From: Chuck Einhorn <unicorns@mmtcnet.com> Subject: [PW!] Night raid of the knapsack! Date: Tuesday, August 24, 1999 6:30 PM Dernam had read a bit on the Bug Gym, but it appeared to be in Viridian Forest. Too far away. He had to decide on something to do. He wanted Moon Stone, for one thing. Nidorino could use some buffing up. The smartest thing to do was go north, to Cerulean, and then west to Mt. Moon. He was concerned about possibly meeting up with that psychopath, Misty, but further reading at the Pokémon League HQ website said she was away, and that here sisters Daisy, Violet, and Lilly, were in charge, and they would know nothing of him. Besides, in his khaki's and Tummy Pokéfinger shirt(from Bill, not Pokémaniac Bill, of course), and Blonde(not brown, snicker snicker) hair, not to mention faded tan and green eyes, he would be unrecognizable, even if they had a 7-day old picture of him. He smiled. He hit the trail from Saffron to Cerulean. He saw plenty of people, possibly trainers, but he challenged no one. He wanted to get to Cerulean in perfect form, and not alert anyone ther that he was packing big guys. News traveled faster than light, it seems. Someone heading to Cerulean carrying a Gyarados would put people on gaurd, and he wanted to get them off-gaurd. He vowed that if Misty did show up, not only would he win, he'd catch her off guard, flabbergast and confuse, then beat the crud out of her. Have a little fun with it. You know, the way it should be done. He made a lot of progress the first few days. By the end of the week, he was at the edge of the woods, and within view of the terraces that were the outskirts of Cerulean. But it was too late for that. He needed rest. He bedded down. He rolled out his sleeping bag, put his backpack down beside him, and fell asleep. He awoke in the middle of the night. He'd heard something. He looked around the campsite. Nothing. He was ready to fall asleep again, until he noticed his backpack. It was moving. He quickly, yet silently, eased out of the sleeping bag. He looked over at the backpack. It was moving side-to-side, slowly vibrating. He heard mumbling inside it. Something was trying to get at his food. He had it wrapped up in a seperate bag, and tied firmly, but a Pokémon could be cunning enough to untie it. He sneaked up on the bag, inching ever closer. He bent over, grabbed his pack, and held the opening shut. The expected whining and screaming came from the bag. It was muffled, but loud enough to understand. "Vee! Veeeeee! Eeeeee! Eeeevvvvv!" How lucky, an Eevee. Not that Dernam wanted such a cute creature, he despised overly cute things, but an Eevee might eventually make a great addition. He cautiously opened the pack. The cute thing popped it's head out and stared at him. Realizing how large, but human, it's opponent was, it instantly tried the cute routine. It got all teary eyed and mewled, trying to be as cute as possible. He had to resist the urge to punch it's lights out. "Listen, pal I'm not much into the cute stuff. Lets make a deal. I keep you around, make sure your fed, and you stick with me for a bit, make it mutualistic." The Eevee comprehended this for a moment, and shook it's head rapidly. "Fine then, you stay here, and tommorrow morning I feed you. You try anything funny, like biting me, I snap your neck. You run off, my Scyther hunts you down like the dog you are. Understood?" The Eevee started to look sad, but eventually shook it's head in agreement. He placed the little fox-like thing down. "And one more thing, Eevee. Don't do any of that cute stuff....." he decided to add to that quickly. "unless there are chicks around. Then you be as cute as you want." "Eev!!" He liked that idea. "You like saying eve? Fine then, I now name you 6*." "Eevee?" He didn't get it. "Oh, get to sleep, 6. He slumped over and fell fast asleep. When he woke up, 6 was lying at his side, curled up in it's tail, all cute and whatnot. He tapped him(her?) awake. "Well, you stayed, 6, so you get a meal." He quickly started a fire to warm himself after the cold night. 6 looked expectantly at the pack, as if to say, "Where's the beef?" Dernam pulled out the knapsack 6 had tried so stealthfully to swipe, and got out some sauge, fried it in an iron skillet, and gave himself some, most actually, and the rest to 6, who ate it eagerly. He inquired to the Eevee. "Answer me this, 6. Male or female? Eev means male, Vee means female." "Eev." "Ok, just want to know what I'm dealing with." He packed his stuff and cleaned up. "Come, 6! We have much to do in Cerulean. Let us make haste." With that, they hit the trail, walking up the terraces to the beautiful, mist-shrouded city of Cerulean. Dernam checked his wallet. He hadn't realized how much he had spent in Saffron getting fresh food. He needed a job. His parents were rich, but he had insisted on leaving with the bare minimun amount of money. Now he had to pay, literally. He had to find employment. Dernam decided that was a good thing. It would give him time to knock up the gym, do a little research, get to know the locals, and mooch up some info on the mysterious Mt. Moon, which contained the precious Moon Stone he so needed for Nidorino. He and 6 strolled into town, without turning a head. Excellent. TBC Ethan Einhorn To be what we have never been To see what we have never seen To shed the chrysalis and fly, Depart the Earth, kiss the sky, To be reborn, be something new: Is this a dream, or is it true? Can our lives be clearly shorn From a life to which we're born? Are we each a creature free? Or trapped at birth by destiny? Pity those who believe the latter. Without freedom, nothing matters. --The Book of Counted Sorrows Footnote*- Eve 6 is the name of a band, if you didn't already know.