From: "Lady Timedramon" <sailrgal@swbell.net> Subject: Re: [PW!]Return to Action, pt 2 Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 9:55 PM Lady Timedramon wrote: > Sarah Jane leaned on the railing of the Worth family's private yacht as > it sped across the ocean. "This definitely beats budget class," she > said aloud to Cassandra. The Xatu nodded as the breeze blew through her > feathers. > > <<Though not as fast as teleporting>> > > "True. But since we haven't been to Hoenn before, it would be rather > difficult to just teleport." > > <<It does seem quite a distance. Perhaps it is out of range.>> > > Yawning, Sarah Jane nodded. > > <<Were the babies difficult last night?>> > > "Not so much as their father. Spunky still has a lot to learn about > fatherhood." > > Cassandra chuckled. The whole thing had been rather amusing before they > left Rosetta. Once they managed to get Regis to stop laughing, Sarah > Jane had convinced the Pinken Nidoking to explain "the facts of life" to > his mate's brother. Now, with the assistance of Sarah Jane, Spunky was > learning to care for his offspring. The baby Eevees had been dubbed > Lilac and Shadow. > > "FWEEEEEEEE!!!!!! FWEEEEEEEEE!!!!! FWEEEEEE FWEEEEEEEE!!!!!" sounded > across the deck. Sarah Jane sighed. > > <<Momma, Lilac's crying and Spunky doesn't know what to do with her!>> > called Pteryx. > > <<I know what I'm doing!>> growled Spunky. > > A second set of cries began as Shadow echoed his sister. "I guess I > better see what's going on." > > Two burpings later, Sarah Jane was able to relax into one of the deck > chairs. Shadow and Lilac were curled up asleep in a basket next to her. > Spunky had gone into Sarah Jane's cabin to rest. Cassandra meditated > on the deck while Pteryx perched on the rail, her wings extended. Just > when Sarah Jane thought she was going to have some peace.... > "SAAARRAAAHHHH JJJJAAAANNNEEEEE!!!!!!" "Shhh!!!" replied Sarah Jane quickly. "I just got Lilac and Shadow to sleep." Candi flounced across the deck in a bikini and sarong. "Why did you bring them along?" she asked as she dropped into a lounge chair next to Sarah Jane. "They're too young to be of any use." "Because there really isn't anyone to take care of them, and they're really my responsiblity. I should have made sure that Spunky understood that stuff." "A Nidoking and a Flareon..." Candi cringed. "That just seems soooooo wrong..." "Wrong or not, it happened. Besides, it's not the first time I've traveled with baby pokemon. There's also a different bond. Baby pokemon grow up, in a way, to be family." Sarah Jane sat forward and rested her hands on her knees. She watched as Cassandra considered her meditation, while Pteryx stayed on the rail." With my other pokemon, it's like a partnership. With Cassandra, or Fantasma, or any of the other pokemon, we're side by side working towards the same goal. With the ones I've raised since infancy - they become like family. They ARE family. To them, I'm a parent." "You mean that they act like you're their mother?" Candi appeared confused. "Well, yes. Spunky and Cuddles think of me as their second mother. And to Pteryx, I am her mother. I hatched her egg - I was the first thing she saw when she first opened her eyes to the world." Candi shook her head. "I just don't get it..." "Maybe because you never even had a partnership with your Pokemon." "What's that supposed to mean?" "No offense Candi, but I've seen you with your Pokemon. You never developed a relationship with them. They were like... showpets. Your butler did all the chasing and you commanded them to display their skills. Did you ever actually catch a Pokemon?" "Umm.... actually.... three" Candi's face went red. "Like my Clefairy, they ran away." "Did you know once that you were throwing a sleeping Voltorb instead of a pokeball?" "..." "I traded you a Great Ball for it." Candi hid her face in her hands. "I want to be a trainer more than anything in the world," she sobbed suddenly. "You CAN be a trainer," said Sarah Jane, taking a deep breath. "But it has to be YOU doing it. You and YOUR pokemon. Not me. Not Jeeves. Not someone else. Not even your father." "I know," said Candi, sniffing back tears. "Daddy says once we get to Hoenn, we're on our own. We have to walk, and find our own way, and...." "And take a Pokemon journey like at least 75% of all trainers do. Including starting out with a standard starter pokemon." "You didn't start out with a standard Pokemon. You had Shields." "Shields..." Candi had hit a tender point with Sarah Jane. Even though it had been years since his death, she still profoundly felt his loss. "Shields was a friend," said Sarah Jane, trying to compose herself. "A protector. A companion. Technically Nipper was my starter pokemon - and when trainers leave Grandma's classes, they usually have a Krabby or a Pidgie." Sarah Jane sighed, then changed the subject. "Speaking of starter pokemon, we'll be in Hoenn tomorrow. Have you decided what pokemon you're going to choose yet?" Candi blinked, trying to process the new subject. "Ummm... I don't even know what I get to pick from." Sighing, Sarah Jane handed her Pokedex to Candi. "In Hoenn you generally get to choose from a Treeko, a Mudkip, or a Torchic. Start reading up on them, and let me catch a quick nap before the babies wake up." "But..." Sarah Jane either didn't hear or ignored Candi as she took off her glasses, reclined her deck chair, and closed her eyes. "But I never did figure out how to use a Pokedex... Jeeves always did it..." "Now's as good a time as any to figure out how," muttered Sarah Jane, who then picked up a towel lying next to the deck chair, then put it over her head to block out the light... and Candi. Biting back the urge to scream in frustration, Candi looked at the Pokedex in her hands. > <TBC> > -- --- Lady Timedramon, aka Time Lady It's Not Easy Being Green-the Unofficial Beast Boy/Changeling Fansite http://MysticManor.tripod.com/garfieldlogan The Titans Together Webring http://n.webring.com/hub?ring=titanstogether The Mystic Manor Gateway http://MysticManor.tripod.com