Dark Shadows Part 1->Cinnibar, my only home

Through the obstical course i ran, my breath caught in my sides with a pain most trainers never have to feel...lucky them. Backing my ears i kept running, trying to keep up speed even as my sides started hurting, a sign of initial burn-out. I'll be hurtin' tomorrow, I thought. The end of the course stretched out before me, the end of six laps around Cinnibar. Cinnibar was a small island, but six laps still took it out of a person. Most human trainers made it around twice before they dropped, but if I made six that would be a real show of stamina. I kicked gravel and sand out behind me and stumbled towards the laboratory, breathing ragedly. At the steps to the lab, two scientists in white coats stood with thier note pads and timers. I scraped to a halt in front of them, loosing my balance slightly and keeling to the side. The island tilted and i put a hand behind me for balance, only to fall on my rear in the road. I shook my head to warn back tunnel vision, letting my tongue hang out of my mouth. I swished my tail in the dust, knowing i didn't look the least bit civilized, but hell, i had a fine excuse not being Human and all. I looked up at the doctors. "How.." I panted, trying to breath normally, "How was that?"

"Good work, Soshika, you've beaten your initail lap time. How do you feel?" Raskun took my pulse and pulled me up, checking out my condition. I didn't expect anything less then the lab rat treatment, after all, that's what I was. But i was at least thier prize lab rat.

"Ill," I muttered, violently snatching a cup of water from the other doctor's hands. She smiled kindly and watched as i drank down the water in one glup, spilling some on myself in the process. Not that i cared, the cool water was refreshing on my skin after nearly a half an hour of running. I only wished i could have more. I shook my head, trying to get my hair off the back of my neck to cool off. Raskun made notes on everything. He was head scientist around here, and was therefore in charge of me. That meant he took notes on EVERYTHING.

"Think you could do it again?" he asked cooly.

My mouth dropped open. Was he JOKING? "Not now," I said almost franticly. "Maybe in an hour or so!"

Raskun scowled, scribbleing in his notepad. "A shame," then sidelong to the assistant doctor he muttered, "Increace the training intensity." It was somewhat annoying, that they thought i couldn't hear them. But at least they were still interested in how fit i was. That meant i wasn't a lost cause, yet.

"Sir," I panted, "permision to go back to my room?"

Raskun frowned, but finally nodded. It wouldn't do for his showcase specimin to pass out during tonights presentation. Any other day he would have made me work a few hours longer, just for being winded. It kinda sucked. Still, i was greatful for this break. I bowed a little too quickly and raced up the steps past them, towards my tiny room.

Kitchen, bed, couch, radio, chair, table, rug and paper drawings made up my tiny but still comforting room. The paraphinalia of any pokemon trainer lay strewn about; pokeballs, gloves, toys, pamphlets on how best to capture a pokemon and what stratagies were most commenly used. Books were piled high on the table listing in a rather confusing order the way of things. Psychic beats ghost, water beats fire, fire beats plant, flying beats ground, ice beats flying, dragon beats everything but psychic...it went on like that for pages and I didn't understand any of it but what i knew instinctively. I didn't own any pokemon yet, because i was only training. I could run all around the island, capture fourty pokemon all on my own, but i wasn't allowed to keep any. The route i ran was secluded, and the only pokemon i was permitted to hunt were those that belonged to the facility, and I'd long since mastered them. I longed to get out, to be a TRAINER, not just a comander. Still, until they were completely satisfied with my proformance, I was not allowed to even leave the grounds. No one had ever met me aside from the doctors and nurses and aides inside. I felt like some freak that must be locked away from the eyes of the public, even though i knew that i was was a normal standard in beuty, albit a tad exotic. It was also the reason no male doctor was allowed to enter my room alone. As if i was that naive! Some people were just paraniod, because as i saw it the only thing these men could love was what they created...and that only as children.

Part 2->The Ultimate Trainer, the Ultimate slave

"May I present, the ultimate pokemon trainer..." the curtain drew away and i was unvealed like some new exotic food at the downtown deli. The scientists and trainers gathered gaped, and it made me uncomfortable. I felt like a thing on display, without a personality. Just some dumb machine or a shell. Fur bristled under my black tee-shirt, it contrasted well with my fur, which was light yellow. Someone raised a hand.

The person asking the question indicated it was for me, and the doctor allowed me to answer. At least for now. "What is your name?"

What is your NAME? Couldn't they think of a better question then that? Oh well, if they felt like treating me as an alien or monster, i wasn't apt to play thier game. I stood up straight and answered civilly. "Soshika, that was my given name. On the test subject roster I am number four at the moment." That kind of thing always puzzled me. Who were numbers one through three? Were they higher up because they were more important, or simply because of the priority? I didn't know, i doubted i ever would.

The interviewer went on, asking another stupid question. "How old are you?"

I almost spat out "Jez-us man, are you blind or did you just live in a cave for the last twenty years? I'm sixteen! Yeesh!" but the cold glance from Raskun stopped me. Did he know what I had been thinking? Man... "Sixteen Human years, level thirty-nine by pokemon standards."

A murmer broke out across the room and someone yelled out that genetic testing was indecent, but doctor Raskun silenced them all with his scientific banter. "Soshika is part pokemon, mostly Meowth although we have spliced some attributes of the famed eevee. Unlike humans, she is capable of amazing feats of strength and stamina, as well as interspecies communtication. Still, unlike most uncivilized pokemon, she retains the ability to think and act independantly."

"Can she live in a pokeball?" Someone joked. I frowned and growled, but Raskun shocked me with his answer.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, Soshika is capable of living in a pokeball."

My eyes flew wide. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs that that was insane, that I wouldn't do it! But that explained so much, I was only a pokemon to them, not a person. But there was no way I was going to be treated like a pet or a fighter, i was just as human as any of them! I wouldn't be a slave.

A laughter broke out across the room, a laughter i wanted to attack and kill. Raskun resumed talking. "Ladies and Gentlemen, you look upon the future of pokemon training. Soshika is the most powerful trainer in the world, and once she is full grown, will be the most powerful pokemon in the world. Not even the Elite Four could stand against her!"

Shivering, scared, and betrayed, i sat down in the tiny metel chair behind me. Raskun went on and on about the future of pokemon, answering questions and making up strange stories to draw a laugh from the crowd. I barely was awake when they shoved me offstage. There would be no fighting demonstration needed, everyone believed. I shivered and looked towards where the raticate had been waiting. It lifted its head and looked at me angrily. "Rrrrrraticate!" No matter what Raskun said about interspecies whatever it was, i didn't understand the pokemon.

Part 3->Mew, the ultimate pokemon

"Come meet your newest contender, Soshika," doctor Holn lead me kindly from my room, Raskun having left the facility to work on greener pastures. I was glad he went, but i still felt betrayed. Holn had promised i wouldn't be sold, that I would stay in the lab forever. It didn't comfort me. It was as if someone had looked at me critically and gone "Good thing this one came out right, we were running out of room the bury the rejects." Still, i was now at least considered assistant in the facility, whenever they needed someone to test a pokemon's strength, it was me. I nodded and followed Holn down the hallway towards our small gym.

"I believe you'll find this a challenge, it's a newly discovered pokemon species. We've named it Meu, or Mew for the less technical trainer." The gym was empty still, this new pokemon hadn't been brought in yet. I stretched out, testing my muscles. The cloths i wore for fighting were just about the same that every human kid wore in the summer - jean shorts and a tee-shirt. It was always warm on Cinnibar.

"What type?" I asked simply. "Am i dealing with something that's about ready to step on me here, or gonna soak my fur or crunch me under rocks?"

"Meu is a psychic pokemon, which is why it will be good practice for you to fight her. You've had precious little training with psychic, Soshika. It's time you learn."

I paled, because I knew the absolute power of a psychic pokemon. Unless you got in the first move, a powerful enough apponant could totally waste your entire arsenal. But, I really didn't have a choice. I nodded, swallowing nervously. "Bring it in."

Holn smiled and spoke over her shoulder to the two attendants there. They all wore white lab coats, which was kind of creepy. "Bring out Meu." she stated simply. The attendants nodded and left the scene quickly. They returned a moment later with Etchi, another young trainer like me. Of course, Etchi was Human and therefore didn't fight, but we'd pitted our pokemon against eachother. The facility now allowed me a few assinged monsters, but not many. Drowsee, Sandshrew, Butterfree and a Charmander that gave me an unusal amount of trouble. The little pest was cute, and powerful, but had a tendancy to ignore me. Etchi was redgistered with a Pidgeotto, a Rattata, an Ekans, and a Goldeen. Rattata seemed to be her main pokemon. This time, though, she held a purple and white pokeball in her hand with a "M" stamped on it. My heart caught in my ribs. A masterball! THE masterball! Any trainer would give thier best pokemon to get their hands on that. Etchi dropped the ball carefully into the ring, speaking softly. "Mew, go." From the ball leapt a tiny white pokemon, segmented in the trademark of the psychic monsters. Its whole body glowed with a strange light, and her tail flicked out behind her softly. This was a pokemon of extreme intelligence, i knew. But, it was so SMALL! It couldn't be above level twelve! I started laughing.

"THAT's your Mew?" I was fighting to keep from rolling on the floor, i just gripped my sides. Still laughing, I pulled Sandshrew's pokeball from my waist and readied to throw it. "This is gonna be too easy! You guys are getting lame!"

Holn caught my arm and gave me a stern look that halted my laughing. "You don't understand, Soshika. Mew is the most powerful pokemon we've ever found. You're underestimateing her."

I blew air between my lips in a mocking sound. "Bah! Gimme a break. Sandshrew could whip this thing in a minute."

Holn scowled and shook her head. "Not only do you drasticly underestimate this pokemon, you weren't listening. This isn't a trainer battle, YOU'RE fighting Mew."

I laughed again, almost in disbelief. "You're joking, right? I mean, I'll hurt the little bugger!"

Holn's eyes were strangely cold. "We'll see. Now get out there."

I shrugged and returned Sandshrew to my belt. Stepping into the ring, i could tell that the tiny pokemon they called Mew was watching me sharply. She was sizing me up, I knew. Best to take her out quickly, I thought. Taking a running start, I abruptly dropped to all fours. It was an awkward way to run, but the jump it gave was really useful. I pushed off into teh air and dove down on Mew, ready to tackle her.

Mew shimmered, then was gone. I hit the ground on my hands, pushing forward and rolling out of the botched attack. Teleport! Figures...I spun around myself, searching for the little glow-worm, but couldn't find her. Looking up, I could see Mew levetateing above me. "Get down here you little pest!" I yelled. As far as the medical techs in the lab could figure, when my anger spiked, so did my attack power. Jeering another pokemon seemed to work about the same way. Mew narrowed her eyes and lifted her hands. I held my ground, ready for a jump. If I used a hi-jump kick, i could maybe knock the squirt down. Before I even thought about it, I was in the air kicking out at Mew. The pokemon's eyes widened slightly, and Mew jumped backwards a bit. Not enough to avoid me though. I laughed angrily, this WAS too easy.

The blast of psychic attack sent me reeling when it hit, I fell like a rock and hit the ground the wrong way, slamming my shoulder on the hard floor. Groaning, I tried to pick myself up, but the world seemed to swim and I felt ill. Mew alighted softly on the ground in front of me and raised her hands again. I was sent flying backwards and hit the ground hard, bounceing a few times before finally hitting the wall. I shook my head and used the wall to prop myself up. Mew had relented, giving me a chance to get at her. Wrong move, I thought. Holn was right, I had underestimated the little thing, but now I knew what to expect. I forced the world to stop danceing, using the few seconds of logic there to launch myself into a quick attack. I stopped behind Mew, striking her to the shoulder. The pokemon squealed in pain and spun, but I was running again. This time I came at her hard from the side, knocking her to the ground. Mew jumped as she hit, but the injuries were begining to take effect. The pokemon staggered an shivered. The sudden attack had left Mew confused! I charged her, ignoring my spinning head, and sent her into a siesmic toss that crashed the small pokemon against the ceiling then back to the floor. Mew shivered again, tried to get up, and fell. The match was over.

Holn held up her hands, making what I had deduced official. "It's over. Etchi, call Mew back and get her to the rehabilitation center. Congratulations, Soshika." Holn spoke coldly, making my still spinning head wonder. I was panting hard. Holn left the room with the attendants, leaving me in the deserted ring alone. I slumped to the floor, propping myself up by one hand. Dropping Drowsee's pokeball on the mat, I called him out. "Drowsee, c'mon out."

Drowsee appeared from the pokeball, sitting his awkward bulk on the mat in front of me. Drowsee's face was kindly and somewhat comical, and it relaxed me. Drowsee was almost like a real friend, thought I couldn't understand him. "Drow," Drowsee said.

"That was a hard match," I stated simply. "And the fact that I won seemed to upset everyone. I think they WANTED me to loose. What do you make of it?"

Drowsee scratched its head with one of his blunt three claws. "Drowsee," he told me as if i understood.

"I dunno, things are getting weird around here. A lot of experiments going on. I think they're trying to replace me."

Drowsee sighed and shrugged. "Drow drowsee. See drowsee drow."

I groaned, my head aching from Mew's psychic attacks. "I wish I knew what that ment," I muttered.

A soft voice from behind me spoke with a chilling laughter. "It means 'No one wants a powerful trainer. They want a powerful pokemon.' You're a wasted experiment."

I spun around to see who had said that, catching a white and gray Pokemon-type creature leaning on the door. Three stripes marked its head, and it looked not unlike Mew, except it stood about Human height. Unlike Mew, its ears were pointy and tail split in two at the end. Also, its legs were more slender, as if it were made for strideing as well as fighting. Its face reminded me of an Eevee, and its voice seemed like a meowth. I felt ill, this was a creature like myself, only meant for the pokemon's fighting life alone. "How do you know that? Who are you?" I snapped at the pokemon. The Mew-like creature just laughed, then flickered away. I found myself thinking about how much I hated Teleport before someone landed a blow on the back of my head and I passed out.

Part 4->Who needs trainers?

The strange Pokemon's words haunted me through the next few months, especially with the changes that were going on. My pokemon were taken from me and I was locked in a room for study, coming out a week later to fight Mew's "Daughter" Mewtwo. Mewtwo was a much larger copy of Mew, and didn't glow. Mewtwo was also far more violent. The battle went on for at least eighteen hours, but only because Mewtwo was toying with me. She'd wait until I had a few shots in, then revive herself. I would have passed out sooner, but bland determination kept me going. They might have well as pitted a Charizard against an Oddish. In the end, I was carried to my room. Holn spoke harshly to me when I regained conciousness. I pretty much ignored her, swinging my feet against the bed.

"You were Raskun's pet project, and we thought maybe we could make some use of you, but no one needs TRIANERS, Soshika. Those come from everywhere and everday. The Elite Four have their hands full enough defending thier positions. There's no call for a powerful trainer, there's a call for powerful pokemon. Unfortunately for you, you're too independant to be that. Somewhat like other...mistakes. Mewtwo has proven herself more then a match for you, and therefore we have no further use of you." Holn droned on for another hour, trying to properly suger coat the fact that I was yesterday's news, I was toast and they were telling me to get out and stop wasteing valuable lab resources. I jumped off my bed, my joints still stinging from Mewtwo's powerful swift attacks.

"I get your point, doctor." I said, my voice sounding unintrested. Just like them! Stupid scientists, jumping at every new project and never seeing the first one through.

Holn stopped her banter and walked to the door. "Clear out by tomorrow morning. This lab does not tolorate failures."

Her back was turned, thankfully, when I muttered to myself, "How could it, with the ass-holes taking up all the spare room?" The insult wasn't heard, and so didn't spring a reaction, but it had helped me vent some steam. I snatched up the back-pack on the back of my desk chair and gripped it tightly in my claws. It was supposed to be for carrying pokemon books around with me so I could constantly be studying. The thing was made of some cheap, thin red plasticy stuff that the tips of my claws went straight through, but I didn't have much of a choice in luggage. The pokemon legue emblem was sewn into the back of it, and the pack itself was too small. I figured it was made for ten-year-olds or some one equally short. Still...

I stood in the center of my room and looked around myself. It was surpriseing to think how few things of importance I really owned. All the toys were useless where-ever I was going, and the books were just added weight. My fighting suit, swimming suit, jogging outfit...all of them were just plain dumb, not to mention impractical. I picked through my closet to the very back and pulled out some old black tees and two old pairs of cargo pants I used to use when I was just helping out around the lab. The pants were stained in the knees with some type of chemical, but the tough fabric held. I crammed the clothing into the bottom of my pack and slammed the closet door shut. I looked around again, still not seeing anything of real use. In the end, I wound up taking only the basics. Toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, towel, blanket. I was still not issued any pokeballs, so my pokemon catching would have to wait.

Trying to decide whether I should bring my lap-top or Koffing poke-doll, I heard a sigh behind me and felt a strange tingle at the back of my skull. I shuddered. The room was locked. Who could be hanging around inside a locked room besides the person who locked it? I kept my eyes forward, concentrateing on the poke-doll. From behind me, the voice spoke, sounding vaugely like a Meowth.

"So, they're cutting their losses with you too, huh?"

That voice! The pokemon that had appeared after my fight with Mew, that Mew-like creature...I spun around and glared at it. Now I could see it also resembled Mewtwo, only slightly more evenly built. I narrowed my eyes at it. "Who are you?"

The pokemon shrugged. "Call me Mantis. Don't be so friggin flipped out, we're sisters you know. Twins, I guess." Mantis folded her arms and looked at me strangely. Now at least I knew how she'd gotten in. That damn Teleport...

I snatched up my Koffing poke-doll violently and stuffed it into my pack. Trying to find an excuse not to look at the pokemon talking to me, trying to hide my confusion at what she'd said, i crawled under my bed and pretended to look for things. "What do you mean? We can't be sibs, you're a pokemon."

Mantis laughed. "Well so are you! Only I have Mew where you have Human. We were born in the same damn lab on the same damn day from the same stupid tube. We're as much twins as two genetic mutates can be." She sighed. "It's just like them, though. May as well toss us both out. Freaks of a feather get beaten together."

"Huh?" The search under my bed had not proved pointless, I found a canteen under a pile of socks. I hated socks. I'd probobly thrown them there and pretended they'd all been sucked up in the wash. "You're being kicked out too? Why?"

"Same reason you are, couldn't cut it against our my big sister Mewtwo. They tried to enhance Mew's power but curb her unpredictability when they cloned me, but instead wound up with someone just as unpredictable and half as powerful. You were only there to get more pokemon-like. Instead, I got more Human-like. Dumb huh?" She laughed again. I noticed she didn't have a pack or anything, before it occered to me that since she was a pokemon, she'd of course be treated as such! Why would she have Human things?

"But where does Mewtwo figure in this? And if you're Mew's half-daughter, then howcome they didn't fight Mew until now? You said Mewtwo is your older sister, what does that mean?" I zipped the pack up and slung it over my shoulders, shrugging until the weight felt comfortable on my shoulders. My head felt like it was going to explode with questions about Mew, Mantis, Mewtwo and myself. I'd never known anything about myself aside from what I'd been told, that was why it had been such a shock to me during that presentation so long ago.

Mantis took a deep breath. "Mewtwo was the correct experement version of you and I, only I think she's far more independant and powerful then they give her credit to." Mantis lowered her eyes and shook her head and the scientist's niaveite. "Mew wasn't brought out sooner because they're still studying her. Mewtwo...Mewtwo really isn't older then we are, she's really only a month old but they've kept her in incubation until she grew to level sixty-five. So, she's actually much more powerful then we are, and therefore my older sister." Mantis laughed. "That answer your questions, Oh sib?"

"I guess." I started towards the door, when Mantis stopped me. Just as well, I didn't know where I would go.

"You going anywhere interesting? We ought to stick together, I figure."

"I guess having a sister'll be interesting. I don't know where I'll go, maybe west?" I knew west was the route to Lavender town, a great place for ghost pokemon. It was also just a few days away from the gyms in Saffron and Celedon. Not a bad place to start, if I was planning on being a trainer.

Mantis raised an eyebrow, chuckleing. "West? Do you have a ride? And what'll you do once you get there?"

I frowned. It wasn't like I was stupid or anything! "I can swim! And once I'm there I'll head to Celedon and Saffron. I'm supposed to be the ultimate trainer, right? Then I'll beat them easy."

Mantis broke out into wild laughter, pounding the door with her fists. I made a face that asked the obvious question of "What?" Mantis fought to control her laughter as she explained to me.

"You forgot one key thing, Soshi! Pokemon! You can't fight without them!" again, she laughed. I felt stupid. How could I forget pokemon? Hoi vey! I groaned. Mantis patted my shoulder. "Besides, you wouldn't be able to go west anyway. The seafoam caves are really dangerous, there's some vicious wild pokemon there, besides the currents."

Remebering my map lessons suddenly, I felt even more stupid. I hung my head and backed my ears. "Oh, yeah."

Mantis opened the door quickly, checking the hallway for anyone watching us. "I say we go North. Pallet town is where most trainers start out, and Professor Oak's lab is there. He might give you some instructions on Pokemon training. Maybe even a pokemon."

I scowled, sticking out my tongue and shoveing a finger down my throat to make sure it was obvious how I felt. "I won't take hand-outs. I'll catch my OWN pokemon, thanks."

To this, Mantis simply shrugged. "Suit yourself. Anyway, it'll give you a chance to get used to real trainers. And we could swing past the Pokemon Legue Headquarters too. I've always wanted to see it."

I was busy trying to think of what lived outside and around of Pallet town and the Poke-Legue HQ. Spearows, Pidgeys, Rattatas and some bug pokemon, plus a few Pikachus and a couple Nidorins outside the HQ. Not a bad place to start. Besides, I heard things were starting to heat up in Saffron and Celedon with Team Rocket, and I planned to stay clear of them until I learned more. Still, this was it! This was the beginning! I was going to be a real trainer, not a experiment. Nodding enthusiasticly I yelled into the empty hall. "Alright! Let's go there!!"

Mantis's paw clapped across my muzzle quickly and she glared at me, glanceing up and down the hall again. "Keep it down, would you? Cheeze and Rice, I'm not supposed to be getting out on my own! I'm a pokemon, remember? The docs were planning to SELL me, sib!"

I quickly shut up and shrugged in apology. Mantis didn't seem to care much.

Two minutes later, the gates to the Cinnibar Pokemon lab were scaled, and we looked back at the lab one last time, my sister and I. My sib shook her head and spoke propheticly, which kinda scared me. "Stupid people, playing with stuff they don't get. Mewtwo's gonna be trouble for them, I hope they realize."

Trying not to dwell on the grim words, I pulled my poke-doll out and clutched it tightly as my sister and I ran down the road, even though she ran on all fours and I on my hind legs. I burried my nose in the secure scent of the stuffed animal as I ran, wondering what lay ahead that I didn't know, about myself and my sister and anything else in our way.

Part 5 ->License? What License?

Even if the water was cold as hell, I splashed around in it happily, not really wanting to actually get in and swim. I was glad I hadn't taken anything in my bag that could be perminantly damaged by water, because the little red pack leaked like crazy. I was worried about my underwere getting wet, but that really wasn't THAT important to me at the time. Up in the water up to my knees, I could see Mantis down the beach, Teleporting from place to place looking for anything some passing trainer had dropped. My sib returned a minute later, shaking her head. She levitated above the surface of the water, so I splashed at her. "What's wrong, couldn't find anything?" It seemed weird, seeing as what I'd heard was most trainers were ten-year-olds who tended to drop things everywhere.

Mantis cringed at the water and flew up higher, where she thought I couldn't get her wet. Dumb. I swung my right arm just at the surface of the water and sent a wave towards her. To my dismay, Mantis used Teleport again and flew to my other side. "No, I didn't find anything good. Just a few useless things like escape roaps. We ought to get moving, though."

The world around me zipped a bit, and I yelled, wondering what was going on. Mantis rolled her eyes. "It's just Teleport, don't be such a baby."

Teleport, huh? Well, if we were just Teleporting to Pallet town, i figured I might as well relax. I folded my arms behind my head just as the world re-appeared. Gravity kicked in and I felt myself falling down. Hitting the water hard, I sputtered and swam in a circle. Mantis had Teleported me to the middle of the ocean! I looked up, but of course, my sister was just hanging there, nice and dry. "Catch ya in Pallet, sib," she told me abruptly. Then, just like a psychic pokemon, she was gone again. I groaned, treading water. The water was really cold, and my wet fur felt icky and disgusting on my skin. At least my hair was relitively dry. Trusting in my own sense of direction, I struck out swimming in what I thought was North, wishing I'd payed more attention during my swimming lessons.

After maybe fifteen minutes, I was starting to get tired. Swimming in regular cloths was a lot more work then running laps, i realized. Dog-paddleing, I refused to dip my head underwater and get the sticky salty water in my hair. Suddenly, I felt a tug at my ankle. "Now what?" I muttered, kicking my foot. The thing still stuck on. "Great," I whined, "Now I'm caught in sea weed!" Rolling onto my back I lifted my foot out of the water to see what had got me.

A ugly Tentacool hung from my leg like a leech, making weird burbleing sounds. My eyes flew wide. Alright! My first Pokemon already! Even without Pokeballs, I could at least carry the thing. Once pokemon were beat, they pretty much accepted their defeater as their trainer, or so I'd been told. I grinned at the Tentacool.

"You're mine."

"Tentacool?"

I dove for it, forgetting it was still stuck on my leg. I spun upside-down underwater, thrashing around and trying to get a grip on the Tentacool. I broke the surface of the water again, now soaking wet. Gritting my teeth, I looked at the pokemon now hanging from my tail. "Right, now you're in for it!" I reached for the pokemon, but Tentacool's tenticles swung out and caught my wrist. I pulled. "Hey, let go you stupid squid!"

Tentacool had no intentions of letting go. Whipping out more tenticles, it caught me in a wrap attack. My eyes bugged as it squeezed me, but I kicked with my feet until I finally hit the thing. The Tentacool let go, surprised, and dove underwater. I narrowed my eyes. "Oh no you don't!!" Taking a deep breath, I dove back down after the Tentacool, chaseing it underwater. The salty water made everything unclear, but I spotted something wriggleing. Reaching out a hand, I grabbed it tightly. It felt like a Tentacool! Kicking to the surface, I held my pokemon above my head.

A wave smacked into me as I shattered the glassy surface, my prize held high above my dripping wet head. "Ha! I got a Tentacool!"

"Tenta?"

I opened my eyes to actually look at my Tentacool, only to feel ill inside. "SEA WEED???"

"Tentacool!" a big blobby red orb seemed to drop from the sky into my face. Tentacool was sitting on my head!

Reaching up for it, the pokemon jumped off with more agility then I'd expected from a jellyfish. It started swimming away on the surface, aparently thinking I was playing a game with it. I screamed after it. "I'm not a pokemon!! I'm a trainer! I'm NOT PLAYING GAMES!"

The Tentacool paused, but I was already in a tackle attack. I hit the jellyfish and we both sank underwater. I scratched at the pokemon blindly, grabbing its tenticles and tying them together. Pulling it to the surface again, I screamed out to the open ocean. "IF I GET DUNKED ONE MORE TIME I'M GOING TO GO CRAZY!!" The universe seemed to have it in for me. I knew my poke-doll and underpants were well soaked through now. I would have to spend quite a while to dry them out, once I got to Pallet.

In my claws, the upside-down Tentacool squirmed. "Tenta coooooool," it whimpered. I'd almost forgotten! I looked at the little pokemon and started laughing, pokeing at its red orbs. "HA! You're mine now! Thought I couldn't catch you huh? Well, shows you!" Yelling to the water again, I shouted joyously; "I got my first pokemon!! HA HA!"

In the distance I heard a boat moater. What a great day! First I catch a pokemon, then a boat comes and picks me up! Can't get much better!!

The moter boat pulled up alongside me, splashing water in my face. My ears were weighted down and I was obviously soaked, and must have looked kind of silly holding an upside down Tentacool above my head. The driver of the boat had on a blue uniform and blue hair and was very official. "Officer Jenny of Route 1 from Pallet Town to Cinnibar Island. May I see your Pokemon trainer license?"

My ears drooped more, if that was possible. I almost dropped my Tentacool. "License? What license? What for?"

"All pokemon trainers need a pokemon trainer license. Without it, it's illigel for them to capture pokemon for fighting. If you haven't got a license, we need to take your pokemon."

I gripped the squishy Tentacool against my chest, squashing it somewhat. "You can't take Tentacool! I caught him fair and square, I didn't know about your dumb license!" I growled, hoping to maybe make her go away. Idiot cop! What buisness did she have stopping me anyway?

I found out. "You're a suspicious looking character. If you don't give up your pokemon, I will have to report you as being an Illigel trainer and arrest you." She held out a weird orange coloured pokeball. "Tentacool, come!" Jenny commanded. The Tentacool suddenly dissapeared and the pokeball shook. My eyes filled with tears and I stared at my empty hands.

"But...my Tentacool...It's not fair!" I cried out. I felt about ready to cry. I'd fought really hard for that Tentacool! I'd even got soaking wet, but for no good reason!

"There, there." Jenny smiled and held my Tentacool aloft in the pokeball. "Don't cry, once you get your license, you can capture all the pokemon you want. You can get your license in Pallet town, at Proffessor Oak's lab. All you need to do is take the test."

I sniffled, my eyes clearing. "Could I have my Tentacool back then?" I whimpered.

Jenny smiled and gunned the boat's engine. "Sorry, this Tentacool will be returned to the wild, that's the law!"

The boat sped off, leaving me bobbing in the water, soaking wet and pokemon-less. For about two minutes I just treaded water and screamed that I wanted my Tentacool back, then started swimming for Pallet town again.