Meowth and Voltorb

The factory guide was quite enthusiastic about his job. "And this is where we are manufacturing Pokeballs! Yes, no longer do you have to spend days carving an apricorn just so, or building one ball at a time over a period of weeks. Now we can put together Pokeballs in the matter of a day."

"But they don't work that well, do they?" one of the schoolkids asked.

"I hear you have to use like half a dozen trying to catch strong Pokemon," another added.

"Even the older models could fail," the guide pointed out. "The good thing about these factory balls is that they're cheaper and will soon be readily available wherever you live."

Amber yawned. As a Meowth, she wasn't that interested in the tour. She was simply along because her Trainer was. She glanced at her reflection on a shiny piece of equipment and noticed that the coin in the middle of her forehead was a bit smudged. Not wanting to put up with that, she paused to rub the spot until it shone clean again.

When she was done, the group had moved on. But that didn't worry her. She went exploring.

There was a buzz from the intercom. "Hey, you want to go over to the sub shop for lunch?" one of the factory workers asked.

"What about those power cords over there? Those sparks seem ominous."

"Nah, it's in an insulated spot. It happens from time to time."

"Really? Isn't that a waste of energy?"

"That's management's concern, not ours. Still, they haven't done anything about it yet. Forget about it and let's go."

"All right then, if you say so."

Amber squinted, looking under the conveyor belt. "Aw, come on," she said, then reached under the metalwork and swiped. A sparkling orange-brown penny came out. "Jackpot!" She picked it up with her teeth and walked out to the door.

As she approached, they made an ominous clack. When the Meowth tried to push against the door, it wouldn't budge. She got up on her hind legs and tried beating on it. Nothing happened. She dropped the penny and called as loudly as she could.

"Come on, dummies! Open the door! I'm still in here."

Nothing happened.

Amber flicked her tail. "Well. Inconsiderate humans. Forget about them. I wonder if there's anything around to play with."

She looked around, but the factory floor was full of large metal equipment. None of the big stuff was on, just fans and lights. There was a dangerous looking group of wires off by themselves; bright sparks occasionally snapped between them. Although enormous, the room was pretty much spotless. Over by the wall, there was a bin labeled 'Invalid'.

Twitching her whiskers, she went to the Invalid box and jumped on the edge of it. Inside, there were about twenty Pokeballs. About the size of an orange, they were white on one half, red on the other. There was a thin crack at the divide; a circular latch kept the ball securely shut. It wasn't quite like her apricorn ball. Then again, she couldn't play with her Pokeball.

Leaning in, she snagged a ball on her claws and flipped it out of the bin. It landed on the concrete floor with a hollow metallic sound, bouncing once before rolling away. So it wasn't much for a bouncing ball, but it could roll well. Amber jumped down and batted at it. It rolled a couple of feet before she went chasing after it.

She captured it from escaping her, but then smacked it the other way. Then she had to go chase it down again. And smack it again. It might have seemed pointless to others, but there was no one around to play with her. She had to keep the game moving all on her own.

Thrilled by the chase, she hit the Pokeball as hard as she could, sending it flying towards the sparking wires. Right as it reached there, a large pulse of electricity jumped between the wires, catching the ball between them. It caused a huge "Crack!" and flash of light, so she scrambled for cover under a desk.

She heard the ball rolling back, so she cautiously peered over there. The Pokeball rolled in an odd curving pattern. Only mechanical balls rolled like that, and they weren't that interesting as toys. But it was interesting when the ball opened its eyes and spoke. "Uuuhh... what happened?"

She came out and sniffed. It smelled like electricity. "I didn't know you were alive."

It turned to her. "Me either. What're you?"

She sat up proudly. "I'm a Meowth. My name is Amber."

"Oh, hi Amber. Um, what am I?"

Twitching her tail, she considered. "Hmm... I don't really know either. You were a Pokeball. I tossed you into those sparking wires."

It turned and looked. "Then... you made me?"

"It seems so."

It spun back around and tilted itself forward in a bow. "Oh, thank you! I suppose this is better than not existing. Now, where are we?"

"A Pokeball factory. The workers locked me in here on accident."

The ball growled. "What? How inconsiderate!" Then it blew up.

Amber ducked back behind the desk, managing to avoid most of the explosion. When things got quiet, she peeked back out. The ball Pokemon was unconscious, but the scent of electricity was a hopeful sign that it was alive.

Also in sniffing the air, she noted the distinct tartness of a Revive crystal. It came from the desk. There was a hinged door instead of a sliding drawer, so she grabbed it with her paw and pulled. It took a couple of tries, but she got in. There were three Revives in a small bin, so she plucked one out and placed it in front of the ball.

"Hmm..." She sniffed it. "I think my girl has always snapped these to get them to work." When she bit down on it, the smell intensified. Amber then placed it under its face. Presumably it had some kind of nose hidden there.

It came back awake groggily. "Ooo, my mind is spinning."

"You blew yourself up," she pointed out. "You'd better be careful about that. There aren't many more Revives in there. Or maybe..."

It looked at her, expectantly. "Maybe what?"

"That explosion was pretty strong. I wonder if it could open the door. I dunno if one of you is enough, though."

"Are there any more like me?"

She shook her head. "Not now, but in that bin," she pointed to the 'Invalid' one, "there's lots more Pokeballs. I guess if tossing you into that bunch of wires worked once, it could work again."

"Great, let's do that!"

"Okay." she hopped onto the bin's edge again.

Amber fished out another one with her claws, then tossed it out onto the floor. The ball Pokemon then rolled up to it and pushed it into the jumping sparks. It wasn't as quick about it as she had been, but once there were there of them, they managed to keep up.

Before long, it was her and twenty of the strange Pokeball Pokemon. "All right, how are you all doing?"

"Great!" one of them replied. They all looked pretty much the same, so she wasn't sure if it was the first one or another. "We are a new life thanks to you. We're gonna remember you forever."

She smiled; that was a great idea. "Good. Now the problem is, we're still stuck in here. But I'm sure those doors over there can't stand up to your powers. Then we'll all be free."

"Right, we're doing this for freedom!" one of them yelled, causing the others to cheer. They rolled up to the door. Amber stayed behind a short ways, not wanting to get caught in another explosion.

After discussing things, three of the balls volunteered to take out the door. They parked themselves right next to it. "Okay, one... two... three!"

KA-BOOM!

There were some screams from the hall on the other side. The rest of the ball Pokemon rushed out the door, rolling past a group of startled humans. "Ha-ha, you can't keep us caught!" they jeered as they searched for a way out of the factory.

Amber walked into the hall with her tail held high, as if their antics had absolutely nothing to do with her. Her girl came up and grabbed her. "Oh, Amber, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you behind."

She licked the Trainer's cheek. "No worries."

She looked up to one of the factory workers. "Hey mister, what were those things that went by just now?"

"I... have no idea," he replied, flabbergasted.

Amber flicked her tail, pleased. "Just some new buddies of mine, no biggie."

…

Meowth Leaf Green entry: Adores round objects. It wanders the streets on a nightly basis to look for dropped loose change.

Sapphire entry: Voltorb is extremely sensitive - it explodes at the slightest of shocks. It is rumored that it was first created when a Pokeball was exposed to a powerful pulse of energy.

Amber has the name and personality of one of my old cats. I always name Meowths after her.