From: "William Rendfeld" <warendfeld@aol.com> Subject: [PW!] Dark Quest Date: Sunday, January 04, 2004 9:46 AM Dark Quest "...And in other news today, Pokémon Trainer Adam 'Smasher' Samson remains missing following his defeat in the Johto League Silver Conference," a newscaster reported, attempting to maintain a neutral tone. "Pokémon League officials hope that Samson will be found, but remain uncertain about his fate." "Pointless," Jason Cassidy said from his chair in a Pokémon Center just north of the Union Cave. While the lobby was, as usual, teeming with trainers, most of them maintained a healthy distance from Jason. He really did not care that much. None of them matched him. His interest in the news destroyed, Jason picked up a remote laying nearby and changed the channel to one of the few television programs that he cared for; "Unsolved Pokémon Mysteries." Much to his chagrin, the show had been cancelled due to the death of its host, so he was left with reruns. As he had not been able to see many of the episodes before due to various circumstances, however, he continued watching. The show's host, Robert Stakoth, appeared on the screen and gave his usual beginning narration before the show went into a montage of scenes, each one representing something they would cover during the show. Jason watched, hoping that something that actually caught his interest may appear. Hope was beginning to fade as the montage showed footage of a Swinub saving its owner from a fire, an Alakazam that had claimed to see Goddish, and something else about odd mutations in the Fearow population. Jason's hope was saved as Stakoth said, "But first, a more recent incident which has come to the attention of the world; the spell of the Shiny Unown." Jason actually raised an eyebrow; this sounded interesting. "For almost three years, trainers have been spotting mysterious Shiny Unown throughout Johto and Kanto," Stakoth continued. "While their abilities are for the most part uncertain, it is confirmed that Shiny Unown have the power to temporarily freeze time, as two incidents at Pokémon Centers in Violet City and Cianwood City have confirmed..." Stakoth continued to list what little was known about the Shiny Unown. Despite this being a rerun, Jason continued watching, his interest piqued. Said interest paid off as Stakoth mentioned, "...while this is uncertain, the possibility exists that Shiny Unown, just like normal Unown, have a link to the Legendary Beast of Fire, Entei." "Entei..." Jason echoed, feeling the scar on his left cheek. - "We're on our way, Umbreon!" a young Jason Cassidy said happily to his companion. "We're gonna become the best, no matter what!" "Umbreon!" the Dark-type exclaimed happily. The two were trotting happily southward towards Cherrygrove City, a brief stop on their way to New Bark Town to pick up a Starter Pokémon. Jason had yet to decide, but his choices were drifting towards Totodile. "You know, Umbreon, this is a perfect opportunity for us to gain some experience!" Jason said, the excitement high in his voice. "Let's go into the grasses, so we can battle some wild Pokémon!" "Breon!" the Umbreon exclaimed, darting ahead of his trainer. Jason rushed after his Umbreon, trying to keep up with the spry little Pokémon. Suddenly, Umbreon stopped dead in his tracks, and Jason could see why; before them was a huge, brown-and-red beast, lying calmly on the ground. "I don't know what that is, Umbreon," Jason said in an overexcited voice, "but we're gonna catch it! Tackle attack!" "Bre!" Umbreon cried out, ready for action. The small Dark-type charged towards the much larger Pokémon before it, and bounced off, doing little if any damage. The larger Pokémon slowly stirred upon feeling that attack, and rose to its feet, first looking at the Umbreon that had attacked it, then at said Umbreon's trainer. "Alright, Umbreon!" Jason cried out, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Now that it's weakened, I can catch it!" The large Pokémon raised an eyebrow. "Poké Ball, go!" Jason cried, tossing the red and white spheroid into the air. The large Pokémon did what it normally did in such situations; it Roared. The Roar was more than enough to frighten Umbreon back into his own Poké Ball, as well as to turn the Poké Ball into shards of metal. Said shards went flying back to their source. Jason quickly covered his face, protecting himself against most of the shards, but one ended up scratching his face, drawing blood. In shock, Jason held his left hand up to the open wound, crimson blood beginning to issue forth, and watched as the large beast jumped away. "Such...power..." Jason realized. - "Such power," Jason repeated, running his finger along the old scar on his face. He shut the television off, rose from his feet, and left the Pokémon Center. He did not know whether the Shiny Unown had a connection to Entei or not. But he did know that if they could freeze time, they could aid him in capturing any Legendary Beast, perhaps even the legendary Mewtwo or Celebi. If he had them, he would be unstoppable. "Look out, Shiny Unown," Jason declared, marching north. "Here I come." TBC? [NS: After talking with Beth last night, I realized that it might be a smart idea to have a bit more with Jason, to expand a bit on the character. Besides, the Shiny Unown Quest has been on life support recently, so another participant or two may not be a bad thing. Will Alex and Cass get involved? Most likely, but they'll be busy at Silver Town for a while. Tech, you up for bringing Yolei and Lynkeru out of limbo?] 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