From: "Chet Weaver, to be precise" <nichirasu@hotmail.com> Subject: [PW!] The Sands of Slateport Date: Saturday, January 03, 2004 11:01 PM A spout of mist from Richard the Wailmer's blowhole startled Keiko from her sleep. They had been surfing for hours from Keiko's home on Copper Island, and Keiko hadn't noticed that she had dozed off. She sat up, stretched, and gazed at the on-coming horizon. There was a beach coming up, and behind that a city. "There it is," Keiko said with awe. "Slateport City!" PokeWars! Keiko Kamen "The Sands of Slateport" by Chet "Tech" Weaver It's not unusual in Slateport to see a trainer surfing onto the beach with their Pokemon. Live in the city for any length of time and you grow accustomed to having two or three wash up on shore on any given day. But there was something different about the latest arrival, and it wasn't the Wailmer she rode in on. Keiko hopped off Richard and landed a little wobbly. Once she regained her land legs, she retrieved Richard's PokeBall from her belt pack and recalled the rotund water Pokemon. "That was a long trip," Keiko said wearily. "We could both use a good rest." As she trudged her way up the sandy beach, she noticed many of the other people staring at her. Most of them looked away when she looked at them. Keiko shrugged and continued on her way. "What the...?" Keiko said as she stepped on something in the sand. She stooped down to pick it up. "A bottle cap. You'd think people would take more pride in their beaches." Up on the street, Officer Jenny stradled a motorcycle as she scanned the beach with her binoculars. The microphone for her radio was already in her free hand. "Yeah, she's here," Jenny said. "That's good," an identical voice came over the radio. "Is she...?" "As a jaybird." "I meant if she was all right." "She's fine. In fact, she seems to be picking up trash." "Well, as long as she's okay, that's the important thing." "Yeah, but if people start complaining, I will have to do something about it." "Understood. Over and out." Jenny put away her radio and binoculars as Keiko approached. Keiko dropped a filled bag of trash into a trashcan and stepped off the beach. "Hello, Officer Jenny," she greeted. "Hello," Jenny replied. "I take it you're Keiko Kamen from Copper Town?" "That's right," Keiko answered. "How did you know?" "Not a lot of trainers arrive in Slateport au naturale. I just got off the horn with a relative of mine from Copper Island. She wanted to make sure there weren't any problems." "There aren't any, are there?" "Not legally. Yet. There aren't any laws against public nudity in Slateport, but that doesn't mean anyone's going to like it." "I understand. It takes time to get used to new concepts. You're not going to ask me to put clothes on, are you?" "Not right now. But you should be aware that the rest of Hoenn might not be as tropical as Copper Town." "Oh, I know. I brought some clothes just in case." "Good. Well, I've got a city to patrol. You take care now." "I will. Bye." After Jenny rode off, Keiko wandered through an open-air market. She saw a lot of stuff for sale, but decided not to buy anything just yet. She just got into town and didn't feel like dealing with an offended shop keeper at the moment. It was just curiosity that took her through there on her way to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy was a little distracted and didn't notice Keiko come in until she placed three PokeBalls on the counter. Joy took the Balls and did a double-take while Keiko walked off. She was taken aback for a moment, but decided to put the Pokemon into the healing machine before making a phone call. "Copper Town Pokemon Center," another Nurse Joy said as her face appeared on the video screen. "Nurse Joy speaking. How may I help you?" "She's naked!" the Slateport Joy hissed into the reciever. "So Keiko made it there safely? That's a relief. I was concerned that..." "I think you're missing the bigger picture here, Joy. She. Is. Buck. Naked." "I know." "Why didn't you tell me she'd be naked?" "It must've slipped my mind." "A nude Pokemon trainer slipped your mind?" "It's not like she's hurting anyone. Is she okay?" "I guess. I didn't notice anything wrong with her since I haven't gotten past the fact that she's *naked*. Isn't there a law against that or something?" "Not in Slateport. Me and Officer Jenny checked to make sure. In fact, it seems a lot of places in Hoenn that allow it. As long as she doesn't do anything perverted, at least." "She's naked." "Other than that. It's not about being a pervert. She just prefers being nude." "You say that as if it were a soda. Oh, God." "What?" "She's sitting on one of the couches." "Did she put a towel down first?" Nurse Joy sheepishly looked at Keiko for a moment. "Yes. I don't have to burn the couch now, do I?" "No, it's still clean. Although, I always thought it was an ugly couch." "Very funny. What am I supposed to do with her?" "Just do what you normally do and ignore the fact that she's naked." "Oh, that's easy for you to say. You see them all the time." "She's not staying too long. She's on a Pokemon journey, after all. Besides, it's just skin." Meanwhile, Keiko settled into the couch with an issue of Pokemon Graph. She had a feeling that healing her Pokemon might take a while. To be continued...? -- Chet "Tech" Weaver - Trying Newsgroups through Netscape AIM: PanGatomon MSN/E-mail: Nichirasu@hotmail.com Yahoo! Messenger: tech_weaver ICQ: 122744531 Webcomic: http://desperadocoyote.keenspace.com My Adventure Quest character: http://www.battleon.com/aq-chardetail.asp?temp=131213 You can play Adventure Quest at http://www.battleon.com "i didn't think ahead, im not exactly the brightest fork in the shed" "Wouldn't that be the sharpest fork in the shed?" -- Actual exchange from the Adventure Quest forums