From: Adrian Tymes <wingcat@pacbell.net> Subject: [PW!] Of Mewtwo and Plans Date: Saturday, September 25, 1999 1:22 PM It was dark in Mewtwo's cavern, and he liked it that way. The Unknown Dungeon was packed with the most powerful pokemon around, all of whom acted as guards to keep the vermin of civilization from pestering him. That these pokemon were high level while still being wild was no accident: Mewtwo sparred with them from time to time, training them to rival or outclass the weaklings most trainers used. They served his purposes adequately enough. Occasionally, a trainer or a pokemon got through, and Mewtwo would be forced to deal with the interloper himself. Such had been the fate of that Ditto, whose remains had, Mewtwo assumed, dripped off the walls while he left to seek out Doppler. And now he could hear a new rival approaching... While most who would deal with him fought off the guards, trying to prove (or maybe improve) their might, leaving them alone and weakened by the time they faced Mewtwo, a very few tried to reach Mewtwo with speed alone. Such seemed to be the case now. Even though Mewtwo could not yet see the trespasser, he recognized the sounds of many pokemon chasing one being. He had a few minutes to prepare, so he rose from his meditative lotus position and properly stretched, his body revelling in new vitality as his mind shifted its power from contemplation to physical prowess. When the crowd finally reached his chamber, Mewtwo studied the one at the head of the pack - surely, the instigator of this chaos. A porygon had chosen to violate his sanctity this time; certainly not the normal visitor, but a mere mortal nonetheless. It was born of computer code, and like any such file, it could be erased from existence. This one was heading straight for him, apparently intent on overrunning him and getting the guards to do likewise. A clever tactic, perhaps, but it simply would not work. Not even breaking a sweat, Mewtwo froze the porygon and the pursuing guards in a psychic blue aura. He banished the guards to the floor above, using their combined mass to punch a new hole for what they would have done. He then turned to the porygon, contemplating exactly how he would deal with this creature... "Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring! Phone call, phone call!" Mewtwo sweatdropped. The porygon's chest panel flickered, then displayed the image of a grey robe. "Hello, Mewtwo." Mewtwo let his hold dissapate. "Doppler. Interesting way of getting a message to me." "You don't exactly have a listed phone number. Or an e-mail address." Idly, Mewtwo noticed that the porygon's other panels were all the exact same shade of grey as Doppler's robe. "Afraid to come in person now?" "Not at all. But circumstances require me to be here at the moment. You see, we have a new enemy." "'We'? Ha! You're just trying to get my help because someone's finally gotten a little too close to collecting that bounty on your head." "They attacked YOU first, Mewtwo. Remember that black ditto? The one with the ruby? Check this out." The porygon's chest panel displayed scenes from the news report on the battle with Protopticon, zoomed in to emphasize the ruby, before returning to Doppler. "I tried adopting a disguise as 'Replicus' to hide my identity, but I fear they may have seen through it. I have returned to headquarters to commune with my best advisors, but that communion works best with physical contact...thus the reason for this mode of communication." "Been thinking about this a while?" "Actually, I just got back, after running into some...difficulties." Doppler refused to mention that someone had actually captured him - even if only briefly - and that, worse, they sucessfully fled before he could scan them, leaving him with no idea who had forced this indignity on him. Fear that Mewtwo would pick this embarassment up in telepathic contact was also part of the reason Doppler was not visiting in person. "So, what do you expect ME to be able to do about it?" "Nothing, at the moment...but I thought it in both our interests that you be informed. I shall try to deal with these individuals, but if I can see a way you can render assistance, I shall let you know. Doppler out." As the porygon's panel faded back to grey, Mewtwo tried to stifle his rising anger. How DARE he try to deal with these...these FOOLS! Mewtwo wanted - no, DESERVED to be the one to personally execute those who had dared attacked him and his student. A wisp of Mewtwo's anger wicked out, underneath his control, and blasted the porygon. As its conciousness shattered into dying embers, the pokemon relaxed, welcoming death. It had been expected to die; that was why its friends had a backup copy, with all its memories and emotions scanned just before it went out, ready for activation back home. Mewtwo barely noticed the rain of porygon shards, nor did it pay any heed when they faded away. Without knowing anything more about this new threat, it could make no move against them, and Mewtwo had no idea how to find out more at the time. Mewtwo hated being powerless. ["Late breaking news" scene switch] "We interrupt this program to bring you a special bulliten. "Replicus, the giant ditto who battled Protopticon yesterday morning, has issued a rematch challenge to Protopticon. In order to avoid potential harm to bystanders that, he says, 'forced me to pull my punches,' the rematch will happen equidistant from Mount Moon, Cerulean City, and the Rocket Bottle..." "(Psst! We're not supposed to call it that, even if everyone *knows* it is!)" "(Well, I can't say its proper name on television.)" "(So use its acronym!)" "...errm, the D.C.B.F.H.(E.F.). Replicus has stated he will arrive at the battle zone in a few hours and wait for his challenger. When asked why he did not pick a specific time, Replicus denied knowledge of his opponent's schedule. Apparently, Replicus intends to wait for possibly up to several days. While he denies rumors that the vague schedule is intended to prevent this from becoming a media event that news crews can schedule around, our crews will be standing by in any case." The picture shifted to a clearing in the forest, as viewed from near the top of a tree. Porygons with cameras strapped to them could be seen in all the nearby trees; the view was presumably from another such. Occasional flashes of grey could be seen, but these glimpses offered no clue as to their origin. "Depending on when the fight actually takes place, we may be able to interrupt programming to bring it to you, our viewers. If we can not, we will at least alert you when it happens. Either way, live coverage will be available, once the event starts, on our Web site at..." TBC?