From: "Rob" <robfrompw@yahoo.com> Subject: [PW!] The Bongo-Banging Beach Bum Date: Saturday, February 28, 2004 1:03 AM On his way off the cruise ship that recently docked in Slateport Harbor, a middle-aged man named Marvin is nearly shoved off the plank he's on and into the sea when the captain of the ship, a bearded old man named Briney, runs past him. Peeko, Briney's Wingull, soars over the heads of the passengers leaving the S.S. Tidal, in pursuit of his best friend. Curious as to why Captain Briney is in such a hurry, Marvin works his way through the crowd as well, uttering phrases such as "excuse me", "pardon me", and "comin' through" as he chases after the quick old man. Marvin, still dressed in the sapphire blue tuxedo and the matching leaf green top hat he bought on the ship, calls out to Captain Briney as he follows the old man and his Wingull down the streets of Slateport City, but the captain doesn't turn around to address him. "Cap'n Briney! Oh, Cap'n Briney! Where are you running off to?!" The captain responds by quickening his pace, running faster towards the city's southern beach. "Pihyooo~," squawks Peeko the Wingull, now high up in the sky. He points towards the southeast with one of his wings. Captain Briney looks up, having heard Peeko's signal, then starts running in the direction his Pokemon is pointing. Seeing Captain Briney change direction, Marvin does so as well. When he arrives on the sands of Slateport Beach, he finally finds out why Captain Briney was in such a hurry when he sees Captain Briney approach the small boat that the old man used to ferry him to Dewford Island. The boat was abandoned on the shore by the little girl who stole it. Now that Captain Briney's arrived at his destination, Marvin catches up with him rather easily. While Briney rummages through his storage compartments to see if anything's been stolen, Marvin observes, "I see you found your boat." "Brilliant observation," Captain Briney remarks, shaking his head as Peeko perches on his shoulder, "I saw that my boat was abandoned on this beach as I sailed up to Slateport. I came here as fast as I could, worried the little thief would beat me to it..." He pries open the trapdoor of the boat's largest compartment. Seeing the compartment empty, he adds, "Looks like she's not coming back, though. She took every valuable thing on the boat. Well, either she did or she left the stuff here and other thieves got to it." Marvin suggests, "We should ask someone on the beach if they saw her." "She might've left the ship here on the beach days ago," Captain Briney comments, not at all hopeful that he'll find any clues that might lead him to his stolen goods, "Tourists who visit the beach don't tend to stick around for too long. I doubt anyone here saw her." "You'd be surprised, cap'n. In my travels, I've noticed some people stay in the same exact area every day of their lives." Marvin gazes around the beach with his hand stretched out above his eyes, despite the fact that the sun set an hour ago, looking for a good example of what he's talking about. Seeing a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks sitting next to a Seashore House and banging some bongo drums on his lap, Marvin points at the man and tells Captain Briney, "That guy looks like he spends a lot of time on the beach. We should ask him if he saw Terri!" As middle-aged Marvin and old man Briney approach the young man banging the bongo drums, they hear him chanting a refrain from a song, presumably one he made up himself, "You put the 'mon in the Pokeball and pick the ball up! You put the 'mon in the Pokeball and pick the ball up! You put the 'mon in the Pokeball, and then they'll be together! Put the 'mon in the Pokeball and then you'll feel better..." "Excuse me," Marvin interrupts the man's singing. When he sees the man look up at him, the middle-aged man continues, "Hi there. My name's Marvin and this here's my good friend Cap'n Briney." Pointing towards the only abandoned boat on the beach, he asks, "Did you happen to see the person who sailed that boat to this beach?" "I saw the girl and the boat, I did, I really saw her park it," the man continues to sing as he answers Marvin's question, "Saw the girl take the stuff from it, she dragged it to the market." "She sold the things she stole from me?!" Captain Briney's eyes start twitching, "That little... argh! I'm gonna see what I can get back." Captain Briney marches north, towards Slateport City's Marketplace, hoping to reclaim his belongings. Eager to find Terri to get back the three shiny Unown she stole from him, Marvin asks, "Did you see where she went after that?" "I didn't see where she went from there, I didn't try to stalk her," the dark-skinned man sings as he bangs his bongos, "Didn't see where she wandered to, I'm guessin' it was Mauville." A little girl about the age of Terri runs out of the Seashore House and tells her musical mentor, "Yo, Reggie! Papa wants to see you!" Addressing Marvin as he stands up, the dark-skinned man sings, "You walk north to the bike road if you wanna go to Mauville. Rent a bike at the bike road if you're able to go uphill." Reggie grabs his bongos and follows the girl he's influenced into the Seashore House. "Terri might be in Mauville, eh?" Marvin looks for the North Star in the sky. When he figures out which way is north, the middle-aged man points northwards and says, "Then that's where I'm headed - Mauville!" -Marvin