From: "William Rendfeld" <warendfeld@aol.com> Subject: [PW!] Discussions Date: Sunday, February 08, 2004 9:26 AM Discussions Somewhere within the boundaries of Hoenn, concealed within a small building north of Lavaridge Town, a man waited, seated in a chair at a desk. Before him sat a simple fax machine, which beeped and whirred as a paper exited it. The man took the paper and read aloud, "Grand has sent his report. It seems that the girl is on her way back here." "The child decided to return here, of all places?" a woman's voice asked. "Is she coming home to cry to mommy over losing in the Silver Conference?" "Maybe she just wants to be prepared for the next tournament," a meek male voice suggested. "We have no way of knowing for certain," a second male voice, this one much older and gruffer than the first to hide in the shadows, commented. "Until we have more information, we cannot theorize on her behavior." "Master is quite correct," the man noted as he read over the paper in his hand. "You would do well to remember not to jump to wild conclusions, Raven." "Well, she doesn't seem all that impressive to me," 'Raven' replied. "There is far more to her than it seems," the man answered. "According to Grand, the girl is currently on the SS Tidal, and making her way back here. She's in the company of a small group of Pokémon trainers, many of whom took part in the Silver Conference. Based on some of this information and Grand's reviewing of the security footage, it appears the girl may well have crossed paths with Doppler himself." "It seems quite possible," 'Master' noted. "Is Doppler still with her?" "Not at this time," the man replied. "Doppler appears to have been transported off of the boat. However, it seems she has spent most of her time in the company of a girl claiming to be Doppler's daughter, and may well be spending time with her for the foreseeable future." "So, what do we do?" the last unidentified voice asked. "If she's somehow managed to become an ally to Doppler, then how can we...?" "For now, Walter, we will do nothing," the man replied. "Once the SS Tidal reaches Littleroot Port, you shall rendezvous with Grand and keep a close eye on the girl and all people with her. When the opportune moment comes, capture her, and bring her here. Should anyone interfere, we will deal with the matter. I doubt even Doppler could stand up to some of the technology so graciously given to us by my dear friend Giovanni..." - Elsewhere in Hoenn, a young woman in her early-to-mid twenties stood on the beaches of Mossdeep City, her long, dark green hair flowing in the gentle wind. "It would seem that what I told Mimic is correct," the woman said to herself. "Many trainers are indeed flocking to Hoenn, even those who did not originally intend to do so. One of them in particular is quite interesting." With a slight smirk, she looked up to a nearby cliff from the corner of one eye and said, "You can feel it as well, can't you?" "I can," another voice answered. "My former student, it seems, actually took on a student; one fully aware of who and what he was. She is unique." "For someone who believes herself to not be human," the woman noted. "She is not human," the second voice replied. "In the same sense that I am not. Despite this, however, she is clearly strong in her own way. While her own mental abilities are nothing compared to ours, she has other strengths." The woman smiled, and asked, "Tell me, do you plan on keeping a watch on the girl?" "No, others are already planning to watch her," the voice answered. "Their reasons are their own. However, it will be interesting to see how the girl develops. She is already learning to accept herself for who and what she is, something to which I can relate." "She is quite optimistic about things," the woman noted. "Yet very much a realist," the second voice replied. "It will be most interesting to see how she develops and deals with what life gives her. I doubt she will walk your early path, Sabrina." "As do I at this point," the psychic Gym Leader replied. "Do you think she will walk yours?" "Perhaps, though not quite the same way," the other being said. "She has far more support now than I did in the beginning. And what Doppler said to her was true; humanity will need to adapt to her and others like her one day. For now, however, they have enough difficulties." "Quite true," Sabrina said. A small smirk appearing on her face, she asked, "So tell me, when do you plan to approach her?" "I could ask the same of you," the voice replied. "Myself, I feel I should wait until she has more experience, and that I should see her once she deals with what others are planning for her." Sabrina smirked, then said, "I suppose I will wait until she comes to my Gym, then. It is most challenging to face another psychic in the arena, and I am eager to see her once she reaches her potential." "Then we shall wait for the future," the voice replied. "For the future," Sabrina replied. "While I am on the subject, tell me; do you think this Rebellion has any chance of success?" "Considering the region that it is based in?" the voice replied. "It may or may not build up support. I would not have chosen Hoenn as a starting point myself; Doppler's grievance against Silph really cannot stretch to Devon. Devon Poké Balls, as I recall, went for uplink systems rather than mind control. Still, there are some groups that could stand to know how to watch their step." "Agreed," Sabrina noted. "So then, poker next week with Liza and Tate, Mewtwo?" "Of course." - Elsewhere, Alexandria Masters stood upon the deck of the SS Tidal as it steamed towards Hoenn, uncertain of what awaited her. TBC? (Doubtful) [NS: So far as continuity is concerned, this story pretty much takes place before the on-deck party on the SS Tidal. I figured that since most of it took place off of the Tidal, I didn't need the tag (Hope that isn't a problem). Forgive me, but I wanted to set up a few unique plot twists for my characters. Also, I thought it would be bizarrely amusing for Mewtwo and Sabrina to be poker buddies. Forgive me, I couldn't resist.] 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