From: Goola2u <goola2u@aol.comREMOVE> Subject: [PW!] A bizzare development. Date: Thursday, April 29, 1999 3:42 PM Shard was annoyed. That Paras of his could have been worth something! But noooooo, he didn't have the foresight to take a photo while on the island. But there was still hope. He'd heard that Todd, the famous Photo Master, was around Cerulean at the moment, and he and Sneakers had gone to see him. --- "No way!" protested Todd. "I refuse to shoot poached Pokemon! It's illegal, unethical, and..." "I think you'lll change your mind," said Shard in an attempt to calm Todd down. "These are rare breeds of pokemon, some you'd probably give a good deal for a chance to photograph!" "In their natural habitat!" shot back Todd. "No posing!" "Who said anything about posing?" asked Sneakers. "Sengir's got no eyes, and Bludgeon's not gonna care what havok he's wreaking in front of WHAT camera." Todd gulped. "Bludgeon?" "We'll have to pose them a little, so they won't get too out of hand," answered Shard. "ESPECIALLY that Cubone! Him and that 'Lost Art of Skelekato' routine!" --- The photos began. Todd insisted that the pokemon act naturally, until Shard pointed out that "acting naturally" for Gangreen was sucking out someone's blood. Fortunately, Todd knew his stuff. A grapefruit was all that was needed for the compromise, and the shot of Gangreen wrapped around the fruit, sucking its juices out, came out spectacularly. Next up was Sengir. The pitch-black Zubat was, to put it mildly, all over the place. The best Todd could do for the out-of-control bloodsucker was to catch it divebombing the camera, but, as luck would have it, the photo came out just right. Next, however, was Bludgeon, whom Todd managed to sneak up on while he was practicing his Skelekato skills on a poke doll. The bone-colored Cubone was, to say the least, not happy. A mere pokeball was barely able to contain his anger. "Now, there's the question of a price," demanded Todd. "I'd like two hundred, plus the price of the poke doll." Cheap, thought Shard, but he realized that these weren't everyday pokemon, and that Todd was probably giving them a discount on the basis of profession, as he'd had an unpleasant encounter or two with some digruntled Rocket customes in the past, as the story went, and didn't want to repeat them. Shard thanked him, and paid with a good tip. --- After picking up his photos, Shard and Sneakers went to redeem one set of prints. Todd had developed three sets, one to keep himself, one for the trainers, and one to redeem. Shard had chosen to get an Aerodactyl, and Sneakers wanted, fo pure amusement value, a Snorlax. After they had redeemed their pictures at the center, they decided to check out their new pokemon. "Aerodactyl, I choose you!" shouted Shard. A happy-looking Aerodactyl flew out and perched on Shard's arm. "Well, hello there, Smirker." smiled Shard, naming his Aerodactyl. Meanwhile, Sneakers was desperately trying to wake up Kumba-Karna, a Snorlax named after a character form an ancient epic Professor Oak had been reading, a villain who was incredibly powerful, but impossible to wake up, and, once awoken, incredibly hungry. Sneakers finally realized this was unlikely to be done by anything other than a pokeflute or a battle, so he returned Kumba-Karna to his pokeball. Then, Shard used a HM he'd snuck out on the Aerodactyl, and instructed it to fly him back to Cinnabar. There, he hoped to find Tenchi, the other man who was after Maria's heart. TBC... Shard Fields, who's going to take on Tenchi soon.