From: Rob (robfrompw@yahoo.com) Subject: [PW!] [SC] Preparations For Round Two Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2003-12-07 07:32:23 PST Having eaten so much junk food at the Silver Stadium, Robert's actually not craving dinner when he steps into the Silver Town Pokemon Stadium. As he watched the last three matches of the Silver Conference's First Round, he ate two hot dogs, three cartons of french fries, one and a half large tubs of buttered popcorn, nachos, and a slice of apple pie. Without food on his mind, Robert stays in the Pokemon Center's lobby instead of making a beeline for the Cafeteria, eager to find out who he will be facing in tomorrow's Second Round of the Silver Conference. Since most Trainers are having dinner at this time, Robert has to look around the lobby to find someone to converse with as he waits for the giant computer screen behind the front desk to display who will be battle whom in Round Two. His eyes land on a green-eyed girl who has spiky black hair. She's sitting next to a Blastoise on a green couch, having an argument with the large Water Pokemon. As he approaches the girl, Robert calls out, "Nori! Oh, Noooriiii!" Upon hearing her real name being shouted within the Pokemon Center, Nori sweatdrops - especially since she recognizes the voice. It belongs to Robert, a man she used to travel with from time to time long ago. At one point in time, she even hung out with him and his girlfriend in Lavender Town for a few months. "Shhhh!" is the first thing Nori says to Robert after all these years of not speaking with him. "Don't call me that." "What?" Robert asks, confused. "I just called you No-" "Shhhhh!" Nori interrupts him, holding one index finger up to her lips to further emphasize the demand for silence. "Call me Tsunade." "Oh yeah! I made a mental note to ask you about that as I watched your match earlier," says Robert, "Why are you calling yourself Tsunade now?" "That's a very good question," the Blastoise next to Nori speaks in plain English, "Don't you think so, 'Tsunade'?" Robert squints his eyes at the Blastoise, trying to remember the name of the talking Wartortle Nori introduced him to years ago. After a few seconds, Robert exclaims, "Rubix! Nice to see you again! ...you ARE still calling yourself Rubix, right?" "Yeah. I have nothing to hide." Rubix comments, "Unlike some people." "Who's hiding things?" Nori asks, trying to look innocent. "You know how great authors use pseudonyms? Tsunade is just a pseudonym I use when battling. All the great Pokemon Trainers have them. Ever heard of Mortimer von Gravedigger?" Robert shakes his head, "No..." "But I see a Fog Badge pinned right there on your shirt!" Nori points at the dark blue Badge pinned on Robert's black shirt, "Not only have you heard of Morty - you've battled him too." "Oh! I didn't know Morty's full name was Mortimer." "See? Trainer pseudonyms are what's in." Nori leans forward and puts her hand up to the side of her mouth as she whispers the following to Robert, "But if people find out my real name, they'll start calling me that instead of my pseudonym, defeating the whole purpose of the concept. Now do you see why I want you to call me Tsunade, Robert?" "I sure do... TSUNADE!" If winks made noises, the wink Robert performs after saying that could've woken up a Snorlax. Nori looks past Robert to see that the match-ups for Round Two have just popped up on the monitor behind the front desk. She points at the screen, hoping to distract Robert so he won't ask her more questions, "Look, Robert - you'll be facing a guy called Ben in Round Two." "Whuh?!" Robert turns around and looks up at the screen that reads: Round Two of the Silver Conference: Match 1: [ Aerie ] vs. [ P-Masta J ] Match 2: [ Smasher ] vs. [ Tsunade ] Match 3: [ Andrew ] vs. [ Bo ] Match 4: [ Robert ] vs. [ Ben ] "Uh oh." Robert turns back to Nori and comments, "Ben's the guy who beat all three of my pal Alex's Pokemon... and none of his three Pokemon fainted in the process! I have to go do some research on him and his Pokemon right away to figure out which of my Pokemon to use! I'll talk with you again later... TSUNADE!" After issuing a more subtle wink, Robert runs off to the nearest computer in the large Pokemon Center. One quick search later, an image of Ben's face appears on the screen of the computer Robert's using as well as images of the six Pokemon he registered for the Silver Conference. "Hmm, there seems to be a mistake here. One of his Pokemon is showing up twice." After viewing information on Blade the Aggron, the giant Steel Pokemon that defeated two of Alex's Pokemon, he clicks the image of Nails the Aggron and notices that the information's different. Robert screams, "AHHHHHH - HE HAS TWO OF THEM!" Too disturbed by the thought of having to defeat two Steel Pokemon he's not familiar with in battle, Robert clicks on the familiar image of a Magneton. "Okay - all three of these Pokemon are Steel, two are part Rock, and one is part Electric. Note to self: Have Rilli send me Golem." Robert doesn't spend much time reviewing data on Aeros the Salamance, afraid he might be too intimidated to battle the Dragon Pokemon if he contemplates how powerful it is. He just makes a mental note to try to teach his Piloswine a more powerful Ice-type attack before the match. When Robert clicks on the picture of Ben's Mawile, he's more disturbed by the Steel Pokemon's appearance than his statistics. However, he comments out loud to himself, "A FOURTH Steel Type? I'd better keep Charmeleon on my team, in case something happens to Golem." Robert considers for a moment summoning his Raichu for Round Two when he sees the image of the Water Pokemon Ben has registered, but when he brings up more information on the Pokemon, he finds out that Swampy the Swampert is part Ground so he decides against adding Raichu to his team. "Vileplume would be a better choice, if she's up to battling." Having completed his research, Robert decides to head back to his room to call his girlfriend. On his way to the Pokemon Center's elevator, he sees Barbata, who's on her way out of the Center, a sparkling blue purse dangling from her shoulder. He runs over to her and puts his hand on her shoulder, an action that startles her into shrieking. Robert sweatdrops and takes a step back, "Whoa, sorry to scare you..." Barbara spins around quickly, her heart-beat racing, "Oh... It's just you, Robert. What a relief! I thought it was Jeremy." "And what if it was?" Robert asks, "What do you think he would do?" "I... I don't know..." Barbara's green-eyed gaze wanders, "He could attack me or... well, I'd rather not ponder the possibilities." "Well, after suffering due to all the mean things that Jeremy said to me on my first Pokemon Journey and after he tried to steal my Gengar, I had no reason to trust P-Masta J when I met him in Azalea Town and he offered to do me a favor," Robert puts his hands on Barbara's shoulders, "But I did trust him and he did exactly what he promised he'd do, without asking for anything in return. Had I not trusted him, I might STILL be stuck in Azalea Town. Do YOU want to be stuck in Azalea Town?" "...what does Azalea Town have to do with my concerns?" "Okay, so maybe that's not the best analogy... The point is P-Masta J is not the same person Jeremy once was. You should give him a chance. He's probably in the Cafeteria right now waiting for you. If you leave this Conference without resolving the issues you have with him, you might have a heart attack the next time someone taps your shoulder." Barbara furrows her brow, not sure if she should follow Robert's advice. "I'll go with you," offers Robert, "I'll sit with you and him until you feel comfortable sitting alone with him. I owe you a favor for helping me get through the Ice Path." "Thank you." Barbara glances towards the doorway leading to the Center's Cafeteria. She inches towards it, peeking through the doorway. She eventually sees P-Masta J sitting alone at a table for four, sipping a drink. His sunglasses are resting on the table and his cloudy blue eyes express a certain sadness. "C'mon, Robert," says the blue-haired beauty in a white dress as she enters the Cafeteria. The moment Barbara enters the room, P-Masta J's attention turns to her. He watches her sway as she approaches his table and smiles when she takes a seat across from him without saying a word. He's so pleased to see her willingly sitting across from him that he doesn't even care when he sees Robert sit down next to Barbara. P-Masta J compliments her, "You be lookin' hella fine tonight, Bambi." "Thank you, Jeremy." Barbara tries to be cordial, deciding to listen to her ex-boyfriend to keep up her end of the wager they made before their match. "Now, what is it that you wanted to speak with me about?" "I got lotsta say, girl..." P-Masta J's blue eyes lock with Barbara's green ones, "But mainly I wantsta say I be sorry for alls I did to ya right after I got outta tha slammah. I wuz trippin' when I got out an' saw yo' booty with some otha' guy. I did an' said things outta anger 'cuz I loved you so much. Since then, I learned ta get mah anger out in otha' betta' ways. My 'doom Robert here can tells ya I'm not frontin'." "He already did..." Barbara turns her face away from P-Masta J's when she says, "But I am not so sure I can trust either of you." P-Masta J puts his hand on Barbara's chin and tilts her face towards his, "Bambi - if my Machamp, who I totally dissed when I traded him, who spent years livin' in Mount Silver hatin' me when I wuz in prison an' for years afta' I was out... If 'Champ wuz able ta trust me again when I found him weeks ago an' showed him I changed, you sho can." Barbara's green eyes start to water, "I would like to trust you again. I never liked how things ended between us. We spent almost an entire year of our lives together and everything just suddenly changed that day you went to prison. I didn't really want to break up with you... I just wasn't willing to date a Pokemon thief... And if you're not a Pokemon thief anymore and you truly are sorry for your past misdeeds, so much so that even the person you tried to steal from is praising you... then... well, then there really is no reason for me to hold a grudge against you... I'm just scared, Jeremy... I'm scared that it's all an act... That you still are the horrible person you were years ago..." "Pssht," P-Masta J smirks, scooting some blonde dredlocks off his face, "Trust me, Bambi - I be changed 'bout as much, if not more, than you is. I think you'd sooner giggle like a moron 'bout somethin' really stupid than I'd do somethin' mean for no good reason." A smile appears on Barbara's face for the first time since she sat down, "Oh, really?" P-Masta J nods, "Fo' sheezy. Those days of you bein' dumb an' me bein' a jerk be old school. Now I'm lookin' to the future, where I hope I'll be writin' happy songs 'bout you, not songs to get out mah aggressions." "That... would be nice." Barbara taps Robert's knee, giving him a silent signal that she's starting to feel comfortable with P-Masta J. Robert gets the message and stands up, "Well, P-Masta J, Barbara... It's been nice hanging out with you both, but I have a big match to prepare for. You really don't have to prepare anything for tomorrow, P-Masta, since your high-level Pokemon are so well Trained, but I sure do. I hope you two have a very nice night!" After the two Trainers wish him a good night, Robert heads towards his room with a big smile on his face, happy to have returned the favors P-Masta J and Barbara did for him. -Robert