From: "Rob" <robfrompw@yahoo.com> Subject: [PW!] Noise Pollution Date: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 5:09 AM A fluffy, chubby Houndour pup happily follows her brand new Trainer and his girlfriend down the streets of Saffron City, wagging her tail as she takes in the sights of the big city. Having spent the first few weeks of her life as electrical energy stored in a computer, she's very much enjoying the sights and sounds around her. She gazes up at the skyscrapers, sniffs the pavement below from time to time, and barks at fellow pedestrians to greet them. All the while, she's trying to make out what the black-haired human who's now her Trainer is discussing with his girlfriend, despite the fact that she doesn't understand their language. "C'mon, Rilli! Give Houndour a chance," Robert tells Mithril-rama, who's a bit concerned about the Pokemon her boyfriend recently received in exchange for his Charizard, "I promise to take good care of her by doing all the Houndour maintenance that Zafiro told me to do! Well, the stuff I actually remember, anyway. I'll walk her, and feed her, and clean up after her, and everything!" "Just like you do with Aron?" Mithril-rama asks, sarcasm apparent in her tone. "I don't mind taking care of your baby Aron for you, but you know Fire Pokemon freak me out a little. Besides, even if Houndour wasn't a Fire Type, two baby Pokemon is a heavy load for just one person. Especially when one weighs over a hundred pounds." "Yeah, but we're two people! I won't neglect my adorable Houndour, I promise! How could anyone NOT want to take good care of this cute little puppy? Just look at her..." Robert gestures to the street behind him and sweatdrops when he sees that his new Pokemon isn't there. Mithril-rama looks past Robert to see his Houndour barking at a Growlithe standing next to a tall, thin man outside a shoe store. She shakes her head and asks, "You were saying something about not neglecting your Houndour?" She then points at the Fire Pokemon to inform her boyfriend where his puppy ran off to. The moment Robert turns his attention to where Rilli's pointing, he exclaims, "Wait right here, Rilli! I'll go get her right now!" He then runs towards the man outside the shoe store, who has thinning blond hair and is wearing business attire. As Robert arrives at his destination, he calls out to the thin man, "Hey, I'm sorry that my Houndour's bothering your Growlithe! I just noticed she wandered away from me!" "You'd better be careful," the man warns Robert the moment the Trainer reaches his Houndour and hefts the puppy into his arms, "If this city's anything like Goldenrod, it probably has leash laws. Most big cities do. Except Mauville City, in Hoenn. They pretty much let anything slide there, or so I've heard." Looking down at the man's Growlithe, Robert points out, "But your Growlithe doesn't have a leash..." "Right," says the man in his thirties, "I'm trying to save up money. It's bad enough I had to buy new shoes. The last thing I need is to spend more money on a leash." After letting out a small sigh, he adds, "Besides, if I bump into a police officer, my Growlithe not being on a leash would be the least of my problems." "Huh?" Robert asks, "What do you mean?" Realizing now he shouldn't have shared that bit of personal information, the man covers up for himself, "I have quite a few unpaid parking tickets." "You have a car?!" Robert's incredulous reaction surprises the man considerably, since cars are rather commonplace to him, but he just smiles politely and nods in response. Robert continues, "Awesome! Hardly anyone has a car where I'm from! Of course, I'm from Lavender Town, which is a pretty small town, so no one who lives there really NEEDS a car. Even *I* don't need a car, and I'm the town's Gym Leader! Oh, by the way, my name's Robert." "Mike Smith," the man introduces himself, "Pleased to meet..." "LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD! LOUD!!!" "GAAAAH!" Robert cringes, covering his ears with his hands. He looks around, but doesn't see the source of the commotion. "What's that horrible noise?!" "LOUD!" "Fine," says Robert, having heard the shout despite his ears being covered, "What's that LOUD noise?" "LOUD! LOUD! LOUD!" "That's my Loudred..." Mike reconsiders his answer the moment he makes it, not sure he wants to be associated with such a clamorous Pokemon. "Well, actually, he's not really mine. I'm just babysitting him. He yells from time to time, and the only thing that seems to calm him are Pokemon battles." "LOUD LOUD!!" "Where is this... 'Loudred'?" asks Robert, not at all familiar with that particular species of Pokemon and figuring it's from Hoenn. "LOUD LOUD! LOUD!! LOUD!" "I'm not sure exactly where he is now, but he's obviously within earshot." Mike doesn't even bother to look around for his Pokemon, knowing he's on his way since his shouting is getting louder and louder. "I had my daughter's Smoochum take him for a walk while I shopped for shoes, so he wouldn't disturb the other shoppers, but now he's on his way back and it appears he's itching to battle." "LOUD!!!" "In that case, you're in luck, Mr. Smith!" Robert crouches and places his Houndour on the sidewalk. While petting the fluffy fur coat on the puppy's back, the Gym Leader explains, "I just got this Houndour and I'd like to see how she battles. I mean, this wouldn't count as an official Diversity Gym battle, seeing as how I'd only be using one Type of Pokemon, but my new Houndour sure could use some battle experience. Besides, if it calms down your Loudred, we both win!" "LOUD!!! LOUD!! LOUD! LOUD!! LOUD!!!" "Good idea, Robert." Mike looks down and finds that his Loudred is now standing beside him. The Smoochum that arrived along with the loud-mouth Pokemon mutters to herself and wanders off to complain to Mike's young Growlithe about her experiences with the Loudred. Meanwhile, Mike's Loudred stares up at the sky, casually watching some clouds drift by, oblivious to the fact that both Robert and Mike's Smoochum are glaring at him for making such a terrible racket. The Loudred declares, "LOUD LOUD LOUD!!!" Shortly after Loudred arrives in front of the shoe store, Mithril-rama walks up to where Robert is petting his Houndour. She leans down and taps her boyfriend on the shoulder, asking, "What's keeping you so long, Robert? And what's making that awful noise?" "LOUD!!" "To answer both of your questions... THAT is," Robert remarks, pointing at the Loudred standing next to Mike. "This man here's called Mike Smith, and this is his Loudred." Hearing his name spoken out loud by the Gym Leader, Mike realizes he should've given a fake name instead and makes it a point to better educate himself in fugitive etiquette. Robert stops petting his Houndour, stands up straight, and continues his explanation, "Mike's Loudred makes a lot of noise, but he tends to stop making noise whenever he battles. I'm going to help Mike by having a Pokemon battle with him. My new Houndour versus his Loudred!" "LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD!" "Don't you think you should use one of your other, higher-level Pokemon?" Mithril-rama asks, taking the opportunity to speak the moment Loudred momentarily stops shouting. "Maybe Piloswine? Or Hitmonchan? That Houndour's just a puppy. I don't think she should be battling yet." "LOUD! LOUD LOUD!! LOUD LOUD LOUD!!!" "You worry too much, Rilli. Zafiro told me to have fun with her, and battles are fun!" Noticing that Rilli's not convinced by his argument, Robert assures her, "I'll recall Houndour before she gets hurt. I'm not battling to win, just to help Mike and test out some of my new Houndour's abilities while I'm at it." Still a bit worried, but trusting her boyfriend's ability to recall the Fire Pokemon if she's in danger, Mithril-rama shrugs and sits down on the sidewalk to watch the battle, crossing her legs and plugging her ears with her fingers. Once Rilli's sitting, Robert turns his attention to Mike and says, "All right, Mike, it's time to reduce big city noise pollution!" -Robert