From: SaberTeamR <saberteamr@aol.computer> Subject: [PW!] Well, as long as I'm here... Date: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 7:38 PM # # Indicates thought. (I got lazy) ----- Saber sat in the Fuschia City Pokemon Center with Sirius. They had just arrived a few minutes earlier. Seeing as how there was really nothing important going on, he decided to go to the Fuschia Gym to see about getting another badge to compliment his Boulder Badge. "Do you think Raven is cut out for this?" Sirius asked Saber.[1] "From what I hear, it seems this position was forced on him, and as of now, he really has no choice other than to fulfill his duties as leader, or let ATR crumble. I knew quite a few people in Team Rocket that would have made a better leader than Giovanni, *cough*me*cough*, but there really was nothing that could be done. Raven's doing a good job as far as I can see." "It must be alot of stress, having all that dumped on you." "Yup." Saber agreed, and scanned the room while Siruis went back to reading the Pokemon Friend. He sniffed the air. #The hell...? Weed smoke?# He looked over and saw a stoned Koffing harrassing an Oddish. #Heh, cool.# His thought then returned to the Fuschia Gym. "Well, thing's are kinda boring around here, so I'm gonna head over to the gym and see about getting a Soul Badge." Sirius looked up from his magazine in amusement. "You mean you don't have a Soul Badge yet? I would think someone like you would have all 8 badges already." "Being a top agent for Team Rocket didn't exactly leave me much time to pursue personal goals." Saber said. "Although I DO suppose I could have asked Giovanni to give me an Earth Badge. It would have been a small payback for all the hard work I did." Sirius shrugged and went back to reading his magazine. "Allright, just don't get lost." "Lost?? the gym's right next door!" "Heh, oh yeah. Well, I'll see you when you get back." "Ciao." Saber said. He got up and walked to the door. Stopping for a moment to put on his shades, he stepped out into the sunlight. Saber walked down the drive of the PokeCenter and started down the street. Battling Koga wasn't the only reason he had left Sirius. He needed seom time to think about the recent happenings. First, he had been recruited by an Anti-Team Rocket member, and taken directly to Raven, co-leader of ATR. After being questioned, he had been given a tour of the facility and a new uniform. He had, of course, added personal touches to the uniform. In place of his hat, he had slicked back his hair with gel, and lost the sneakers for combat boots. He had a black T-shirt, which displayed the ATR logo in Gold, on under a loose-fitting collared long-sleeved unbuttoned black shirt. He pinned his Boulder Badge to the inside of his shirt. The only thing that had remained was his belt, with his Poke Balls and Pokedex on them. The buckle still said "R" however. He didn't feel like changing it. He had to go out of his way to get to Koga's gym, mainly because a big obstacle lie directly in his path. His house. #No way I'm going back there. They kicked me out, and they don't deserve to see me. Although, I wonder what they would think upon seeing me in my new uniform...# He cut through some backyards and went around to the back entrance to the gym. #Heh, not many people know about this door.# He opened the door, took off his shades, walked 5 feet, and smacked into an invisible wall. "OUCH! WHAT THE FU...oh yeah! I forgot about the damn walls!" He exclaimed, and began navigating towards the center, where he knew Koga was waiting. After 30 minutes, he finally reached the center room, but no one was there. "DAMNIT." "Patience, patience." A voice said, seemingly out of nowhere. "Damnit Koga, I don't have time to play your games." Saber said, glancing around. "Heh heh heh, just as I remember you." Said the voice, this time from a dark corner of the room. Saber sighed. "Koga, just come out and let's battle. I have someone waiting for me, plus I don't want someone from my family to come in here and see me." Koga stepped out of the shadows. "So, you hide from your family?" he asked. "That's none of your damn business." "Your family and I, we are close. Where do you think your Koffing came from?" "You mean Koffee? I got it for my birthday...hey...you mean...?" Koga nodded. "It was from me, because I saw in you great potential. I watched as you became troubled by school and family, and was expelled from your own house, and joined Team Rocket. Why did you do it?" "Because..." He couldn't believe he was telling this person, a total stranger except for casual greeting, his deepest thoughts. "...I just wanted to prove to them I was better than what they thought of me. And I did, I proved that I could excell without all the damn schoolwork and studying and testaking. They wanted me to be a scholar, and educated teacher, or a scientist perhaps. But that wasn't what I wanted..." "What DID you want, then?" Koga inquired. "I wanted to go and see the world, accomplish things for myself, not for other people. And I rose to the top in Team Rocket because of my hard work. It was time for *me*." Saber said, unsteadily at first, but slowly gaining confidence as he progressed in the sentence. "But Team Rocket was not as true to you as you were to them?" "You already know the answer to that question, Koga." "Indeed...indeed." He paused a moment, then continued. "Shall we begin the match?" Saber had almost forgotten why he had come to the Gym in the first place. "Yes, of course.!" "Allright then." Koga said as he stepped back into the area marked for trainers. Saber did likewise. Koga pulled out a Poke Ball. "Koffing, GO!" Saber decided to use his own Koffing against Koga's. "Koffee, GO! Prove that you can win!" "KOFFING!" Both Pokemon cried, in unison. "Koffing, sludge attack." Koga said calmly. "Koffee, Tackle!" Koga's Koffing spewed out a large glob of toxic ooze, which barely missed Koffee as it went in for the tackle. Koga's Koffing was hit head-on and bounced around the room until it got its bearings. "Koffing, poinson gas attack, now!" The Koffing let out thick noxious gas which shrouded the arena. Saber coughed and choked, "Koffee *cough* hit it *cough* with a *coughcough* sludge *cough*. "Koff?" Koffee replied, thinking his master was trying to speak his language. "*cough*" "Koffing koff?" "*coughcoughcough*" "Koffinnnnngggggg." Saber took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Koffee, look out behind you!!" He yelled as Koga's Koffing flew out of the dense gas at high speed, towards Koffee. Koffee merely moved to the side a little as the other Koffing sailed past him, directly into an invisible wall. "Kofffffffing." It sighed as it slid down the wall, fainted. Koga looked surprised. "Koffing, return!" he said as he recalled his Pokemon. "Muk, GO!" The disgusting-smelling sludge Pokemon emerged. "M-m-m-m-m-muk!" "Koffee, you're too tired, return!" Saber called Koffee back, and reached for Spoon!'s Poke Ball. "Spoon!, go!" "Kadabra!" A look of dismay appeared on Koga's face. A psychic Pokemon, most likely at a high level. This battle wasn't going to last very long. ----- Spoon! had taken out Muk and another Koffing, and Saber let UV-ultra finish up the battle with Weezing because Spoon! was out of Psybeams. "Weezing, return." Koga said, putting his Poke Balls away. "Well done, Saber. I didn't expect any less from you." he said as he unfurled a scroll. "This Soul Badge is rightfully yours." "A Soul Badge!" Saber exclaimed as he pulled the badge from the scroll. He pinned it to the inside of his shirt. Saber started to leave, but turned as Koga said "Just remember, running from your fears does not make them go away. You must some day face them. If you do so at your own will, then you have the advantage, but if you wait until the last moment, your fears may conquer you by suprise." Saber just nodded, and headed out the front of the Gym, careful not to bump into anymore walls. He put his sunglasses back on, and stepped into the street. He strode, in plain view of his house and its many large windows, to the Pokemon Center, where Sirius was waiting for him. He went back inside the PokeCenter only to find that Sirius had read every magazine in the place. "Heh, I guess you got bored while I was gone?" Saber said. "This is so strange," Sirius began, "I wish something would happen. Something, ANYTHING. There's nothing going on. AT ALL. The only thing of interest around here is that stoned Koffing." He and Saber both look over to where the Koffing still sat, letting off its Marijuana smoke. By now, several people in the PokeCenter were starting to act strangly, calling each other "man" and saying "like" at least three times a sentence. The word "groovy" came up alot. A guy with a business suit came over, obviously under the influence of the weed smoke. "Hey man, like you gotta release the joy that's like within yourselves, man. Huh huh huh heh." Saber and Sirius sweatdropped at the man fell down, but staggered to his feet and continued past them. TBC? [1] Sorry, I don't remember the exact context of this, as I accidently reset my computer in the middle of re-reading the post. -.-;;; ------------------------ Saber's Sig v2.0 ***Saber means "to know."*** Team Rocket HQ: http://teamr.upnetwork.com Email: saber@upnetwork.com My Deathday: Tuesday, April 3, 2057 "Clefaaiwy, Clefaaaaiwy, Clefaaaiwy, METAPOD." -Neo Zero