From: TheRunt <therunt411@aol.com> Subject: [PW!][Repost] Big P: Case of the Missing Pokémon (Part 1 of 2) Date: Thursday, September 16, 1999 6:51 PM (This is Part 1 of a compilation repost of the "Case of the Missing Pokémon" thread. For your convenience, a summary of this episode appears at the bottom.) "LARA!!!" comes a shout from the distance. "LARA!!!" A male breeder wearing a plaid cotton shirt, jeans, and boots comes running up to her. "My prizewinning Tauros is missing!" "Missing Tauros, eh?" Robert strokes his chin pensively, "This sounds like a job for Inspector Robert!" Mithril-rama blinks and looks at her boyfriend, "Since when have you been a detective?" "Well..." Robert chuckles nervously, pulling on the collar of his shirt, "You see ... I used to play Clue a whole lot back at Lavender Town. Oh yeah, and I once had this dream that we were in a scary dark mansion on a mountain...and you were there -- But not any of you guys!" Robert looks around to the group before facing Rilli again, "And I solved the mystery! I think. Then again, it was my dream, so of course I would know who..." "There's no time to lose!" says the Tauros breeder as he races back towards his part of the farm. Lara hops into her Rapidash's saddle and follows, her Growlithe right behind her. The rest of the group quickly chase after him as well. "It was here yesterday, now it's gone! No trace whatsoever!" says the Tauros breeder as the group reaches his ranch. Robert walks into the crime scene wearing a heavy brown trenchcoat, an unlit pipe hanging from his mouth. "No trace, eh?" he remarks. "We'll just see about that!" Runt whispers to Rilli, "Where'd he get that trench coat? And that pipe?" Mithril-rama sighs, covering her face in embarrassment, "Don't ask." Robert tosses a Pokéball out. A haunter ghost wraps around itself as it emerges. "Haw Haw... Haunter?" The ghost looks at everyone, and question marks appear over his head. Robert takes a deep breath, "This is Sarah Jane, Damian, Jon, Runt, Christy, Felix, Christy number two, and Dustin! Oh yeah, and this is Lara and a guy I don't know... And you already know Rilli." Kirsty huffs, suddenly insulted, "My name is Kirsty! Not Christy number two! That's an awful sounding name!" Robert sweatdrops, "Oh...sorry -- Anyhow, Haunter..." Robert turns to face his Ghost Pokémon, only to find that he's floated elsewhere. The ghost's owner turns around completely, until he spots his Haunter tapping Rilli's shoulder. "No!" Robert runs over to his Pokémon and tries to pry him away from Mithril-rama, but instead the human arms phase right through the ghostly purple body. "No, Haunter. You can't see you're girlfriend until you help me solve this mystery, if she comes out now she'll just distract you!" "Haww..." Haunter looks down, tears streaming down the side of his face. Robert points over towards some heavily trampled earth, "Search the area for clues." Haunter floats over towards the area, hunched over, and pulls out a tiny magnifying lens which he raises to his large crying eyes. Robert pulls a notepad and a pencil out of his backpack, and approaches the Tauros owner. "What's your name?" "Orderly Alpaca." The breeder nods his head once in Robert's direction. Robert furrows his brow while writing on his notepad, "How many 'Q's are there in Orderlyalpaca?" Sarah Jane puts all her weight on her crutches and lifts her injured foot off the ground, "Could you please go a little faster, Robert? My ankle is starting to act up..." Jon wipes his sweating forehead, "Yeah, and it's hot out here!" Runt pets the panting baby Kangaskhan hanging from the fake pouch on his chest, "We could use some lemonade." "Okay, okay..." Robert looks the Tauros breeder in the eyes, "So, Orderlyalpaca, if that is your real name, why exactly is the Tauros of yours...prizewinning? Does it produce good milk or something?" Orderly shakes his head, "Naw, it ain't that ... It won at the Pokémon Race a few years ago. I was gonna try to race on it tomorrow in the big race, but now it's gone! I can't believe it's really gone!" "Big Race, huh?" Robert taps his notepad a few times with his pencil, "I sense foul play -- It must be one of the other people who are going to be in the race..." Robert jots something down on his notepad before stashing it in a trench coat pocket. "It's still not enough clues ... Haunter, you doing any better, buddy?" Haunter sticks his large tongue out at Robert, spits ghostly saliva, and shakes his head. Robert turns to Mithril-rama and waves, "Go ahead." Within moments, Rilli's female Haunter is playing around with her boyfriend's. They both don detective hats and float away to look for clues together... Suddenly, a female trainer in a green shirt and tight blue jeans runs over to the group. "My Nidorina's missin'! The one I was'a gonna race tomorrow!" she shouts in a deep southern accent. Robert snaps his fingers, "I have an idea! We talk to all the people who are going to be in the race. The only one who isn't missing his or her Pokémon is probably the one stealing everyone else's!" Lara's Rapidash neighs loudly and snorts. Lara pats it on the side comfortingly, "I won't let you out'a my sight, Rapidash!" Christy fans herself with her manicured hands, "All this crazy detective stuff is making me thirsty! Not to mention the blazing sun! Isn't there any place to get some ice cold water around here?" Orderly smiles at everyone, "Oh my, I was so worried about my Tauros, that I plum forgot my manners! But now that we have a detective on the case, does anyone wanna join me inside for some drinks?" Robert adjusts his trench coat, "The detective is going to need some refreshments to keep his brain going strong!" He marches into Orderly's home, followed by the other parched Pokémon trainers. Once everyone is sitting down, Robert takes out his note pad again and addresses Lara, who keep looking outside to keep an eye on her Rapidash. Robert takes a large sip out of his tall glass of water and clears his throat, "So, Lara, has anyone ever tried to sabotage the race in the past?" Lara starts to shake her head, before remembering one particular race a couple of years ago, "Dario..." "Dario?" begins Orderly Alpaca, but several other voices from the group echo him. "Is this the same Dario who had Team Rocket sabotage the race years ago?" Sarah Jane asks. "That's the one," answers Lara. "But I might be jumping the gun here. Why don't we talk to everybody else?" She looks over at Orderly. He nods his head and stands up, then swiftly goes over to a counter and grabs a box. He sets the item on the table where everyone's seated, allowing everybody to see that its a CB-radio. "Probably the kinda' occasion that calls for usin' it," Orderly comments, "This an' Psyduck stampedes." "Psyduck stampede?" asks a bewildered Felix, the looks on almost everyone else's face asks the same question. Lara explains "When Ash Ketchum became League Champ, some Pokémon became a little more in demand. People started to expect us to supply some o' them, and we decided to oblige 'em. Everybody thought that like Misty's Psyduck, that they're cute and mostly harmless." She sighs. "Problem is they're pretty headstrong for something without much in their heads. When they get spooked by something, which is pretty easy, it's hard to stop 'em. They won't stop for Rapidash or Growlithe. While they're runnin' 'round they still seem to know that water types can take out fire type Pokémon pretty easily." Orderly cuts in, drawing everybody's attention. "With the radios we can coordinate and get 'em back under control, or ask everybody 'bout their Pokémon without havin' ta' run over all o' creation in the process." Almost everyone in the group nods their head in understanding. He switches on the radio and presses the button on the microphone "Hey, Dale, you listenin'?" "Yeah, what's up? Psyducks on the loose again or is it somethin' important?" Orderly keeps his face expressionless as he once again presses the microphone button, "Couple o' Pokémon up'n disappeared on us. Wanted to see if you were missin' any." "I don't think so, but let me check again," says the man on the other end. Some of members of the group start to look bored, while the others appear to be on the edge of their sit with anticipation. Finally, another response is received. "I'm missin' one, too! It was the Rhyhorn I was gonna' use in the race tomorrow!" "We thought that might be. Listen, I don't mean to cut ya' off, but we gotta' check with a few other people. Talk to ya' later." With that, Orderly turns a knob on the radio unit and activates the microphone again. "Marion, can ya' hear me?" He repeats the process a few more times, each time coming up with the same results: each Pokémon that was going to be in the race is gone. "That seems to confirm what we're thinking." Runt comments. "What about the Psyducks?" asks Robert. Everybody looks at him with a confused expression. In what appears to be a stunning moment of clarity, considering his recent behavior, Robert elaborates "You can't race on a Psyduck. If the best one of them is missing, then whoever stole it may want to steal the best Pokémon here, instead of just ones that are going to be in the race." "That's some mighty fine detective work, Robert," says Lara. "Chuck, are ya' there?" asks Orderly, having already dialed up the correct trainer. The voice that comes back in response is quick and sounds on edge, "Yes! Yes! Yes, I am!" "We've got some Pokémon missin' and we wanted to find out if you've got all yer Psyducks there. Can ya' check for us?" There is a quick "Yes! Yes! Of course!" followed by silence. After a moment, Chuck is heard again, "No, all fifty Psyducks are still here." Orderly Alpaca seems about to say something when Chuck is heard again. "Why weren't any of them taken? Why couldn't someone take at least one of them?! THEY'RE ALL STILL HERE! ALL OF THEM! HOLDING THEIR HEADS AND THEIR CONSTANT ANNOYING NASALLY PSY'S AND DUCK'S! ALL OF THEM! PSY! DUCK! PSY! DUCK! PS--!" Orderly shuts the radio off as Chuck continues to rant hysterically. Everyone's eyes are wide and sweatdrops abound. Jon is the first to say something "I think he needs to be on another kind of farm." For the first time in a while Damian's T-shirt has something new on it - The writing is enclosed by musical notes and reads: "to the Funny Farm! Where life is beautiful all the time, and I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats, and they're coming to take me away, ha-haa!" Orderly stands up and starts walking towards the door. "I'll go have a talk with Chuck and make sure he doesn't hurt himself or anybody else." He grabs a length of rope off the wall on his way out. After he leaves there is an uncomfortable silence. Dustin breaks it by turning to Lara and asking, "So you think Dario took those Pokémon, huh?" She nods her head "It does seem like it. He tried to cheat at the race years ago so he could become an honorary member of the Laramie clan. I don’t think he gave up after the last time." "I read about it in the papers," adds Kirsty. "Is there any way to really prove that it’s this Dario?" "And if it is, what do we do about it?" inquires Rilli. "There's always the race," states Felix. "I have the feeling that he'll show his face on the track now that all his competitors are without Pokémon." "But what should we do then?" "While he's on the track, he won't be able to guard the stolen Pokémon, right?" comments Felix. "Yes..." "Well, while he's in the race someone goes out and finds the missing Pokémon," says Kirsty. "But didn't he have Team Rocket on his side? They'll be guarding the stolen Pokémon, or maybe they've already got them." "We don't know for sure if it's Dario," Sarah Jan points out, "and if it is, we don't know if he's working with Team Rocket or not." "I can race him," declares Lara angrily. "My Rapidash beat him last time, she can do it again." "You already said that you weren't sure if you wanted to race Rapidash," reminds Sarah Jane. "We could ALL race him tomorrow..." Robert stands up, fixing his trenchcoat, "But by then it would be too late! I say we all storm into his house and ask the meaning of this! FREEDOM!!! Is everyone with me?" A few members in the large group cough, and others turn their faces away from Robert. "Robert, don't you think you're being a little melodramatic?" asks Sarah. "This is something that needs to be thought out, not rushed into." The only one who steps forward is Mithril-rama, "I'm with you, Robert!" She places her hands on his shoulder. Robert sniffs once, then blinks his eyes. He rubs them for a moment before speaking, "I just...got a little bit of dust in my eyes. If anyone has a change of heart, you know where Dario's house is. I'll be there." With that, Robert and Rilli storm out of Orderly Alpaca's house, hand-in-hand. "Who needs a large group, anyway? I've got you, Rilli!" Mithril-rama blushes and clears her throat, "Uhh... Do you know where Dario's house is?" "We'll find it eventually. How large can the Big P Pokémon Ranch be, anyhow?" Robert gazes out into the distance. < Meanwhile, back at Orderly's House > Jon looks through his Pokédex, an indecisive look on his face. "Need some help?" asks Felix. Jon nods, "I have two I think I could ride - Jolteon or Tauros. Tauros is easier to ride - But it isn't as fast and I've never used it before. Jolteon might be hard to ride, but it's quite fast and obedient." "Go with Jolteon. It's a sure bet." Felix smiles As dusk begins to fall, the group returns to the topic of the missing Pokémon. "Hmm...I wonder where Robert and Rilli are," Runt thinks aloud. "I guess it was kind of rude for us to just make them go alone ... with that Dario guy..." Damian adds. Lara looks out the window, then turns to her guests. "I sure don't trust that Dario ... but your friends sure looked smart. They'll be okay." "Maybe we should go after them," suggests Sarah Jane. There is a period of silence, and the group grows uneasy. "Then who's going to race Dario?" asks Felix. "I'll go after him, but someone's going to stay and race." He reaches into his bag, and pulls out a bundled-up brace of slender throwing knives. Fastening it to his arm, he pulls the straps tight and tests one of the weapons for balance. The group looked around nervously at each other. Rockets, or the raceway? Suddenly, Sarah Jane begins to shiver, a faraway look in her eyes. "Something's wrong..." she says in a low voice. "Uh oh - Last time she was like this, was right before the S.S. Anne sank..." comments Jon. "Something must be up with Robert and Rilli," says Damian. In an almost trancelike state, Sarah hands her Nidorans' leashes to Christy and bolts out the door as fast as she can on her crutches. Shields quickly follows on her heels. "Hey - Wait up!" shouts Runt as he and a few of the others follow. Christy remains behind, holding fast to Cuddles and Spunky's leashes. Sarah Jane tosses out one of her Pokéballs. Her Tauros appears, then lowers himself down so she can climb on his back. As soon as his trainer is situated, Ferdinand stands and begins to run. "Follow that Tauros!" yells Felix, trying to keep up. They end up following Ferdinand's tracks, which lead to another small house. A female trainer shouts in distress. "Some dang rustlers made off with my racing Nidorina!" she tells the group. "A girl on a Tauros took off after 'em with Lara and Rapidash." "Damn...Here we go again," sighs Jon. Again they start tracking Sarah Jane. After a few moments, they find her and Lara outside of a small ranch house. "I think I saw Dario inside," Lara comments. "The missing Pokémon must be nearby," says Sarah Jane. "Shields saw Robert and Rilli tied up inside." < Inside > "Robert? Robert!" Mithril-rama tries to nudge her unconscious boyfriend with her foot, but it isn't enough to wake him up. She looks up at one of the men checking the various cages stacked around the room, "Can't you at least get him some water? Dehydration is serious, he could die from it!" "Well, wouldn't that be a pity," sneers the goon. "That'll teach him not to mess with Dario, wouldn't it?" A response comes in the form of a fist to his head. "You idiot!" Dario growls as he withdraws his arm. "If th' guy's dead, how're ya supposed ta teach him anyth'ng? Get some sense into that empty melon o' yers, b'fore I kick ya all th' way from here to that crazy Psyduck pond! I ain't got time to waste with such a nutbrain!" "More people are headin' dis way, boss!" reports a man at the window. "More?" Dario glances out the window, "Why, if it ain't Lara Laramie herself! And she's got a few friends with her too! 'Reckon she's figgered out where all the Pokémon been. Well, I'll show her this time!" "Um...about that water..." Rilli pipes up from her seat. Dario turns to the girl briefly. "You just keep yer trap shut and stay put, li'l lady, an' your friend here might get his water. Otherwise..." He raised a finger to his throat, but before he can mimic the customary slashing motion, a Kangaskhan knocks him to the ground. "Ain't you got eyes, you oversized duffel bag??" he yells at the Pokémon, as they head out the door. < Back outside > "Well, if it ain't Lara an' some more of her little friends," drawls Dario. "Working with Team Rocket again to sabotage the race?" says Lara venomously. "Those losers? I done myself one better. I created my own gang," returns Dario. "Let's show 'em what you can do!" he calls inside. Several big, burly roughnecks emerge from the cabin. "Oh great," Damian says, reaching for his pokéballs. <To Be Continued...> Summary: Several of the Ranch's Pokémon that were to be in the upcoming race turn up missing. The group goes Dario's house and ends up finding more than they were expecting. _______________________________________________________________ "Slow and steady wins the race."