: Rob, I'll be out of town until Sunday. Could you handle Alex's safe arrival and registration at Mt. Silver? It shouldn't be a problem, since she's with Robert. Thanks in advance!) William Rendfeld Creator of Echowarrior, the Pokémon Resistance, and Alex Masters 178,000 Excellent Author Points 1 'I knew odd pokefacts that confused a bread crumb' point. 20 Y2Tech Points