From: Roberto Perez-Vila <RobfromVoid@prodigy.net> Subject: [PW!] Inside Information Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 2:08 PM Minax is sitting in a grimy abandoned alleyway in Saffron City. No light pours into this narrow alley between two very large buildings, and no one lives here... except for Minax. She used this as a place to sleep many times in the past. Sleeping in open fields is very dangerous for her, even though she'd likely detect anyone sneaking up on her because of her amazing hearing. She'd wake up before they'd come near her, but she believes it is better to be safe than sorry. She ponders this principle as she pulls off her tight black leather top. Underneath the usual outer skin, a bullet proof vest is hugging her plain cloth brassiere. She rubs the part of the vest where a visible bullet hole has been made. The bullet hole was caused by Wind Fireblade's gun. Minax reaches into the small hole and removes the exploded bullet from within. If the shot had been a few inches above where it did hit, Minax would be bleeding alongside Wind. "Damn..." Minax raises the bullet to her eye before tossing it aside, "That was close. What a crazy girl. I wish I didn't have to shoot her. If that girl dies out there from blood loss, I just wasted two bullets in vain!" Minax shakes her head and carefully works her way back into her rubbery black top. It takes her a while to adjust it to the correct position. "Oh well. I hope she survives. Then she can feel the pain I felt for five long years of my life. Now on to more important matters..." Minax leaps up to the fire escape of the building to her right. She continues to climb the fire escape's stairs, until she gets close enough to the roof to jump up to it. She jumps! Her arms grab on to the ledge. "I sure could use a Pokemon who knows Vine Whip for all this climbing." Minax pushes as hard as she can to vault herself onto the roof. Once on top, she gets a running start and leaps onto the ceiling of the next building... Silph Co. She lands gracefully, and walks over to a hidden entrance on the roof. A Venusaur peaks out of the entrance, yells "Venusssaur!" and shoots a Razor Leaf attack out at Minax! Minax ducks down to the ground, "Damn security system... Alarms I can handle, but crazy Pokemon?" A grinning Electrode follows the Venusaur and explodes! Minax is at a safe enough distance to not be affected. After the violent explosion, everything becomes quiet. Minax takes the opportunity to run at full speed towards the hidden entrance... THWACK! A huge Porygon sends her flying into the air! THUD! She lands on her butt. "I feel like killing every one of those Pokemon!" Minax stands up and rushes the entrance one more time, this time sliding in just as a Charmander leaps out, spewing flames! "It's not over yet." Minax finds herself in a warehouse full of violent Pokemon... All of them stare at her with unmoving eyes. Minax becomes slightly worried, before she realizes that they are all robots. "This is going to be easier than I thought. Now to find that Henry character." She pulls a business card out of her black leather pouch, studies it for a moment, shoves it back in, then hunts around the Pokemon robot storage room until she finds an exit. "Here we are." Minax reads the sign on the door she stands before out loud, "Pokemon Control Lab... Heh. It should be called the Weapons of Pokemon Obliteration Lab." Minax makes herself more presentable by combing her long red hair before knocking on the door three times in a certain rhythm. "Male Mr. Mimes mate in the morning." The door creaks open. A raspy man's voice whispers, "Minax! Ya decided to come after all!" "But of course, Henry." Minax steps into the room and the door is shut behind her immediately. She looks at Henry for only the second time in her life. He has thick black hair and a bushy black beard. He wears a camoflouge shirt and pants with a Silph Lab Coat over it. Minax scoffs, "Did your mommy forget to dress you this morning?" "Hardy Har Har." Henry smirks, pushing up his glasses, "So, what're ya lookin' for? A man who can satisfy your wishes?" "Hardly." Minax shakes her head, feeling like spitting at the man, but knowing that she needs his help. "When I saw you at the Saffron Weapon Store a few weeks ago, you said that I could come to you for new weapons. You said that Silph gives you money and you're free to do with it what you please. Is that true or should I punish you for lying?" Henry laughs, showing his yellowed crooked teeth, "It's true, but ya can still punish me if ya want!" Minax reaches for her long skinning knife, but shakes her head, thinking the man might actually like her to do *that* to him too. "I'll pass. Is there any way to kill a Ditto?" She licks her upper lip, thinking about the possibilities. "I've been thinkin' about that too." Henry waves his hand towards the next room, "Come to my lab, you sexy vixen!" Minax shrugs as she walks into the next room. It seems simple enough. There are some Pokeballs scattered around, cages containing test Rattatas, and some prods in case the Pokemon get out of control. A large computer rests on a plain table, and papers are scattered everywhere, even on the floor, some on a bookshelf in the corner. "This is a Lab? Where's the brain transplant machines and weapons of mass destruction?" Minax shakes her head at the so-called Lab. "I'm glad ya asked!" Henry walks up to the bookshelf and shoves it aside, revealing a hole in the wall. Minax walks into the secret passage, keeping her eyes open in case of danger. Buried deep within the walls of Silph is Henry's personal Weapons Lab. There isn't much room, but weapons of all sorts line the walls. An entire wall is dedicated to hanging plans for even more destructive weapons. Henry walks into the passage behind Minax and chimes in, "Cozy, isn't it?" Minax narrows her eyes at the rouge scientist, "Show me how to kill a Ditto." "First..." Henry grabs a note pad from the floor, "I'd like to explain my research. It's not very often that I can!" Minax grits her teeth, but stays silent, somewhat curious about what he might say. "Yer silence shows yer willingness to listen!" The bearded man clears his throat and begins his speech, "I've always been interested in Ditto, since they seem to be immortal. In Silph, I'm assigned to make sure Pokemon stay under control... See that they don't break outta their Pokeballs, always obey their masters, and don't go on rampages, something that they'd normally do if Silph wasn't controlling them! That's the stuff you saw in my normal office." "Uh huh." Minax waves her hand, "Go on with it. Get to the point!" Henry smiles again, and Minax can barely stand to look at his ugly teeth, not to mention his hideous face, "Kay. Here in my secret lab, I make weapons of all kinds, and I've been trying to think up a way to kill Ditto and Porygon. The latter was simple, cuz all ya gotta do is implant a virus, but the Ditto is harder. If you shoot a Ditto with a gun, or even jab a pencil through it, it just glows a little and reforms the part shot or jabbed. It acts like slime! Some people think the only way that a Ditto can die is cuz of old age. The problem is, some Ditto live to be over 100 years old!" Minax nods in mild interest, "So did you invent a ray gun that makes Ditto age faster?" Henry bursts out in a fit of laughter, "That's just in the movies! Sci-fi! I'm not a mad scientist, I just make weapons!" Minax doesn't appreciate being laughed at, so she grabs onto Henry's neck, her nails about ready to dig into his jugular, "Don't laugh at me." Henry nervously nods, and she releases her grip. Minax looks at him, "Continue." "Right." Henry reaches up to his neck and rubs it with his hand, "Well, I've been lookin' up research about Ditto. Some research that isn't even put in libraries... I got connections. Ever seen what happens to a slug when your pour salt on it? It fizzles and melts. It seems that Ditto can whither up and die if they consume salt without taking liquids." Minax raises an eyebrow, "So the weapon I'm looking for is a salt shaker?" "Not exactly..." Henry continues, "You'd have to keep the Ditto imprisoned somewhere so that it can't escape. It can't be in a Pokeball, since they turn the Ditto into energy. What you'd need is one of these." Henry holds up a Pokeball. Minax clenches her fist in frustration, "So you're saying I don't need a Pokeball and what I need is a Pokeball?" "This isn't a Pokeball." Henry smiles and walks into the next room. He releases a Rattata from one of the cages and begins to smack the Pokeball onto the creature's body... Nothing happens. "Pokeballs suck in Pokemon. This Pokeball closes and keeps itself shut tight as much as a Pokeball, but the Pokemon isn't stored as energy. Very cramped... but Ditto can fit since they are ooze. It's powerful enough to keep the Ditto in. The Ditto can't morph and break out." "Why not?" Minax asks, watching as the Rattata sniffs around the ground, wanting to shoot it out of boredom. Henry tosses the Pokeball up into the air and catches it again. "It's fortified. I haven't been able to test it, yet, but you can do that for me!" Henry reaches onto his desk and grabs a salt shaker and glue. He spreads glue all over the inside of the Pokeball and dumps a huge amount of salt into it. "Catch the Ditto ya want to kill in this, keep it in there for a while, and it'll surely die. If it works, come back an' tell me, I can mass produce these babies in the Black Market!" Minax grabs the salty Pokeball out of Henry's hand. "Thanks, Henry. If this works, I'll come back to congratulate you. If this doesn't work, I'll come back to whip you to death." "In that case, I hope it doesn't work!" Henry laughs out loud again. While he is laughing, Minax makes a fist and punches him in the jaw. Henry falls to the ground, clenching his now dislocated jaw, "Wha ya oo at er?!" Minax puts the salty Pokeball on her belt. "That'll teach you to laugh, you idiot." She runs outside of the room, slamming the door shut on the way out. "I'm sure I won't have to hunt down Doppler... The Pokemon will hunt for me!" -Minax