From: NMVdS <nmvds@aol.computers> Subject: [PW!] Graduation and Rebirth Date: Friday, May 21, 1999 9:50 PM Prologue: "Congratualtions Gil, you just beat our five contest trainers," said the man at the end of the bridge. "I'd like to give you something." Gil recieved a nugget, good at any pawn shop for a good five grand. "Thanks," he said, pocketing it. "By the way, how would like to join team rocket?" the man asked. "Team Rocket, huh?" Gil asked. "I've read about you guys. You're a group dedicated to using Pokemon for evil. Not exactly my style." "Perhaps you need a little more convincing," the man said, tossing two Pokeballs. "Ebak, Zubat, go!!!" Gil threw one of his own Pokeballs. "Marowak, go!" "Mar-o-wak!" that Pokemon shouted. "Ekans, acid attack! Zubat, supersonic!" "Marowak, boomerang at Zubat, now!" Gil shouted. The Pokemon obeyed, knocking Zubat from the sky. The boomerang returned to it's hand. "Now again, but aim for Ekans." Within seconds, the man at the end of the bridge was defeated. "I didn't expect to win," the man said, "but I wanted to show you something." "You wanted to show what?" Gil asked. "You have talent," the man said. "Gil Bates the third, graduate of Pokemon Tech," Gil prominently smiled." "With your kind of talent, you could be a great leader for Team Rocket," the man explained. "Forget it," said Gil. "I don't use my Pokemon for evil." "As opposed to what?" asked the man on the bridge. "Playing games with your little friends just for the sake of battling? Come now. Don't you want to make something out of you life? There is nothing for you in the world of Pokemon League fighting unless you become a gym leader or something. And then you're just stuck in the same spot for years to come. Or perhaps you could become a scientist, but you're no scholar. Consider what we have to have you." "I don't need your money," Gil pointed out. "I'm already rich. I was born that way." "I'm not referring to money," said the man on the bridge. "I'm referring to what you always wanted." "Which is?" "Power," the man smiled. "Perhaps enough to control a great deal of the world someday." "I'm listening," Gil said as he began to smile himself. "There's something I need for you to take care of first," the man began, "to prove your loyalty. Right now, a studentyou probably knew from Pokemon Tech, Steve Fugues, is preparing for a career as a researcher for Silph Co. An insider of ours has informed us that he has some very promising notes which he plans on sharing with the company. These notes could very well revolutionize the world of Pokemon." "And me?" asked Gil. "You're job is to intercept Fugues, take his notes, and prevent him from sharing his findings from anyone else." "And when I succeed?" "IF you succeed," he corrected, "you will become a major player in Team Rocket." ******** Karen was a fresh new student at Pokemon tech. Unlike the other students who attended due to ridiculously wealthy parents, she attended because she had always been an above average learner and thought that Pokemon Tech could offer her the best possible education. She searched the building for her new room. When she finally found it, she found that a student was inside packing his things. "Hello there," the student said, "I'm Steve. Don't mind me, I'll be out of your way in a few minutes." "That's okay," Karen told him. "So you're the person who's taking the room from me?" Steve smiled and began to flirt the same way seniors always do. "My, my, my, the freshmen seem to get cuter every single year. Almost makes me wish I got held back a grade." Karen blushed. She tended to be the type who didn't stand out in a crowd. "So which Pokemon are you using so far?" Steve asked. "Just my Charmander, a Psyduck, and a Diglet," she said. "It's not much of a collection yet, but I'm working on it." "Well, at least you have plenty of room for improvement," Steve joked. "Seriously though, when those suckers evolve on ya for the first time, it'll be one heck of a sight. I remember back in the day I used to think my Charmander was the greatest thing before it's evolutions into Charmeleon and Charizard. And I once wrote a paper on the nature of Psyducks." "Wait, are you Steve Fugues?" Karen asked. "That's what my underwear says, at least." "I think I've read a few of your papers," she said. "Well, I'm glad SOMEONE did," Steve told her. "Anyway, I'm on my way to Silph Co. now, but there's a patch of land where you can find an Oddish along the way that can help your collection. You don't do very much here on the first day, and I've learned the hard way that you'll get beat up and be called a nerd if you do. Why don't we go together for a walk and I'll tell you about this place?" ************* "Hey, an Abra," shouted Karen, grabbing a Pokeball. "Charmander, I cho--" "Wait!" Steve shouted, blocking Karen's Pokeball and throwing his own. The ball opened up and shot a beam at Abra, trapping it inside. "What was that for?" Karen yelled. "Sorry," Steve apologized, tossing her the newly captured Abra. "First rule when capturing these guys: Don't waste time attacking. You'll either kill them or they'll use teleportation move before you can do anything. The only option you do have is to try to capture them before immediately. Again, I'm sorry. But now he's captured, and his psychic potential will work wonders for your team later on." Just then, an Oddish popped up from the wild. "Oh good, an Oddish," he said. "He'll be weak against your Charmander. Fire at will." "Charmander, use ember!" Karen gleefully shouted. "Char!" shouted the Pokemon as he started to fry the Oddish. The Oddish began to finally weaken. Karen threw a Pokeball, capturing it. "Two Pokemon in one day," Steve smiled. "Not bad for a freshman." "So what's Pokemon Tech like, anyway?" "It's an interesting school," said Steve. "Just don't ask me what me definition of what 'interesting' means." Karen laughed. Just then, she heard a rustling in the bushes. A well dressed man appeared before them. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Steve Fugues," he said. "I see you finally have a girlfriend." "Gil Bates," Steve said. There was something about Steve that didn't seem surprised. "You know him?" Karen asked. "You could say that," Steve replied. "What is it that you want, Gil?" "Well, I heard you have a few notes you're about to turn over to Silph Co.," he began, "why don't you just give them to me?" "Forget it," Steve said, reaching for his Pokeballs. "You and I both know that you've never ever beaten me in a fair fight." "A fair one, no," Gil replied, "but I'm a Rocket now. We're not bound by the Pokemon League. Vileplume, go!" "Vileplume!" shouted the plant. Karen stared at the plant that her Oddish might evolve to look like in the years to come. "Vileplume, use Sleep Powder!" "Charizard, go!" Steve shouted. Karen now looked at the gigantic Charizard which her Charmander might someday become. "Charizard, use flame-thrower!" "Gyarados, go!" shouted Gil. "CHAR!!!!!" shouted the beast, burning the Vileplume the same way Karen's Charmander set fire to the Oddish. But there was one thing different this time. "Gyarados, use Surf!" Gil shouted, "Charizard, fly above the water attacks!" Steve shouted as he reached for another Pokeball. At first he thought he would use Venusaur until he realized that the Gyarados's flight attribute would make it resistant to the same grass attacks that would agitates it's water attribute. Thinking quick, he took out a Clefable. "Clefable, minimize!" "Clefable!" "Gyarados, fly after Charizard!" Gil shouted. The Gyarados obeyed and continued to use surf." "Charizard, return!" Steve shouted. "Clefable, use Metronome!" "Metronome, Metronome, Metronome," she started shouting. "What's it gonna do?" Karen asked. "Your guess is as good as mine," Steve responded. "It's not safe here, this is a danger zone right now. You should use Abra to teleport away from here and if I'm alive, I'll meet you back at the Pokemon center later," he advised. Suddenly, a bolt of thunder shot from the Clefable. Steve was ecstatic, Gyarados's combined flying and water characteristics would make it take four times the normal damage. Or it would have if it wasn't just thunder wave. Gyarados was merely paralyzed and was unhurt by the attack. Falling to the ground after flying after Charizard, however, hurt plenty. "Gyarados, return!" Gil shouted. "Flareon, go! Use fire spin on Clefable!" "Clefable, return!" Steve countered. "Golem, go!" "Golem!" "Golem, use earthquake!" The ground shook around the terrified Flareon. "Marowak, go!" Gil shouted. "Help out Flareon with your boomerang attack!" "Golem, return!" said Steve. "Blastoise, go! Use hydro pump on them both!" Marowak and Flareon screamed in agony as they were engulfed in water. "Enough of this nonsense!" Gil finally said. "I meant it when I said I wanted those notes of yours." "And I was serious when I said you wouldn't get them," Steve replied. "Very well, then," Gil said. "Alakazam, use psychic on Blastoise!" With one shot, the behemoth was taken out of commission. "Now, I guessing your own safety isn't that much of a concern to you," said Gil. "But what about hers?" Steve turned around and saw Karen wrapped up in a Dragonite's tail. Gil must have released him when Steve was awaiting the results of Clefable's metronome attack. "Now, about the notes..." Gil gestured. Steve handed them over. His last two Pokemon were Venusaur and Machamp. Neither would stand a chance against a psychic, much less a psychic and a dragon. Besides, he was in no situation to take risks with Karen wrapped up in Dragonite's clutches. "Well, finally we were able to handle this like civilized people," said Gil. "But I know you hero types. You won't rest until you get your information back. Alakazam, use psybeam on Steve." Alakazam shot a solid beam towards Steve. "What?!?" Karen was appalled. "You can't do that!" "Can and did," Gil smiled. "And just for added assurance, Dragonite, use Ice Beam on the guy." Steven was frozen. "You have no idea what these notes contain, do you?" Gil asked. Karen didn't respond. "Good," he replied as he pulled out a Pokeball. "That means you can live. Dragonite, release her. Gyarados, if you're ready, fly us out of here." Karen ran over to Steve. He needed help and quick. "Abra," she said, "teleport us to safety. ************** "Are you okay," Karen asked. Steve was being defrosted and his Pokemon were being healed." "I'm, uh, fine... I think..." Steve replied. "Who are you?" "I'm Karen, remember?" she smiled. "The new student at Pokemon Tech who you were helping out." "Pokemon Tech? There's something familiar about that name..." Steve said. "There should be," Karen replied. "You were being schooled there for years, Steve." "Steve?" "That's you." "Oh," Steve replied, dumbfounded. "Anything else you could tell me about yourself?" "Check your Pokedex." "Pokedex?" Karen pointed to the red machine in Steve's pocket. "Pokedex, who am I?" Steve asked. "You are Steve Fugues," the Pokedex replied. "You were a student for two years at Pokemon Tech. As a freshman, I was given to you by the school. If lost or destroyed, I cannot be replaced." "That's wasn't very helpful," Steve said. "I suppose not," Karen responded. "That fight took a lot out of you, didn't it?" "Fight?" "Some guy from Team Rocket named Gil took some notes from you," she explained. If Steve couldn't remember the fight, she doubt that he would remember what it was over. "I have a feeling I was supposed to go somewhere..." said Steve. "You mean Silph Co.?" "Silph Co. Uh, right," Steve nodded a little more eagerly than he should have. "Could you point me to where that is?" "Hmmmm..." Karen said as she began to get annoyed. "Maybe you should have your Charizard help you out." Steve looked confused. Karen reached for one of his Pokeballs and released Charizard. "Oh, right," Steve replied, still confused. "Charizard, could you point me to where Silph Co. is?" Now Charizard looked confused. "Ask Charizard to FLY you to Silph Co.," Karen explained. "Oh, right," Steve replied, slightly less confused. "Hey Charizard, how about a lift?" By now, Charizard was annoyed by Steve and refused to obey. "Charizard appears to have lost respect for his master," Dex explained. "I guess it's hard for a Pokemon to obey their master when they act like they've overdosed on painkillers," Karen explained. "Great, so now what I'm supposed to do?" Steve cried. "See if any of your other Pokemon will obey you." So Steve tried each Pokemon one by one. They were each trained as living fighting machines of high discipline. None of them wanted Steve for an owner. None of them, that is, except for Clefable. Grumbling, Steve stored the rest of them on Bill's PC. "Maybe I'll use them later," he said. It was ironic. He had a team of incredibly powerful Pokemon at his disposal and an inability to control them. "So what now?" she asked. "What indeed?" Steve wondered. ************* "So you can't readmit him to this school?" Karen asked. "To be honest, he wasn't much of a student," said the principal. "He learned everything either on his own or from books that you could get at any bookstores. If you ask me, the only reason he bothered coming to this school in the first place was to interact with other students." "But he can't remember anything!" she pleaded. "With luck, he won't have to remember. He'll relearn things as he goes on," the principal explained. "He has a knack for that." "Doesn't he have anybody?" Karen asked. "He doesn't have a family as far as we know..." the principal began. "As far as we can tell, he paid his tuition with money from the slots. Which is another reason we can't really admit him. He's broke." Karen walked out, disappointed. "So what did he say?" Steve asked. "You're not coming back," Karen responded. "Figures," Steve frowned. "Well, maybe it's a sign. I guess I'd better start a new journey until my Pokemon start to obey me. A real journey. Not this examination crap." "Good luck to you," Karen said. "Why don't you join me?" Steve asked. "Huh?" "Hey, it's perfect," Steve explained. "You can learn with me. You'll have one of the Pokemon Tech's greatest students as your personal aide." "Former greatest student," she pointed out. "A mere technicality," he told her. "But with the money we'll save on tuition, we'll have a great time." Karen looked at the guy. He was desperate for a helping hand and had no one to turn to. "Sure," she said, uneasily. "So what's your name, anyway?" "You forgot already?" she smiled. "No, I mean your full name," Steve explained. "Karen Oak." "So Karen, where are we heading, Miss Oak?" Steve asked. "To Pallet Town." *************** Meanwhile, Gil began to look over the notes he had taken from Steve. They were encrypted enough so that Gil needed his Alakazam to help with the deciphering, and even then he could only gain a brief gist of their true worth. "Brilliant," he began to grin, "simply brilliant."