I'm back. What did I miss?


Chapter 11: The Nosey Observer

Everyone pulled themselves together rather quickly. To everyone's disappointment, the previous event was actually a series of coincidences. Snorlax are, by far, the most heavy sleepers of the Pokemon world, and would not awaken from anything other than a Poke Flute or a Bob Bugle. Dan's repeated attacks were not actually causing the beast discomfort; it was actually Gengar hiding in the bush using Nightmare. Dan was able to kick Snorlax so far and hard because this Snorlax in particular liked devouring helium-filled balloons, and in fact, the beast weighed no more than 100 pounds. The only reason Jennifer fainted was because that mischevious Gengar had sneakily used Hypnosis behind everyone's back. As a result, Bob had to carry her in Dan's usual riding spot on top of his head. This made Dan rather upset, and he stomped alongside Bob without saying much of anything.

And thus, when the trio arrived at Grass Town, Jennifer was sleeping like a baby, Dan was stomping like a Tyranitar, and Bob was acting like a...well, himself.

Grass Town was a calm little village. Small huts lined the narrow and humble paths, and occasionally a Pokemon or two would be seen strolling lazily about them. In the square, there were many shops, stalls, and booths which were visited by eager and happy shoppers. All kinds of things were sold there: Berries, accessories, mystical items, assorted sweets, gadgets... There were even a few stalls where one could gamble a bit for interesting prizes. Bob noticed one immediately which had three two-foot tall cups sitting behind it, upside down, and he was interested. He rushed over to see what the game was about.

The game was run by a very enthusiastic-looking Slowking, and was currently being played by an even more excited Pachirisu. The Slowking was using telekinesis to mix up the cups. "The one on the left," said the Pachirisu excitedly, pointing it's little paw at the chosen container. Slowking lifted the cup and a Dunsparce was revealed under it. The discovered Dunsparce gave a cry of disappointment.

"Winner!" shouted the Slowking in a voice not unlike a game-show host's. "Now, that's three straight wins--what a sharp eye! But remember, if you can win two more times in a row, you get the Super-Fabulous Grand Prize! But if you lose, you go home empty-handed! And of course, you can quit now and keep the ¶200 you already won! What do you say?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Must win big prize!!" chittered the little squirrel.

"I call next game!!" shouted Bob, rivaling the Pachirisu's level of enthusiasm. Dan groaned. Jennifer kept on snoozing.

"And you may very well have it, my friend!" acknowledged the Slowking. Without Dan, this would be such an optimism fest... "Now, let's get started with round 4!" He mixed the cups again, this time with quite a bit of speed. Even Pachirisu's hyper eyes could not follow easily where Dunsparce was hiding. His smile started to distort.

"Um...middle?" said the poor squirrel nervously. Bob was just about to tell him differently when Slowking suddenly lifted the empty middle cup.

"Oh...so sorry!" said Slowking. "But Dunsparce was in this cup." He lifted the one on the right and Dunsparce waved. "Better luck next time!" Pachirisu slumped and walked away sadly. This lad didn't look more than 8 years old...

But Bob was ready as ever. "My turn!" he squealed. "How much?" He gently set Jennifer on the ground.

"It's only ¶20 per game! What a cheap price, eh? So, care to play?"

Bob stared at the ¶ symbol two lines above in confusion, then read a little ahead in the story to find out that over the course of his journey so far, he was for some odd reason slowly getting an income of about ¶10 an hour which was stored in his nose (due to lack of pockets). He withdrew ¶20 and handed it eagerly to the game master. (Hey, this is a weird dimension. Don't criticise the Creator's methods!)

"All right, here we go, round and round she goes!"

The cups mixed around in a steady and simple pattern. Dan scoffed and muttered something about mindless gambling. When Slowking was finished, Bob immediately pointed out the cup on the right. The cup was lifted and there was Dunsparce.

"Not a bad start!" complimented Slowking. "You've won ¶50 so far...but there are far greater prizes ahead if you keep going!"

Bob kept going. Jennifer yawned as if she was about to wake up, but continued her peaceful slumber. Dan started poking her.

Three rounds later, Bob was on a roll. He had survived all four preceding rounds without error, his alert eyes pinpointing every hiding place the land snake had been occupying. Finally, Slowking was about to begin the fifth round.

"You are a very observant Nosepass!" said Slowking in his usual excited fashion. "Your total earnings amount to ¶500! But remember, only by clearing five rounds will you earn the Super-Fabulous Grand Prize! What is your wish?"

Bob said without hesitation, "Let's keep going!"

Dan had to admit to himself that he was quite amazed at Bob's skill, but was it worth giving it another go? Perhaps they needed the money for some other supplies in this town? He decided to shrug it off and let Nose Man handle things.

Jennifer dreamed of wandering through a forest...

"Okey-dokey! Eyes on the prize, now, don't let it out of your sight!"

The cups slowly began to move around. Gradually, they picked up speed until they became one white blur, impossible to distinguish, and Slowking's eyes were a blinding purple. Finally, they all slowed down and stopped, and Slowking panted a bit from exhaustion. But he gave a confident smirk. "So...which cup contains the Dunsparce?"

Bob stared at the cups for a moment. Dan stared in awe. Jennifer passed a couple of thriving berry bushes...

Slowking seemed satisfied by Bob's difficulty. "So, do you give up yet?" he said rather impatiently. In his mind, there was no way that a player could get this one right...

...but that all changed when Bob said "He's not under a cup. He's hiding behind that building."

Slowking's jaw dropped. So did Dan's. Dunsparce poked its head out sheepishly from behind the indicated structure. "How did you notice?!" cried the outraged Slowking.

"I saw him crawl out from underneath a cup just before you started wildly shaking them about," said Bob matter-of-factly. "If anyone was allowed to undergo such intense movement, they would surely not survive."

Slowking muttered unspeakable words under his breath and handed Bob ¶1000 and a wrapped package. He retreated behind his stall and put up a sign with the simple 6 letters: "CLOSED".

Bob laughed victoriously. "Awww yeah!! I gots a big prize!" He held up the package for all who were watching to see. Unfortunately for his ego, it was only Dan and a curious Zigzagoon who happened to be at a neighboring stall.

Dan couldn't find anything to say except "So...what's in it?"

Bob unwrapped the package as Jennifer woke up calmly with a cute little yawn.

"Good morning," said Jennifer. Dan glared at her, still a bit upset...

Bob held up a can of lemonade. On the front was a bold symbol of a lightning bolt and a text label "Power Lemonade". Bob studied it with curiosity and looked at the back, where there were some "usage instructions". He began to read aloud:

"Power Lemonade, having been completely consumed by a single person, will induce evolution immediately regardless of Power or stature. Do not take simultaneously with a Shift Pill, Exchange Cookie, or any variety of Berry, as this may cause severe and unpleasant side-effects. Yadda yadda yadda." Bob skipped over the named side-effects, which looked pretty gruesome indeed, and opened the can.

"Whoa, hold it, Honker," cried Dan. "Maybe you don't deserve to evolve yet! There are others in this party you know!"

"But I won it," retaliated Bob.

"Well, I think you should let me drink it," said Dan. "If I can do this much as a Pichu, wait until I become a Pikachu!"

"But I won it," repeated Bob.

"You'll just become a stupid mindless Probopass."

"But I won it."

"You'll have an annoying mustache and you won't be able to control your Mini-Noses responsibly."

"But I won it!"

"Stop fighting guys," said Jennifer, quite annoyed. "Maybe I should decide who gets it."

"There we go," agreed Dan with an over-confident tone, "put this important decision in the hands of a wise person."

"Bob should drink it."

"WHAT?!" yelled Dan immediately as Bob did a little song and dance. "Why him?!"

"Well for one thing, it's his; he won it. And another thing, I think defense is the key to this world. He'll be able to protect us against harsh attackers and such."

Dan froze for a moment, then found a way to avoid having a wrong idea. "...Hah! I knew it all along. Bob's the most deserving." Jennifer rolled her eyes. Bob drank the lemonade in a contently huge gulp.

Two seconds later, a white light had surrounded him, and his nose itched. It took him a little bit to realize that this was his mustache growing into place. He also felt a strange magnetic tug here and there and saw his Mini-Noses start to form. When the light ceased, he was a large-as-life Probopass. To show his happiness, he did a few aerial tricks with his nose units, and circled them around Dan a bit as a taunt. Dan swatted at them, and the laughing Bob pulled them away just in time.

"I'm cool now!" he declared.

"Yeah yeah..." mumbled Dan. "Let's just get on with our lives."

Dan avoided eye contact as Bob laughed again. Jennifer joined in with her miniscule giggle, and some of the bystanders stared and wondered what the heck was so funny.


Oh boy...What more could Bob do to fool around with those Mini-Nose thingies?