From: "William Rendfeld" <warendfeld@aol.com> Subject: [PW!] Everything's Relative Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 8:53 PM Everything's Relative The Rustboro Docks, a minor stepping stone for trainers heading from Rustboro City to the next Hoenn League Gym at Dewford Town. As a small group of Wingull flew overhead and serenely cooed amongst themselves, a ticket seller at the dock silently read from a magazine he had with him. Between the mess with Team Aqua some months prior and Captain Briney's usual favors to trainers, the docks had seen little if any business over the last few months. The ticket seller didn't mind so much; the lack of activity let him catch up on his reading. "Excuse me?" a female voice asked. The seller looked up from his newspaper to find three people, two girls and a young man, standing before him, in the company of a Medicham, a Blastoise, and a protectively-held Larvitar. "Yes?" the ticket seller asked. "May I help you?" "I hope so," Cassandra Gale, the tallest of the three, replied. "We're looking for someone, and we're hoping that he may have passed through here recently." "And what does this person look like?" the ticket seller asked. "He's about my height," Derek Fisher explained. "Wears baggy clothing and a Marowak skull helmet." The seller thought for a moment, then answered, "Sorry, haven't seen anyone like that. Now unless the three of you plan on buying tickets for the next ferry to Dewford Town, I'd like it if you left me alone." "Right, thank you for your time," Cass said, leading the trio away. - "Well, that was a waste," Nori pouted as she sat down at a small table. "We checked just about every place here in Rustboro to see if anyone's seen that deadbeat, and no luck." Big Time, the Larvitar trained by the aforementioned 'deadbeat' shuddered a bit, his expression becoming even more morose. "The clerk at the local Poké Mart hadn't seen him," Derek counted off on one hand as Cass brought over some food. "We were turned out of the Devon Corporation building, and the Trainer's School hasn't seen any sign of him." "Okay, obviously we've run across a few dead ends," Cass noted. "Still, doesn't mean we won't find Smasher. It just means that he isn't around here." Close by, a young woman overheard their discussion. "But where?" Nori asked rhetorically. "He didn't hop a ferry to Dewford Town, we know that." "Maybe he's in Verdanturf," Derek suggested. "We'll have to ask Kitsu, Keaton or Aerie about that," Cass noted. "They'd probably know better than we do if Smasher would be interested in Pokémon Contests or not." "Then maybe Mauville," Derek noted. "With that Marowak and Steelix, he'd probably wipe the floor with Wattson." "Maybe," Cass noted. "Um, excuse me?" a young female voice asked. The three turned to find an attractive young woman with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing dark blue shorts, tennis shoes, a red and white long shirt, a red bandanna, and dark blue gloves, carrying a small bag. "I couldn't help but hear you mention someone named 'Smasher'," the girl began. "You weren't talking about Adam 'Smasher' Samson, were you?" "Yes, we were..." Cass began before she finally recognized the girl before them. Her eyes wide in surprise and awe, she jumped up from her seat and declared, "Wait a second! You're May!" "Yep, that's me," the young woman said with a nervous smile. Cass, despite her best efforts, couldn't help but act like a rabid fangirl. "I can't believe this! This is such an honor, to be talking to you, of all people!" "Get a hold of yourself," Nori said. "It's not like she's Ash Ketchum." "She's close enough," Cass answered. "She traveled with Ash while he was making his Hoenn Gym Tour years ago, and she's a Pokémon Coordinator." "Not to mention the daughter of a Gym Leader," May said with a slight blush. "But who are you?" "Oh, well, I'm Cass Gale," Cass said in introduction. "My friends are..." "Derek Fisher," May said, pointing to the twenty-something man before her, "and Tsunade." Amidst surprised looks from the six gathered before the notoriously prominent celebrity (or NPC), Derek asked, "How'd you know?" "You two fought against my brother in the Silver Conference," May replied. "You usually don't forget stuff like that." "Wait a second," Rubix the Blastoise piped in. "Your brother? You mean that Smasher's your elder brother?" "Yep," May replied. In a surprised tone, Chan the Medicham noted, "Me di cham cham medi." "You said it," Derek replied. "Wait, this means that Norman, your father, is also Smasher's?" Cass asked. "Yeah," May replied. "Mom and Dad divorced when I was very young. Dad moved to Johto with me, remarried, had Max, then moved here not long before I started traveling with Ash." "So you haven't seen Smasher in years," Derek guessed. "No, I saw him very recently, during his journey through Johto," May replied. Turning her gaze towards Big Time, she said, "And I spent enough time with him to know why he went there. Didn't I, Big Time?" Nori's eyes widened, and she looked down at the little Larvitar in her arms. Big Time couldn't help but shrug, smile Mareepishly, and say, "Larvi?" "My only question is this," May continued, shifting her gaze to Tsunade. "Why is Big Time with you?" Nori blanched a bit as Rubix gave a slight smirk. _Let's see her explain this,_ he thought to himself. "Smasher asked Tsunade to take care of Big Time during the Silver Conference," Cass 'explained'. With May's attention (and much to Nori's surprise), she continued, "In addition to being a Pokémon trainer, Tsunade is also a field researcher and psychologist with the Pokémon Institute of Johto, as well as a minor expert on the Tyranitar line. It's thanks to her credentials that when Smasher met her at the Silver Conference, he convinced her to take care of Big Time to help deal with his depression." With a glance towards Nori, she asked, "Isn't that right, Tsunade?" TBC? 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