pbPart nine- Nothing special, just a space filler/b
p
p"So, what are we looking for here again?" Kojiro asked for about the nine billionth time. I hated walking. I really hated walking, but i couldn't Teleport and flying took up too much energy and was too conspicous.
p"YOU'RE only along to act as a distraction. Celadon isn't known for observant people, but i think they're bound to notice a pokeperson walking around. If they see you, they might figure i'm just a plain pokemon and you're my trainer." I looked at the road ahead of us. It seemed really LONG, but that was just because it was all downhill and i was prevented by the surrounding forests from seeing the city i was trying to get to. So what, the walk was sure seeming LONG...especially with Kojiro. His only pokemon, a Koffing, was floating next to him. Why, i didn't know. the thing stank. Not too bad, but it certainly wasn't something i was used to smelling. It was bugging me.
pSo was Kojiro, but that was something i was going to have to put up with. Plus that, he probobly had a few Poke-bucks on him, so maybe i could get a Thunderstone and whipe that totally bizzare Pikachu's weaknesses away...and have a totally weird Raichu. ANYTHING to loose the yellowness. and the cuteness. It just annoyed me. Not to the point where i'd kill the thing, as Hellcat -my sister's Fire evolution- had done, but i sure wasn't gonna put up with it for an obcene amount of time.
pKojiro sighed and folded his hands behind his head, looking sidelong at Koffing as if to complain about me. "Okay, so why are YOU here?"
pI looked at the peice of newspaper in my hand that talked about kidnappings. Was one of those kids my sister? Or part of me for that matter? What had happened to them out on that island...were they even remotely Human anymore? "I'm going hunting for lost souls. Coming with or not?"
pKojiro jumped. "GHOSTS??"
pI spun around and hit him with my tail. Hard. He fell down and his face went a few inches into the dirt. "NO not GHOSTS!! PEOPLE!! People who've been changed, like you were when i shoved Nidorabid and you into the DNA splicer."
pKojiro said something, but he was stuck in the dirt. Koffing just floated nearby and said the only thing he could. "Koffiiiiiing?"
pI grinned at the pokemon. "That's right, pokepeople." I levetated Kojiro out of the dirt, turned him upside down and dropped him.
p"EYOOOWOHOOWOW!" He yelled as he fell towards teh ground. I kept walking. Koffing started to follow me. At least i understood Koffing, if not his trainer.
p::So, you're hunting for more people who've been messed up like you. Why are they here, do you think?::
pI shrugged. "Not sure, but i figure that if people can't explain something right away, the chalk it up as freaking of nature or as the unexplainable. There've been reports of a pokeperson in this town..but nothing concrete." Pretty vauge, actually. The reports had only mentioned a little bit. Maybe it wasn't interesting enough, or maybe there just wasn't enough to go on. I wasn't sure but i was ready to investigate for sure.
p::Ah, i see. Hey, is that Celadon?::
pKojiro ran up next to me and sheilded his eyes, squinting. "Hey, that's Celadon, isn't it?"
pI just started running. I didn't stop till i got to the city. ANYTHING to distract me from these idiots i was traveling with.
p
pbPart Ten- Kyotoshi: Growlithe&Meowth/b
p
p"Scuse me, scuse me? Hello? Yeah, Freak boy! I'm talkin ta you!" The kid i was yelling at realized it was him i was talking to and turned around. I figured he had some time to talk, all he was doing was walking up and down the street. He saw Kojiro and i in our Team Rocket uniforms and froze. I grinned somewhat evilly. Heh. It helped to be intimitateing in your home town.
P"Uuuuh Yes ma'am i mean Sir and Ma'am...uhhhh i mean...What?"
pProbobly a kid whose only knowledge of pokemon came from TV cartoons. Oh well, screw him. "Get your tuckass moving down to the game corner. Tell the first TR member you meet that Mantis is requsting access to all the civilian buildings. Also i want to talk to some regulars. Got it? Good. Get moving."
pThe kid nodded and ran. While Celadon housed a major base of operations for us, our REAL base was hidden nicely underwater nearabouts the route from Lavender to Cinnibar. Close to Seafoam, actually. Still, we were a major name around here.
pWell, that should keep anyone from panicking about espionage. I decided to head towards the department store. When you were buying something, the clerks were usally quite helpful and quite willing to talk about local gossip.
pThe lady at the counter looked up and grinned cheerfully. "Hi there! Please use the directory to your left to find your way around!"
pKoffing floated to the directory and looked at it. ::OOoooooooh lookie! Wiseman Gifts! Hey James, can i get a rare candy? Please? Pretty please?::
pI gritted my teeth before Kojiro could ask the same question. "Kojiro, get that thing back in its pokeball before he sets off a smoke detector."
pKojiro looked rather upset about recalling Koffing, and so did the pokemon at that..but there was no sense dragging the fire company into this. I really did NOT feel like being Hydro Pumped by a bunch of Blastoises at this point.
pI motioned for Kojiro to follow me. "C'mon. Wiseman Gifts sounds like a good place to start. Got any Pokebucks?"
pKojiro checked his pockets and seemed rathers surprised to find them empty. I moaned. His one potential use had just vaporized.
p"Nevermind. I have enough to get what i need."
pWiseman gifts was on the fourth floor, but we found it easy enough. I had a Thunderstone and two Rare Candies laid out on the table and was paying while at the same time milking the unsuspecting "Wise Man" for info.
p"So, you say there's this cat-kid who lives around here, huh?"
pThe clerk nodded and bagged my Rare Candies in a little striped paper bag. I don't know why, perhaps he just liked wrapping them up nicely. Kojiro was busy examining toys. Simple pleasures for simple minds, i figured. "Oh, yeah." Said the clerk. "Well, he isn't really a cat-kid. He just kind of reminds you of a cat. A dog too, maybe. He's definitly a little weird."
pI examined the Thunderstone in my hand. It was good quality. The surface was polished and glowed a pretty clear yellow. It somewhat reminded me of frozen lemonade. The shape was jagged, just like you'd expect crytalized lightning to be. A tiny lightning bold was carved into the middle. It was also pretty expensive just to get rid of a pikachu. Oh well, all progress was priced. "So, how do you know so much about him?" i asked casually.
p"Oh, he comes in here at least twice a day usually. Buys a lot of Rare Candies."
p"Must cost a friggin poke-bank," i said aloud. What pokemon did he have that he was raising with Rare Candies? Or was he upping his own skill level? If indeed he was a pokeperson, that was.
pThe clerk shrugged and wrapped my Element stone in matching yellow tissue paper and put it in a little bag with pokeballs stamped on it. "I would think so. That's 2,300 Pokebucks, ma'am."
pDespite what the number was, that really wasn't all that much. I paid the clerk and took my stuff. "Thanks. So, how would you say he gets money enought to do that?"
p"Well," the clerk rubbed his chin. "He's either a super pokemon trainer...or he's playing the slots. Take your pick."
pI nodded thanks again, and left, grabbing Kojiro's arm on the way out and dragging him into the elevator with me. "We're going to the game corner."
pKojiro grinned. "We are? Cool! Can i play the slots?"
p I hit him with the bag that contained the Element stone. "You don't have any money."
p"Oh, yeah."
ppWe arrived at the game corner a few minutes later. People were mechnicly pushing the levers on their slot machines, waiting for the things to barf out coins so they could exhange them. It was nuts. I didn't like it much at all. I looked around, but didn't see anyone who remined me remotely of a cat or a dog. A few weasels and vultures..but no dogs or cats. I asked the lady at the coin exchange desk.
p"Hey, is there a guy who comes in here who looks..oh..kinda like a cat?"
p She smiled. What WAS it with these people and smiles?? "Oh, certainly. He's a regular in here most days. Unfortunately, i don't think i've seen him since last week."
p"Why? What happened then?"
p"Oh, he had an extremely bad luck day. Came out totally broke. I haven't seen him since. It's a common story around here."
pI scowled. "Where would he be, do you think?"
p"Possably down the street at the cafe, but i'm not sure. He might have left town."
pI hoped not, but i grabbed Kojiro from where he was scroungeing for coins and ran to the cafe.
pIt was a tiny place, but kind of nice. It smelled like scones for some reason, and people seemed to be eating bagels and drinking coffee. One of the kids at the counter saw me and Kojiro enter and glanced sideways down the cafe bar, as if to direct us there without speaking. I took the advice and walked slowly down to the last seat at the bar that was open. Sitting against the wall was definitly someone who wasn't normal.
pFirst off, he was wearing a fedora indoors. I didn't know why, but he was. His hair was striped through with red and gold, which gave him a rather weird look. His skin, too, was rather cream-coloured, not pinkish like most humans. Weird shadows formed on his face and hands in reddish browns. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be completely unaware of the world around him.
pKojiro was teh first one to initate contact. "Hello, are you a genetic mutant from Cinnibar Island?"
pI wanted to hit him. I wanted to, but i didn't, because it might do harm to open up with a hostile move. Besides, the weird person didn't react at all. He didn't even open his eyes.
pI leaned over and looked him in the face. "Hello?"
pStill no reaction. Kojiro yelled at him. "HEY! We've had to run from a tsunami of Magikarp in Vermillion, i've been turned into a mutant and teleported and beaten up a million times over...The least bit of courtisy you can show towards me for that is to say hello!" He folded his arms and turned to the side, as if he'd won. The weird person did nothing.
pI tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but, ah...i'd like to have a word with you."
pThe weird person turned and looked at me. His eyes were cat-slit and white, like a Meowth's. "What?" he asked. "Hold on a minute." he raised his hands to his head and pulled two tiny speakers from under his hat. "Sorry, what did you say?"
pAh. He was listening to a stereo system. Okay, good reason. "I said i'd like to have a word with you."
pHe looked around the room and off into space and basicly at anything but me and Kojiro. "About what?"
p"You. Your past. See, i think we may have a small link between the both of us..."
pUnexpectantly, the weird being stood up and left. "I ain't got no past." he said over his shoulder.
pKojiro and i gave eachother looks. "You stay here and see what you can find out about him," i told the human. "I'm chasing him down."
p"You can count on me!" Kojiro saluted...this could be bad, i thought, but it wasn't my primary worry.
pI followed the weird person onto the street, where he was walking towards the hotel with his hands in his pockets. I paced him by levetateing. He stopped, seeing he couldn't outrun me. Good choice for him.
pHe glared at me before putting on a pair of shades. Good choice, but it made him look like a mafia member with that crazy fedora. "Look, what do you want with me?"
p"I think for now i'll settle with knowing your name." I folded my arms. "Mine's Mantis."
pHe seemed distrusting and gave his name like it was potentially dangerous to him. "Kyotoshi."
p"Who gave you that name?"
pHe pushed past me. "None of your damn buissness."
pOkay, this wasn't working out like i wanted it to. Oh well, time to change tactics. Aparently Kyotoshi wasn't going to trust me right off the bat. "So where are you going, hmm? You have no money. Why are you headed towards the hotel? you don't live there."
pHe spun around, the long sandy coloured jacket he was wearing swung out behind him. He was dressed entirely in sand and earth colours, which was a little bizzare. "What do you care?"
p"A little," i decided to play his game. "Enough to say that you'd like to have one of these two Rare Candies i have...for whatever reason that is."
pA visably shiver shook Kyotoshi. He took off the shades and i could see his eyes were shaking, like i'd just said he'd won a lottery. "Okay...I'm listening. What do i have to do? Within reason, okay. I ain't sinkin' down to weird levels here."
pI tossed the little paper bag up and down in my hands. "You don't have to do anything."
pHis eyebrow went up. Kyotoshi wasn't stupid, that was for sure. "You're shittin me."
p"More or less, yeah. I have a lot of questions. Most of them you won't answer right now. So if you come with us-"
p"Who's 'us'?" he demanded.
p I motioned over my shoulder. "that blue-haired kid back there. Kojiro. No one else."
He relaxed visably. I continued. "You travel with us. What have you got to loose? You haven't got any money right now anyway. No place to live, am i right? At least there's safety in numbers."
pHe nodded, replaceing the shades. "Okay, you got a deal." he held out a hand. "Now hand over the Candies."
pI withdrew the bag, took only one out and levetated it to him. "You'll get one now. Just to be sure you're not gonna ditch us first chance. You'll get the other one later, after you've gotten a little more coperative."
pKyotoshi looked a little let down, but pocketed the candy and nodded. "Fine."
pGood. That was one of us down. Now i needed to get Kojiro and head towards Mt. Moon.
p
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