The Ruby Files (MD fic)

[Karuta64]

"The Ruby Files"


File #1: Into the Pokeworld

My adventure with Team Ruby began completely by accident.

Mind you, I wasn't expecting to be pulled into a parallel universe by a wolf-like Pokemon gifted with magical power, much less become a Pokemon myself...but I did, and when I did; I began to appriciate Pokemon and trainers for who they are: loyal teammates and best friends with a bond that never breaks.

But I digress.

It all started as I was coming home from school one afternoon, and giggling over the Pikachus romping in the wildflowers, the Bulbasaurs sunning themselves on treestumps, and the Squirtles in the pond by the roadside. I loved watching them all play, but it never crossed my mind as to why everyone usually left on some quest with a Pokemon on their tenth birthday. What was the point of the whole Gym Leaders and badges deal if you were not going to unseat the Pokemon Master anyway? (which was how 90% of my friend's Pokemon adventures ended) They'd find out about some other place, sign up for the League there, rinse, lather, and repeat the whole thing over again. The whole thing was pointless in my mind, and yet my mom and dad were expecting me to head out on the same journey myself. But I didn't feel like going, because I'd get the badges, get all worked up over beating Master Ketchum himself, get soundly defeated, and have to do it all again the next year!

So here I was, headed home after a long day at the academy...it was a fairly breezy day, so the wind kept blowing my long coal black hair about. No sooner had I cleared it away, did another gust send it back in my face. I guess that's the price you pay for wanting long hair.

I also remember that I was wearing my favorite T-shirt, a lovely hunter green shirt with a silver star on it, some jeans and some tennis shoes that had the shoelaces constantly coming undone, so I had to stop and retie them every few steps down the road. In fact, I was retying them for the millionth time when I saw an odd glow coming from a tree by my house. The old hickory, as I called it had been in my yard for a long time, and a colony of Illumise nested there during the day...but why would they be flashing their light when it wasn't dark out, and the Volbeats weren't even out yet?

My curiosity got the best of me, so I set my books by a rock, carefully climbed onto a branch that led into the hollow, and looked inside. But what I saw wasn't the Illumise colony lighting their light, but something even more amazing.

It looked like a wolf, only its fur was mainly blue and black, except for its stomach, which was a cream color and had a spike on it, presumably to defend itself from predators. For the most part, it was hovering in the hollow with closed eyes. I'm not sure if it was meditating or thinking about something or what, but my gut feeling told me to get a closer look. So after squeezing myself into the hollow from the branch, I crept toward the wolf-Pokemon; being extra careful not to disturb it.

Suddenly, it turned to face me, making me want to step back in fear. "Don't be afraid...Sammi." it assured me.

I was shocked! How did this Pokemon know my name? But I soon brushed it off as it being a Psychic type--or at least part Psychic. Even so, I decided to ask it "How do you know my name?"

"I see all that happens here in this world, and all the humans in it." the wolf-Pokemon explained. "I am Lucario--guardian of waves and the gatekeeper between here and the world of Pokemon."

Now I was really confused--if Pokemon were living with me in my own world, then how could they live in their own world connected to this one? I wanted to ask, but I just decided to trust this Pokemon--Lucario, on it. Besides, if I asked, he'd probably would say something along the lines of "All will be revealed in due time.", which would lead to more arguing. It just wasn't worth it to ask.

"I have brought you here because the world of Pokemon has been troubled by events large and small--it has been foretold that a human in the form of a Pokemon will right these wrongs and restore peace." Lucario continued, ignoring my blank look.

"And how do you know I can do this?" I countered. "I can't turn into a Pokemon, much less know how to handle one!"

"Calm yourself, Sammi..." Lucario replied. "You don't have the means to become a Pokemon and enter this world, so in order to give you access to the portal, I will first ask you a few questions...answer them truthfully, for your answer will determine your form in the other world." I swallowed hard--whatever the form in the other world part meant, I knew that this Lucario Pokemon meant business--and truly believed I was something special, something I had never heard before.

"Okay...Lucario..." I began. "Ask me anything you want, and I'll answer as truthfully as I can."

"Very well..." Lucario thought for a moment, then began. "Suppose that the one that you love is nearby, but there is no way for you to approach and declare your love for him...so what would you do?"

I thought about what I would do if I even had a crush to begin with, and a swarm of other girls around him--how would I declare to the world that I loved him? I could easily just look away, but then he'd think of me as shy. Plain screaming I LOVE YOU! wouldn't work either, unless I wanted the whole crowd to stare. Pulling a prank was out of the question too--then he wouldn't like me!

"I would just walk up and say hello." I answered. That seemed like a feasible answer in my eyes, and judging from the smile on Lucario's face--he must've liked that answer too.

"All right...if your best friend was being bullied by a rogue on the street, what would you do?" was Lucario's next question. This answer was easy...I'd march right up to the bully and stick up for my friend, plus give him a taste of my karate skills if he continued bothering the both of us.

"I'd stand up to the bully." was my reply.

"If you found a treasure chest, would you open it right away?"

"Oh yes!"

"Now, grab any finger on your left hand with your right hand." Lucario continued. He waited as I grabbed a finger, then asked "Which finger did you end up grabbing?"

"I grabbed my middle finger." I replied, showing him the ruby ring I wore on that finger.

"If a thief was harassing someone in an alley, would you help the person?"

"I sure would, even if I had to die for that person!" I smiled. Lucario just nodded in approval...but what I had answered was true--even if the supposed thief was armed with every sort of weapon imaginable, I'd make sure the victim would survive.

"Do you feel lonesome when you are alone?"

"Course not!" I smiled--I had the phone to call up a friend and talk, or even my own family to talk with, even if they were constantly nagging me to go on a Pokemon journey. If I could not get someone to talk to, I'd do something constructive to pass the time, not mope around and have a pity party.

"Suppose you were relaxing on the seaside...how would you feel?"

I smiled as I imagined myself in a beach chair, watching the waves, people running about, and Wingulls in the sky. "I'd feel very content, and glad I was away from it all."

"When you are on vacation, do you prefer to go alone or with others?"

"I feel safer with others--safety in numbers, they say." I replied.

This was enough to satisfy Lucario, it seemed, as he didn't ask anything after that question. "Based on the answers you have given me, which I trust as being true, I see you as a brave person."

"Oh?" I was interested.

"You like to see justice done, disdain evil, and have the courage to take on any opponent." Lucario continued. "As such, I think I know the perfect form you should take in the other world..." With that, he closed his eyes. "I must ask you to close your eyes too, so I do not blind you with the transformation magic."

"Transformation? Magic?" I yelped. My mind was racing--people magically turning into Pokemon only worked in stories, I thought--but now I was about to become the lab Rattata for such a spell! I wanted to protest, but I felt an odd sense of calm that led me to close my eyes. I listened as Lucario began chanting in a strange language, none of which I recognized until I heard the word "Charmander!" followed by a blast of power headed right at me!

I'm not sure what happened next, but when I woke up again, I found myself surrounded by trees--only now they looked dramatically taller than I remembered them being. Where am I? Was that whole thing with Lucario a dream?" I thought as my world flickered into focus--and the first thing I noticed was a Pikachu looking at me, curious. The big thing I noticed was how big it looked in my eyes--wasn't it supposed to be smaller to me?

That's when I took a look at myself.

Rather than having normal peach skin, it now was orange and scaly, except for my stomach, which was a yellowish color. Instead of fingers, I had three claws on each tiny hand. But the kicker was when I turned to look behind me--I had grown a tail with a small flame at the end of it! It hit me--Lucario had turned me into a Charmander!

You could say the whole forest heard my panicked scream.

"Hey, calm down!" the Pikachu assured me. "I just wanted to see if you were okay! I heard something fall here and when I went to see what it was, there you were!"

"I'm all right..." I weakly replied after breathing deeply a few times. Albeit wondering why I've turned into a Charmander...

"That's great!" the Pikachu laughed as she helped me to my feet. "My name's Lita...what's your name?"

"My name is Sammi..." I replied..."and although this might sound crazy, I'm actually human."

Lita gave me a quizzical look. "Human? But you look like a perfectly normal Charmander to me."

"It's true..." I explained. "I was transformed and sent here--"

Just then, I heard the frantic flutter of wings overhead...my Charmander legs scuttled out of the way as a Butterfree landed before the two of us, and judging from how frantic she was, something was wrong.

"Is there something wrong?" Lita asked the Butterfree.

"Have you two seen any Caterpies around here?" the Butterfree asked. "I was watching over my two sons playing in the Tiny Grotto this afternoon when one of them fell into a crack in the ground...and he's not strong enough to crawl out on his own!"

"That is bad..." I added, out of pity.

"We'll find him, ma'am! Don't worry!" Lita assured the Butterfree as she she started off towards a patch of tall grass. "We'll get him out as quick as we can!"

What do you mean, "we"? I thought as I darted off after Lita...

We both searched through the tall grass for the batter part of an hour looking for cracks in the ground. But no matter where we looked, we would always wind up back where we started again. Lita, being ever so optimistic, would find another path for us to search, we would explore it, and we would find that it went in a circle too like all the others.

As we were going down our umpteenth path, I heard my stomach growl. "Hey, Lita..."

"Hm?" Lita paused from digging through some more grass. "What's the matter?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any food on you, would you?" I asked.

"Why yes!" and Lita trumphantly held up an apple she had found. "You can have part of this and I'll eat what's left."

I was flattered...Lita sharing what little she had, with someone she barely knew? I had never known Pokemon to do this before...but whatever compelled her to do that, I was fascinated by it...but I didn't get much time to think about it, as Lita called for me to catch up.

I found her a few minutes later, looking inside a small crack in the ground. When I approached, I could tell she was looking into the hole with the lost Caterpie. He looked so scared...I had no idea Pokemon could have such emotion like that. Even so, I felt compelled to help Lita pull the Caterpie out. We pulled for a good fifteen minutes, but when he was finally on solid ground again, I looked him over to see if he was injured. "You all right?" I asked.

"Yeah..." he weakly replied. "Thank you, both of you!"

"You're welcome!" I smiled. "I'm Sammi, and this is my partner, Lita." I explained, gesturing to Lita.

"Thank you, Sammi and Lita!" the Caterpie smiled as he crawled onto my back.

"I'll give you a Ponyta ride back to your mom, okay?" I assured my passenger. With that, Lita and I went romping through the grass...

END FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #2: Team Ruby Comes to Akai Town


After running through the grass for a little while, we returned to where the Butterfree was waiting. Judging from how quickly my Caterpie passenger climbed off of me, he was elated to see his mother. I mean, I would be happy too if I had been stuck in a crack in the ground for who knows how long, then being rescued by someone.

The whole thing gave me a sense of happiness...maybe Pokemon were not just drones to do a human's every bidding--they could handle themselves just fine in this world.

"Thank you so much for finding my son." the Butterfree began. "How can I ever repay you?"

"Aw, it was nothing!" Lita giggled. I smiled in agreement--just seeing the happy look on the Caterpie's face was payment enough for our adventure. I waved goodbye as the two of them started off towards a field not far from the forest's edge.

Then, Lita turned to me. "So? Do you have a place to stay?

I froze--I had no camping gear or anything, and I was not about to weather out the night in the cold. What if I became dinner for another Pokemon or froze to death? I also was still getting used to my Charmander body, so I was a bit hesitant to try out my new powers, even if in self defense.

Lita noted my concern. "You know...I've been wanting to do rescue jobs like saving the Caterpie for a while now..."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Yeah...I put in a team application in the mail, and all I need is another Pokemon to team up with to form the team before the starter set comes in the mail tomorrow."

Somehow, I felt that Lita meant business about the whole rescue team deal, and if it would help me find answers about Lucario's prophecy about the human in Pokemon form that would save this world, I would do it!

"I'll join up with you!" I volunteered. "Where's the base at?"

"Over here!" I ran to keep up with Lita as we exited the forest.

After a while, we came to an open spot on the plains, where I noticed a dome-like structure that vaguely resembled a Charmander's head off in the distance. Although the small house looked very simple, I could tell Lita had put a lot of love and effort into building it.

"Well?" Lita asked as I continued to admire the house. It wasn't my house at home, but it would do until my time here was over.

"It's beautiful!" I smiled as I started up the rocky path leading up to the house--it was surrounded by a rocky wall with torches dotting it, with a gate leading onto the path into the house. I couldn't tell if the house itself was clay or rock, but whatever it was, it looked strong and sturdy.

The house was even more amazing on the inside--Lita had thought of everything!

From the entryway, I could see a small fireplace, as well as two chairs sitting nearby. A small pot hung over the fire, which I assumed had our dinner for the evening. On the right side of this room was a kitchen, it seemed, with spots to prepare food, and a washtub to wash the dishes. The stairway leading up to the bedrooms was straight ahead of me...I decided not to go upstairs, because I could see Lita taking the pot from the fire and ladling the soup inside into two bowls.

We enjoyed a hearty meal of meat and potatoes, then decided to retire for the evening...and so ended my first official day in the Pokemon world.

The next morning, I awoke to Lita scuttling about--and it wasn't even light yet! So after rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I asked "Why the rush?"

"He'll be here any minute now....mail Pelippers announce their arrival in a very distinct way...." Lita explained as she hurried downstairs.

I followed her into the kitchen, and was about to ask what this "distinctive way" was until I heard a male voice call "Mail call!" Actually, it sounded more like "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaailllll caaaaaaaaalllllllllllllll!!!!!!" But either way, it was enough to startle me and send Lita hurrying out the door, where I saw a Pelipper perched on the mailbox.

"Good morning, Nigel..." Lita smiled as she signed for a package.

"Mornin' to ya, Miss Lita..." the Pelipper replied, pausing for a moment to stash the package receipt in his bag. "And who might your houseguest be?"

"This is Sammi..." Lita explained, gesturing to me. "I found her lost in Tiny Woods yesterday afternoon, and she had no place to go, so I took her in as a roomate and partner." That sounded pretty close to how we had met, so I just smiled and tried to look presentable to the Pelipper.

"You've always been a sweet one, Lita..." Nigel replied, but quickly turned business-like again. "The only thing left to do to start your team is give it a name...so have any ideas?"

Lita looked blankly at me. "Any suggestions, Sammi? I'm drawing a blank here..."

I thought for a moment...and my thoughts quickly turned to the last thing I saw before Lucario had transformed me: my ruby ring. Team Ruby....that had a nice ring to it!

"We'll call ourselves Team Ruby!" I told Nigel.

"A fitting choice, seeing as you are a Fire type, and rubies are said to bring love, courage and passion." Nigel explained as he prepared to leave. "Good luck with the team!" he called as he flew off.

"Bye!" Lita called after him, then began to open the package. "Let's see here...Rescue badge..." she began, setting aside an egg shaped object with wings on it. "Paperwork from the Rescue Team Federation telling us stuff we already know...some red bandannas...and some little rubies!"

"What's the badge for?" I asked.

"The badge is used to send a rescued Pokemon back to town quickly." Lita explained as she sewed two of the tiny rubies onto two of the bandannas with some Silcoon string and a needle crafted out of a Beedrill's stinger. "They'll appear at the Pelipper Post in town."

"Cool..." I replied.

"Even better, it changes color as the team gets stronger." Lita continued before tying her bandanna around her neck. "Put your bandanna on, and we'll head into town...it's not far from here." With that, I followed her down the east path, over a bridge, and then north on a small road, where I noticed a signpost reading "Welcome to Akai Town".

I was amazed by the number of Pokemon rushing about the various buildings--I had no idea Pokemon were smart enough to build their own cities! But here I was, looking into such a city...and it instantly reminded me of home as I walked across the bridge leading into town, being careful not to lose Lita in the crowd of townsfolk.

"Extra, Extra! Read all about it!" a Meowth proclaimed as we struggled through the crowd. He held a newspaper high for the crowd to see. "Team Kage Terrorizes Aoi Town!" At this, some of the crowd broke off to buy some of the newspapers the Meowth was selling. I stifled a chuckle--humans only did that in olden times, but it seemed to suit this world perfectly.

"Who's the Meowth?" I asked Lita as we got in line.

"That's Leon, one of the newsboys for Pokemon News." Lita explained. "Be sure to pick up a copy each day, as there are often rescue ads inside."

"I'll remember that." I replied as Lita handed over a coin to Leon, who handed her a paper. "Also, who--or what--is Team Kage and Aoi Town?"

"Team Kage's nothing but a lot of misfits that like to masquerade as a rescue team and cause trouble." Leon explained as he handed a paper to a customer. "Aoi Town is this town's sister city--it lies up north, close to the mountains."

"Interesting." I mused as we walked away into the main square...

END OF FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #3: Welcome to Our Town!



After buying a copy of the day's Pokemon News, Lita led me into the town square, where we stopped to rest. Lita opted to sit on a bench and read the newspaper, while I tried to catch a glimpse of the story Leon had been trumpeting to the crowd over her shoulder. I felt guilty about reading over someone's shoulder, but this Team Kage group, evil as they were, piqued me: Just who were they, and what did they do THIS time?

I finally managed to read a few lines before Lita turned the page: The dastardly threesome called Team Kage consisted of Rocko, the fast talking Gengar that led the team, and his two femmes fatale Grace the Medicham and Jessie the Ekans. Apparantly they had been on a shop robbing spree, and Aoi Town was the site of their latest heist.

That was about as far as I got before I heard a male voice call "Ay, Lita!" startling me and surprising Lita! She looked up from the paper to see a Lombre staring in her face. "I see you heard about the latest on Team Kage, ya?" he smiled.

"Yeah, Manuel, it's right here in black and white." Lita explained, showing the Lombre the headline.

"I heard that Team Pluto got there in the nick of time!" the Lombre continued. "Trista, Blaze, and Majora put Rocko and his harem on the run!"

"Team...Pluto?" I was confused.

"Manuel's the local snoop around here..." Lita explained. "He usually has some tip to tell Pokemon News from some very good sources...you could call him the roving reporter for Pokemon News."

"I see.." I replied before turning to Manuel. "I'm Sammi, Lita's new partner...we just started a team, which we named Team Ruby."

"That explains el rubi on your bandanna there." Manuel smiled, obviously admiring the ruby Lita had sewn on my bandanna. "You know....you kinda have a sister team in Aoi Town...they call themselves Team Sapphire....but back to Team Pluto: They're a very respected team around here, led by Trista, an Alakazam. Every rescue team dreams of being a Luca ranked team like them."

"Luca?" I asked.

"'Luca' is shorthand for Lucario." Manuel explained. "But to become a Luca ranked team, you gotta do a lot of rescues, like Team Pluto has...and the best place to get some rescue jobs is the Rescue Board by the Pelipper Post. You should look there if your mailbox has no offers."

"I'll remember that!" I smiled as Manuel disappeared into the crowd. Maybe becoming a Luca ranked team would allow me to become human again, but judging from the white color our badge was, we had a long way to go before we got that strong.

"Okay..." Lita tucked the newspaper under her arm and climbed off the bench. "First thing we need to do is buy a toolbox..."

"What for?" I asked Lita as we started toward a building with a porch not far from where Leon was selling papers.

"How else are we going to carry the stuff we find or need for a mission?" Lita replied as she led me up the steps and inside the store. I thought about this as I admired the aisles full of food, Berries, TMs, seeds, odd looking balls, scarves, and other items...we could only carry so much stuff in our arms.

"Good morning!" a green Kecleon called from the counter as we walked in. "Feel free to look around! If you see something you like, just bring it here!"

"All right!" Lita replied, leading me down an aisle marked "SUPPLIES". "The two Kecleon Sisters, Kammy and Kris, stock just about anything you'd want for rescues, and then some...Kammy's the one at the counter, and Kris is the one in charge of stocking everything." she explained, pointing out a purple Kecleon arranging some berries into a decorative pattern a few aisles over.

"Okay." I replied as I reached for a box with two handles at the top, making it resemble a picnic basket.

"We've got our toolbox." Lita told Kammy as I set the box on the counter.

"That will be 500 credits." Kammy replied. Lita calmly set a pile of coins on the counter, then took the box. "Would you like anything else?"

"Not today..." Lita assured Kammy, then motioned to me to follow her outside and back on the square.

"Now where?" I asked Lita as we turned down a path heading south, where a line of Pokemon was waiting at a large building that resembled a warehouse. A Kangaskhan was at the counter tending to the Pokemon in line, every so often disappearing into the building with a few items or emerging from the building to give items to the customer.

"Off to see Wendy at Kangaskhan Storage--or as everyone likes to call her, Aunt Wendy." Lita explained. "A toolbox can only hold so much stuff, so count on Wendy to look after any extra items you have or don't need."

"I see, but why AUNT Wendy?" I was bewildered by the Kangaskhan's affectionate nickname.

"She treats everyone with the same love and care as she does her own children." Lita explained. "Before long, someone suggested that she be called Aunt Wendy, and it stuck."

"Oh, okay..." I laughed. I had my own Aunt Wendy back home, but she was nothing like this Aunt Wendy...my Aunt Wendy was loud and obnoxious, and could talk a field of Cornn Berries to death if given the opportunity--nothing like the Kangaskhan tending to the Pokemon in front of us.

"In order for Aunt Wendy to store your stuff, you register your name or team with her." Lita explained as we approached the counter, where I saw a Growlithe receive some Pecha Berries.

"Okay, next!" the Kangaskhan called, giving us the go ahead to approach. "What can I do for you, hon?"

"I'd like to request a team storage house." Lita explained.

Wendy paused to grab a long sheet of paper that listed all the teams with storage houses, then a quill pen. "What's your team's name, sweetie?"

"Team Ruby."

"Okay..." Wendy took a moment to write the name down on her list, then handed Lita a small slip with a number on it. "Here's the number of your store house...be sure to put it somewhere safe or memorize it, okay?"

"I will, Aunt Wendy!" Lita smiled as we started back up the path to the square.

"Such a sweetheart..." I smiled as we walked down the east path from the square.

"I know..." Lita replied. "Pelipper Post is at the end of this path, but first, there's someone else we need to see.." she explained as we approached a building whose back wall was lined with rows upon rows of safes. There was a line here too, with a Persian tending to the customers.

"That's Serena, the teller at Felicity Bank." Lita explained as we got in line. "Most teams make an emergency savings account for crises, or to store extra credits they don't need right away." I nodded as I watched the Persian depositing some coins in a safe, then giving the customer a slip detailing the transaction. She listened to the next customer's request, then bounded over to the safe in question, clicked open the lock with lightning quick speed, deposited the requested amount into a bag, then delivered it to the customer, along with a withdrawl slip and a few extra coins.

"Interest?" I asked Lita, piqued why the customer had gotten extra coins.

"Yes...Serena's very adamant about collecting your interest before making a withdrawl or deposit." Lita replied, all the while smiling as Serena walked a Wurmple through how to make a deposit or withdrawl. The Wurmple's mother, a Beautifly, watched nearby as the Wurmple set a few coins on the counter for Serena to deposit. Once she returned, she explained to the Wurmple about interest, and how to collect it. When the Beautifly and her son had departed, we approached the counter.

"I see you have a guest with you, darling." Serena purred to Lita.

"This is Sammi, my rescue partner." Lita explained, pausing to let me wave hello. "She's new in town, so I offered her the chance to join my new rescue team."

"Is that so?" Serena replied. "In that case, would you like to open a rescue team account?"

"Yes please!" came Lita's reply.

"Very well...what is your team name?" Serena asked as she too consulted a list of registered rescue teams.

"Team Ruby." Lita replied, pausing to let the ruby on her bandanna glitter in the sun.

"Team Ruby, is it?" Serena paused to add the name to her list, then gave Lita a slip with our safe number on it. "Here you are, darling...the number of your private safe. Your funds and your funds alone will go in it."

"Thanks!" Lita replied, pocketing the slip. "By the way...has my account collected interest yet?"

Serena checked the list of personal savings accounts for a moment, then replied "Just one credit...if you'd like to let your funds mature at this rate for a while, you do not have to collect it now."

"I'll come collect it next time." Lita replied as we turned to go, waving goodbye to Serena as we left. I was getting tired, so we started across the bridge towards home...but little did I know, we would receive our first mission and encounter with Team Kage in town...

END OF FILE  

[xXx_lil-mz-angel_xXx]

Nice story! ^-^ ! Loooong but entertaining. Lita!
*pika*  

[Karuta64]

This is loosely based on my first time through MD Red. Sammi and Lita are my character and partner, respectively. The other two characters are brand new for the story.  

[Karuta64]

File #4: Shadows in Water


I woke up the next morning not to Nigel calling "Mail call!", but Lita rustling about downstairs, presumably making breakfast. With this assumption in mind, I threw off the covers and trooped downstairs, where I found her hard at work in the kitchen. My still sleepy eyes noticed she was baking bread judging from the supplies strewn about on the table: milk, eggs, flour, sugar, butter, and water.

She had been melting the butter over the fire when I came downstairs, so I followed her into the kitchen, where she finished making the dough. Next, she reached for a rolling pin and rolled it flat, then started kneading the dough. Once that was done, she reached for a few rings and pressed them into the dough. The resulting circles of dough went inside an old style brick oven.. Just seeing the fire warm the dough circles into light and fluffly biscuits brought back a memory of my mom rising early on Saturdays to make biscuits not unlike the way Lita was doing, only she would be using an electric oven and a few other appliances that would be alien to the Pokemon here.

It also brought back memories of the pizza parlor nearby the academy, where me and my friends would meet, chat, and do homework over a steaming hot pizza that was baked very much like the biscuits were. Whatever was baked in a brick oven--that smoky taste was a little piece of heaven in my eyes.

Lita noted my fascination with the oven as she pressed out another batch of dough rings. "What's the matter? You have this look on your face like you miss something..."

"Well...back in the human world, there was a popular meeting place in town...and they made food in an oven like that." I explained. "Oh, how I loved the food they made there!"

"It sure sounds good..." Lita replied as she set one pan of biscuits on a cooling rack. "Too bad Lucario doesn't send Pokemon to the human world--but he has done the reverse before."

Like bringing me here... I thought as I snatched a biscuit and bit into it.

After we had finished breakfast and cleaned the kitchen a little, I stepped outside to see if Nigel or another mail Pellipper had arrived earlier without him alerting us. I calmly waltzed over to the mailbox, opened it, and peered inside.

Nothing. Not a scrap of paper in sight.

With that thought in mind, I returned to the house to find Lita sweeping the floor. "Say..." I started.

"Hm?" Lita looked up from her chore, interested. "What is it, Sammi?"

"I was wondering if we could head to town and check the Rescue Board for job offers." I suggested. "See, every rescue team dreams of being Luca ranked like Team Pluto, right?"

"Mm-hmm..." Lita beckoned me to go on.

"So I'm figuring that the quickest way to get better is to do rescue missions." I continued. "Since Nigel didn't come today, I was thinking we check the Rescue Board and the paper."

"Great idea!" Lita had her broom put away in a heartbeat. "And while we're out, there's someone else I'd like you to meet." she assured me as we headed down the path to town.

But by the time we arrived, the first thing I noticed was that the whole town had seemingly gathered around what looked like a Squirtle being taunted by a Gengar--I could sense the aura of authority and fear in his toothy grin as he looked the Squirtle over. A Medicham and an Ekans were with the Gengar, as if to help him size up his pint sized opponent.

I finally found Manuel in the crowd a few seconds later. "What's going on?" I asked as I tried to peek through the mass of Pokemon.

"Team Kage's been randomly walking around town swiping cash off of every person they pass." Manuel explained. "and Mizu here's just trying to defend her hard earned funds..."

"Mizu...that must be the Squirtle's name, right?" I asked. Manuel nodded in reply. The three of us watched to see what would happen next.

"I gave ya da rules fair an' square...every last coin ya got, or else, see?" Rocko explained to Mizu as she weakly stood up, apparently the victim of an attack. "Or it's another Night Shade for you, see?" Mizu just stood her ground, silently defying the request.

"We sssssseem to have a tough one here, Rocko..." Jessie noted. "Shall I ssssqueeze Mizu a little to make her talk?"

"Leave her alone!" I called, getting all three members of Team Kage to glance at me. "What did Mizu ever do to you?"

"Tryin' to stick up for the little lady, aren't ya?" Rocko smirked as he and his teammates approached me. "Maybe I should take your coins in exchange for hers!" With that, Grace lunged at me to take the money bag by my side...

"GLOWING EMBER!!!!!!" I called as I hurled a fireball in Grace's face, making her stumble backwards and crash into her teammates. Mizu took this opportunity to flee over to where Lita and Manuel were waiting. The crowd gasped as Team Kage untangled themselves...maybe I had overstepped my boundaries and tussled with Pokemon I shouldn't have tussled with. However, Grace looked clearly in pain as she stood up.

"I musta underestimated you, kid...." Rocko snarled as his wounded teammate slowly got up. "But when you an' me meet up again, ya aren't gonna like it, see?" With that, he and his two teammates turned to leave.

Lita was elated! "Three cheers for Sammi!" she called to the crowd. "Hip, hip!"

"HOORAY!!!!!"

"Hip, hip!"

"HOORAY!!!!!"

"Hip, hip!"

"HOORAY!!!!!!!!" I was flattered--to think that my act of self defense made me a celebrity? It seemed unreal, and yet satisfying at the same time. I embraced Mizu as she gave me a joyful hug.

"Thank you so much!" she began. "I was on my way to post a want ad at the Pelliper Post when Team Kage jumped me!"

"What kind of ad?" I was curious.

"I was going to post a join team ad--in other words, let local teams know I was willing to join them." Mizu replied. "I make a living making useful items for teams to use, and several teams have asked me to join..."

"Then why don't you join us?" Lita asked. "We may be a newcomer in the Growlithe-eat Growlithe world of rescue teams, but you might be able to help us out with your inventing!"

"Well..." Mizu thought for a minute, then replied "Since you rescued me from Team Kage, I feel led to help you in return...so I'll join up with you!"

"Then welcome aboard!" Lita smiled as she tied a red bandanna with a ruby on it around Mizu's neck, signifying her membership in Team Ruby.

END OF FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #5: The Song of Friendship




Seeing that the whole ruckus with Team Kage was over, the crowd that had assembled on the square began to disperse. Yet I was still proud of myself for stepping up and defending someone in danger--that always gave me a thrill and a sense of gratitude back home. Judging from the smile on Mizu's face, she was glad I had come to help in her time of need.

I was about to ask her what kinds of things she invented when I noted the sound of someone singing off in the distance. "Who's that?" I asked.

"Remember that shop that didn't look open yesterday?" Lita asked. I racked my mind for a moment--I remembered seeing an empty building by the bank, and had wondered what was inside it. Maybe the singing coming from that direction was a clue?

"That's Melody's shop!" Mizu's eyes were wide with surprise.

I was confused. "Who's Melody?"

"Melody's the one who sells friend areas." Lita explained as we went to get a closer look at the building. From my position in the crowd, I could see a line of Pokemon waiting to talk with a Wigglytuff--who was singing to attract customers. Unlike the smaller Jigglypuff, a Wigglytuff's song didn't put you to sleep--it made you want to listen. Considering the size of the line, this Wigglytuff was doing very well in attracting customers.

As we got closer to the counter, I noticed a banner over the building that proclaimed "GRAND OPENING--FIRST PURCHASE FREE!--ALL DAY!" That probably meant that Melody had just moved into town or something like that, and her shop wasn't quite ready to open yesterday. But another question crossed my mind--just WHAT was a friend area?

I sighed, knowing I would probably look stupid in front of Lita and Mizu. "Guys?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Lita turned to look at me. "What's the matter, Sammi? Is something the matter?"

I swallowed hard and nervously anticipated the impending fits of laughter both Lita and Mizu were going to burst into as soon as I asked the question. "Just what is a friend area?"

"Easy!" Lita's answer was not laughter, but an actual answer. "Friend areas are where other team members stay until you want them to come with you on a mission."

"Sometimes, Pokemon you defeat in battle will want to join up with your team." Mizu continued. "So having a few friend areas handy is a big help!"

"Okay..." I replied as it came to be our turn in line, but I was unsure how to phrase my request before the Wigglytuff at the counter. "Uh..."

"Welcome!" Melody smiled. "I'm glad you've come to Club Wigglytuff--a circle of friends!"

"My pleasure." I replied back--there was nothing artificial about Melody's friendliness; I could tell she liked doing this from the depths of her heart. Her greeting was nothing like pushy salespeople at home--only acting nice for a quick buck. In fact, just looking at her made you feel the love inside her.

"Is this your first time?" Melody asked, snapping me out of my trance.

"Uh, yeah..." I stammered.

"I see you've started a rescue team too, yes?" Melody continued. Her questions came nice and easy, not lightning quick like Officer Jenny.

"I have..." I replied. "We are Team Ruby."

"Well, now; you've come to the right place!" Melody laughed. "I sell Friend Areas so you can add to your rescue team. Since this is your first visit, I'll give you two Friend areas for free on top of my Grand Opening deal!" With that, she started to sing in an odd language--which I instantly recognized as the same language that Lucario used to transform me. But instead of transforming, this song caused a bright light to flash once, then again, not unlike a camera flash.

"What was that for?" Mizu was concerned at how I shielded my eyes.

"I'll explain later..." I nervously giggled. Back home, I dreaded having my picture taken, all because of Mom's camera. The flash was so bright, it could blind anything!

"There we go..." Melody began, giggling lightly at my panicked look. I laughed a little as well, knowing I had probably embarrassed myself by shielding my eyes. "I've given you access to the Wild Plains and Mist-Rise Forest...and that means you can recruit Pokemon that live in those areas!"

"Thanks..." I smiled.

"Now...would you like me to unlock your Grand Opening purchase now, or later?" Melody asked.

"Not right now, thanks." I replied. "Two is enough to start."

"Okay...I'll give you this so I don't forget to give you yours later." Melody replied as she gave me a piece of paper. "It's good for the rest of this week and the next week."

"Thanks, Melody!" Lita called as we turned back towards the square. After we had waved goodbye, we turned down a fork heading to the south. "There's a training dojo here..." she explained, pointing out a small building that looked like an Asian temple off in the distance. "Maybe some training will help you get used to your Charmander powers...."

END OF FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #6: Enter the Ruby



I couldn't resist gawking at the temple looming overhead--it looked just like the ancient temples back home! But it didn't look very occupied at first, save for a Makuhita sweeping the pathway leading inside, and various cries, grunts, and swats of fights in progress from the inside.

Mizu looked puzzled at my awed face. "What's wrong, Sammi?"

"Well...humans were said to build temples like this in their world long ago." I explained. "I read it in a book once." While that wasn't quite true, I had at least dodged the possiblity of revealing I was human to Mizu for the time being. Judging from how she nodded to show she understood, she seemed to believe my white lie.

Just then, the Makuhita noticed the three of us. "Welcome, travelers. I am Ryu--the owner and sensei of Akai Dojo. How may I be of service to you?"

"This is Sammi..." Lita explained as I waved hello to Ryu. "She just moved into town, and she wants to build confidence in her abilities and become stronger."

"Is that so?" Ryu smiled, setting inside his broom. "Come inside..." With that, he motioned for us to follow him inside.

I was amazed at the sheer number of Pokemon training under Ryu and his staff. I could see Pikachus shocking targets, a Meowth lunging at a Machoke dummy, a Bulbasaur whipping a vine at some flying disks, and even Charmanders like me; all under the watchful eyes of their teacher, usually a Machop or a Tyrogue.

We came to the center room, away from all the battles taking place, and stood before a magniicent looking gold throne, where Ryu sat down. "Now then...training with me does require hard work, but in doing so, the benefits are far too many to count. You will learn to master the power inside of you, and use it effectively in battle."

That didn't sound too much different from the trainer-Pokemon relationship that I'd heard so much about back home. But I wanted to learn to control my Charmander powers effectively, so I motioned for Ryu to continue.

"But don't think that you will just gain physical strength in your training--you will also gain mental and spiritual strength." Ryu continued. "The mind, spirit, and body work together like a Rescue Team..and when all three are strong, there is no limit to what you can accomplish!"

"Wow!" Lita was impressed. "When do we start?"

Ryu motioned for a Tyrogue sitting in a corner, meditating. "Come, Lee...I want you to guide these three in their training."

"Yes, Master Ryu." the Tyrogue replied as he walked to meet us. "If you'll come with me, we will start with the Wheel of Power."

We followed Lee through the maze of training rooms and out to a large open arena, where a large wheel connected to a huge slab of rock stood. The rock appeared to be blocking a doorway, but it was hard to tell due to the shadows of the trees in that corner.

"Okay...this is the Wheel of Power." Ryu explained, gesturing to the giant wheel. "Your goal is to turn the wheel so that it raises the rock high enough to open the door."

"That's easy!" I smiled as I darted aboard the wheel. Despite my attempts to push against it, shove my weight against it, and walk to try and get the wheel to turn; the wheel didn't budge very much. Pushing against it helped a little, but the rock only fell back into its original position as soon as I stopped pushing. Walking wasn't any good either, the wheel was too large for my tiny Charmander body to do anything.

"Not as easy as you thought, was it?" Lee smiled as I stepped off the wheel, exhausted.

I remember seeing this on a game show once... I thought as I watched Lita try to move the wheel. If I was a bigger Pokemon, or human again, I could move the wheel easily! Sadly, she didn't do very well. Mizu didn't fare very much better; so before long, we were all sweaty and exhausted.

"Master Lee, the wheel is too large for any of us to move!" Mizu complained.

"How can one of us that's so small move something that big?" Lita agreed.

"Know this, Nincadas: A tiny Caterpie can burrow underground and move a giant tree; likewise, you all have the power to move the rock inside of you. However, feeling discouraged will not get you anywhere." Lee replied. I thought on this for a minute--then it clicked! What if we all tried moving the wheel together?

"I have an idea..." I started, snapping Lita and Mizu to attention. "Let's try all moving the wheel together!"

"Good idea!" Lita was the first aboard the wheel, I followed, with Mizu between us. Once all three of us were on the wheel, we pushed against it with all our might. Ever so slowly, the wheel turned, and the rock inched ever so slowly off the ground. After what seemed like hours, the rock was hanging in the air, revealing a doorway.

"You see? There is strength in numbers." Lee explained. "The power to move the rock only awakened within you when you combined your powers and worked together."

Let's hope the next exercise isn't so exhausting... I thought as I followed Lee and my teammates into the next room.

When we arrived in the next room, Lee was awaiting us nearby a set of colored orbs on a pedestal. I didn't know if they had power or if they just looked pretty or what; but the way they sparkled in the afternoon sun made tiny specks of red, blue, and yellow dance on the walls of the otherwise empty room. There were also mats before each orb--I sat before the red one and awaited instructions.

"Your next challenge, Nincadas..." Lee began as he circled the pedestals the orbs were sitting on. "These orbs are controlled by thought...and your task is to lift them off the pedestals with your thoughts."

Lita was dumbfounded by this. "Do I look like a Kadabra?" she snapped. "I don't even KNOW any Psychic moves!"

"Anger will not get you anywhere, Nicada..." Lee cautioned, which seemed to calm Lita a little. "It seems like a daunting task for those of us that do not have innate Psychic power..."

"Like Kadabras..." Lita grumbled.

"However, you do have some sort of psychic power inside of you--your thoughts." Lee left that to hang as we pondered how in the world we were going to lift the orbs with our minds.

I could understand where Lita was coming from--neither of us were Psychic types. I was puzzled by what Lee meant about using our thoughts to lift the orbs. Was it possible that the power of our memory could be what he meant?

I nudged Lita, snapping her from her sulking. "Hey..."

"What is it?" she asked, perking up at the possibility of my having figured out Lee's request.

"Maybe Lee is referring to the power of our memories!" I suggested. "Maybe if we channel our happiest memories into the orb, it'll lift!"

"I'm gonna try that!" Mizu announced. With that, she closed her eyes and focused for a moment, then spoke again. "I remember discovering treasure at the bottom of Midnight Lake...I was swimming down there one day, when I found a blue rock in the sand. After prying it out and taking it to the surface, I discovered it was actually a sapphire! I was so happy, I couldn't resist showing off my find..."

As Mizu continued to recount her memory, Lita and I watched in amazement as the blue orb Mizu was sitting in front of began to rise off the pedestal and hover in the air. It continued to hover even after Mizu's story had ended.

Lee was impressed. "You see? Memories are a kind of psychic power too. Now, lift the other two orbs to continue to the third and final trial."

"Let's see..." Lita thought for a moment, then focused as she began to tell us her memory: "I remember the time I met Trista of Team Pluto for the first time...she was very friendly, and encouraged me to start my own rescue team..." Ever so slowly, the yellow orb rose off the pedestal and hovered in the air as well. The only orb left that had not hovered was mine.

"Well, Sammi? What's your happiest memory?" Lita asked.

I swallowed hard--I had so many memories to choose from, thanks to my being human. The problem was, which one could I tell my new friends about and have them understand it? I finally sighed, focused, and began recounting the first memory that came to mind. "I remember the time I made a movie for the school film festival, and it won first prize. I worked very hard animating it, choosing the right people to voice the characters, picking just the right music, and things like that. Despite this, I still had my doubts over whether it was any good--but when my name was announced as the winner, I was overjoyed..." As I spoke, I saw the orb before me rise off the pedestal before me, which opened a door into the next room. Once all three orbs were hovering, Lee motioned us to follow him through the door.

"Movies are so much fun to watch!" Mizu smiled as we entered a tunnel.

"Yeah, we should take you to the Akai Theater when we're done training!" Lita agreed.

"Let's focus on training, okay?" I assured my friends as we awaited Lee's instructions....

END OF FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #7: Matinee at the Akai (part 1)


Our final challenge in the dojo was to navigate a maze...which turned out to be a surprisingly easy task. Lita had navigated and kept the way lit, thanks to Mizu's invention of glasses that gave you X ray vision. Mizu and I had kept the various Pokemon populating the maze at bay. To be honest, I felt more confident in using my newfound powers after we finished the maze, so training under Ryu and Lee had turned out to be a good idea after all.

After we had completed the maze, Ryu congratulated us and told us we were welcome to train anytime we wanted. So here we were, on the pathway leading into town. I was tired from the training, but Lita and Mizu looked as contented and perky as ever. Either they consumed a lot of caffiene or they were just naturally like this.

"Your memory was about movies, right Sammi?" Lita's question snapped my out of my thoughtful trance. "What are movies like in the human world?"

"Nothing special..." I replied. "You pay for a ticket, get food, watch the movie, and go on your way. Somethimes you get a cartoon before the movie."

"Just the movie and maybe a cartoon?" Mizu was shocked. "That's boring compared to movie watching over here!"

"What about the news?" Lita asked.

"Nope." I replied.

"Or comic shorts?" Mizu agreed.

"Not even serial chapters?" Lita was now more shocked that Mizu was.

"Nope and nope..." I replied. "In olden times, they did show things like that, but not anymore."

A sly look came over Mizu's face. "In that case, we need to take you to the Theater Akai!" With that, she motioned for us to follow as she bounded through the square and up a hill, where a magnificent looking theater stood. The marquee read "NOW SHOWING: THE RIBBON CUP CAPER". Since it was still daylight out, the lights around it were not on. Even so, I couldn't resist imagining what they would look like once night fell.

Lita, meanwhile, led us over to the closest ticket booth that didn't have a line. "Three, please." she told the Vulpix at the counter as she deposited enough coins for the three of us in the payment slot.

"Enjoy the show!" the Vulpix smiled as he gave us our tickets. With that, I followed Lita and Mizu inside the theater.

It didn't look too different from theaters at home, except for the lack of a mini arcade near the snack bar. No matter, video games would be alien to my friends, anyway. There were already lines forming at the snack bar, so we rushed to get a spot before they got too long.

When we finally got to the counter, I couldn't resist admiring the impressive array of treats. There were Skitty Crunchies, Johto Almonds, Krisp bars, Minty Balls, and many other candies I recognized, but unfortunately, all we could afford was popcorn. The Chikoritas at the counter couldn't resist giggling over the look on my face once I was told the candy was too expensive.

Once we got our popcorn we trooped off down a carpeted hallway lined with posters of coming attractions. I was still sulking over not getting candy by the time we reached the theater, so the usher's call of "Tickets, please!" startled me! Lita and Mizu were restraining themselves from laughing as I nervously handed over my ticket to the usher. The Grovyle used one of the leaves on his arms to tear off the short end of the ticket, then handed the stub to me.

"Your friend okay?" the Grovyle asked as he took Mizu's ticket.

"Oh, she's just mad she couldn't get candy and popcorn." Mizu replied as she led me inside the theater.

Once the three of us were back together again, we found three seats in the middle of the theater. There were various Pokemon already there, quietly talking, nibbling on their treats, or watching the screen loop movie trivia. Lita and Mizu just sat comfortably in their seats, as if they'd done this a hundred times before, but I made a flying leap into the center seat, nearly spilling Lita's popcorn.

"Excited, aren't we?" Mizu smiled as I began to munch on my popcorn.

"I'm just interested to see these serial chapters..." I explained.

"I hear they're starting a new one with this movie..." Lita explained. "They're usually about this human girl that goes all around the world making movies, and the various perils she gets into."

"And just when you think the girl's gonna get it, the mysterious rescuer saves her!" Mizu added. "You'll love it!" With that, she settled in her seat as the lights dimmed and the projector began to whir.

I watched as the screen blipped 3...2...1...before displaying the words "Global Pokemon News" overlaid over a globe with Pikachu ears. "Here's the latest at Global Pokemon News..." the announcer began before showing a Chikorita, a Cyndaquil, and a Totodile waving to supporters. "Team Silver began their climb up Mt. Thunder yesterday...it is hoped the expedition will reveal more about the mountain's past..."

"Supposedly, a winged god resides at the peak and guards the mountain, so I don't think they'll get very far..." Mizu whispered to me as scenes of the team climbing cycled onscreen.

"I hope they have good bargaining skills if they find this winged god..." I whispered back before refocusing on the screen, which depicted a Kadabra before a statue of Lucario.

"Natural disasters have been intensifying in the past week, prompting many to travel to the Shrine of Lucario to the east." the screen explained. "Some have said that Xatu's prophecy of a human in Pokemon form will come to pass, while others still remain skeptical. Still others have come foward claiming to be the human in the prophecy..."

"Who's Xatu?" I asked.

"He cares for Lucario's shrine from his abode at the peak of the Great Canyon, not far from the Shrine." Lita explained. "His prophecies have not been wrong yet...or at least none of the ones I've heard about were wrong."

"It's very rare for Xatu to have a wrong prediction, hon." a Bayleef seated a few seats further down the row assured Lita as she kept a watchful eye on the two Chikoritas next to her. "The last time a prophecy of his didn't come true, I was about as old as one of my little'uns here!"

"The only hint Xatu has given as to when the prophecy will come true is that the human mentioned will receive messages from one of Lucario's envoys in their dreams." the screen concluded before returning to the picture of the globe. "And that's the news here at Pokemon News..." I was puzzled--if Lucario told me before I was transformed that I was the human Xatu had foretold, then how come I hadn't gotten any odd dreams yet?

END OF FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #8: Old Friends in a New World


When the Global Pokemon News segement ended, the screen faded to black for a moment, prompting me to nudge Lita. "What happens now?"

"I thig the sewia's commin up nux..." Lita replied through a mouthful of popcorn. She swallowed her bite, then repeated her answer again a little more clearly. "I think the serial's coming up next..."

"Sometimes they'll have a comic or musical short instead of a serial." Mizu added. I nodded and turned my attention back to the screen.

Just then, an adventurous fanfare began to play, prompting some applause as a male voice, one that sounded amazingly like Pewter's Gym Leader, Brock, announced "It's the Adventures of Misty and Friends!" Cheers went up as the title appeared on the screen, but I was even more surprised to learn that Misty also was mentioned in this world--only rather than being the Gym Leaders as they were back home, Brock and Misty were treated like movie stars!

I made a mental note that once I did make it back home, I would go on a Pokemon journey just to find out if Brock and Misty, or any of the Gym Leaders; had been to this world. If they did, then what kind of Pokemon were they turned into?

Mizu noted the shocked look on my face. "Sammi? Did the announcer surprise you?"

"Yeah...he sounds like someone back home." I explained. I decided to leave it at that--the concept of a "Gym Leader" would be foreign to my new friends, and I didn't really want to explain it to them at the moment--I was mesmerized by the scenes of Misty and her Pokemon flashing on the screen.

"Misty is an aspiring filmmaker that dreams of international fame and fortune." the announcer explained as a shot of Misty dreaming of receiving a trophy that looked like a projector appeared onscreen. "She travels the world, filming the wonderful, the exotic, and the strange!" The audience oohed and ahhed over the various locales before the announcer continued, "Accompanying her on these expeditions are her Pokemon companions...Togetic..." A Togetic appeared onscreen and waved to the audience. "Marill..." Mizu laughed a little at the Marill's goofy smile. "Seel..." A Seel appeared, excitedly clapping its fins. "and that ol' Psyduck!" The audience roared with laughter at Psyducks quizzical look.

"I understand Psyduck's the comic relief..." I whispered to Lita.

"Yes...he's my favorite character in the Misty serials." Lita replied before chomping on more popcorn.

"But these adventures are not without trials!" the announcer continued, causing the ground under Misty to give way. She hung on to the edge for a moment until a black haired boy in a black outfit and flowing cloak helped her out of the hole. "Thankfully, the handsome ninja known only as Fushigi is always there to rescue her!" Fushigi winked to the audience, looked Misty over to see if she was all right, then disappeared into the jungle as quickly as he had appeared. What interested me was how much Fushigi resembled Master Ash--all in build, hair color, and height. Did that mean His Masterness had been to this world too? Despite the sea of questions in my mind, I decided to chalk the similarites between Fushigi and Master Ash up to sheer coincidence for the time being. If Lita and Mizu asked me later, I would try to explain it to them as best as I could without confusing them.

"I wonder where Misty's going today?" Mizu whispered as the scene opened on an office, where Misty was typing something on a PC.

"Sammi...why were you looking at Fushigi all funny when he appeared?" Lita asked.

"He reminded me of someone speacial back home." I replied as I watched Misty chatter on the phone to her latest client--she was going to be filming a documentary about some old jungle ruins, it seemed. Lita nodded to show she understood and turned her attention back to the screen.

I nibbled on some popcorn as the screen showed a map of the world with a blue line snaking around it, presumably the route Misty was taking. Once she arrived at the town closest to her destination, she began to ask about the old ruins that she was to film. The first few people she asked weren't very much help, but one native's answer had something interesting: the ruins supposedly had treasure inside them! I assumed that they would probably had traps in them, and Fushigi would have to bail Misty out of a lot of them before the adventure was over.

After a while, the scene switch to the house of the client, a professor that looked a lot like Professor Birch back home. I once again chalked up any similarities to coincidence to avoid more questions from Lita and Mizu. Nonetheless--all these appearances of famous people that I knew from home led me to wonder if they had all been to this world at one time or another.

But I had no time to think about this, for my attention was snapped back to the screen by some cracking--Misty had arrived at the ruins and was about to start filming when she had walked a little too far out--making for a literal cliffhanger as the announcer asked all the mandatory end of part questions typical of a serial--Will Fushigi get there in time? (Yes) Will Misty be sent falling to her demise? (Probably not, since Fushigi will save her) Some applause filled the theater as "To Be Continued..." appeared on the screen. At the same time, I was a bit worried for Misty.

"You think Misty will be okay?" I asked Lita as the scene faded out.

"Of course! Fushigi will save her in the nick of time!" Lita replied. I smilled hopefully in anticipation of the main event: the movie.

END OF FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #9: Team Ruby, Away!



After a wonderful afternoon at the theater, we returned to our base for the night. Despite all my questions of how Master Ash and his friends could appear in this world, I just figured I would learn if they had indeed come here soon enough.

But the next morning, a blaring siren rang through the base; jarring Lita and me from sleep! My still groggy eyes struggled to focus despite the intermittent flashes of red and the noise. Lita, on the other hand, took the noise to mean some sort of an emergency. She had quickly jumped from her bed and was trying to drag me downstairs and outside, away from the supposed fire or chemical leak or whatever had caused the siren to go off.

No sooner had we gotten outside, did we see Mizu laughing hysterically as she pressed a large button with a speaker on it, disabling the siren and the lights. Lita sighed--she was not amused by Mizu's prank of waking us up in the wee hours of the morning--or so she thought.

I finally worked up the courage to ask her "What was THAT for?"

Mizu composed herself for a minute, then replied. "I only wanted to test a new alert system I made last night...and judging from you guys' reactions, it definitely works!"

"So that's what you were doing all last night..." Lita sighed. "You didn't have to make all that racket and wake us up, you know!"

"More importantly, why do we need an alert system?" I asked.

"Easy...if Nigel brings us a rescue notice, and one of us needs to alert the rest of the team, all we have to do is press the button, either this one here or the one at the end of the second floor hallway." Mizu explained.

"Oh, okay..." Lita was impressed.

"Although next time, can we give everyone a heads up before setting it off?" I asked with a yawn. "The noise surprised both Lita and me..." I was about to say more when I heard some fluttering off in the distance--Nigel was coming!

"Good morning!" Mizu smiled as Nigel landed atop our mailbox.

"Mornin' , Miss Mizu..." Nigel replied as he thumbed through the various letters in his sack, ultimately selecting one and offering it to Lita. "What was all that racket from your base earlier?"

"I made an alert system, and wanted to test it." Mizu explained as she waited to see if Nigel had anything else for us. "However, I woke Lita and Sammi by accident!"

"It needs a volume control..." I sighed as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes

"That's a good way to notify teammates...most teams around here have such an alarm." Nigel said as he prepared to fly off. "You three have a nice day!" With that, he took off, heading towards the next house or base on his route.

I waved goodbye as Nigel soared among the clouds, then noted the envelope in Lita's paws. "I wonder if that's a job offer?"

"Only one way to find out!" With that, Lita tore open the envelope and unfolded the paper inside. "Okay...it says:

Dear Team Ruby:

We have heard of your exploits thanks to Mrs. Ave and her sons Wings and Breeze. Wings was particularly thankful that you rescued him out in Tiny Woods several days ago.

We ask for your help in finding our brother Shock. A strange surge came through Thunderwave Cave last night, blew him off somewhere, and stuck us together. As you well know, two Magnemites don't make a Magneton; as that doesn't make sense! Please find Shock for us!

Sincerely,

The Magnemite Bros.

"Wow..." Mizu gasped. "This sounds serious..." I, meanwhile, was busy placing names and faces the letter had mentioned. Mrs. Ave was the Butterfree Lita and I had helped when I first arrived, and Wings was the Caterpie I had rescued...so they in turn had told these Magnemites that needed help. I figured that the more Pokemon we helped, the more likely they would tell others, and the more jobs we would get! Besides, wasn't the best way for a team to get fame word of mouth?

"Well, Sammi?" Lita's voice snapped me from my thoughts. "Should we go or not?"

"Yes!" I replied, before pausing. "Although...where IS Thunderwave Cave?"

"It's north of here, in the highlands." Mizu explained, pointing out a cave on a world map that she had marked with a star. "It's the cave I've starred."

"Come on!" Lita romped out to the end of the front walk, motioning for us to follow. "Team Ruby, away!" I fumbled for the X ray glasses Mizu had made for me and put them on before following Lita down the northern path. Mizu was behind me, with our toolbox tucked under one arm.

Together, we headed down the dusty path north until we came to a signpost that read "ELEMENTAL HIGHLANDS ->" Once sure we were heading the right way, Lita lead us through the winding, rocky trail until we came to one particular cave, where two Magnemites hovered by the entrance. Every now and then, one of them would nervously spark, as if waiting for someone or something to come out of the blackness.

I calmly approached the two Magnemites and flashed our Rescue Badge, which I had decorated with a ruby at the top. "Team Ruby, at your service!"

The Magnemite I had addressed turned to see us and smiled--or whatever it is that Magnemites do to smile. "Thank goodness you're here!" he cried, setting off some joyful sparks in the process. "I'm Coil, and this is Flicker." he explained, motioning for the other Magnemite to come closer.

"Pleased to meet you, Coil." I replied as I nudged my X-ray glasses to rest on top of my head. "I'm Sammi, and these are my comrades Lita.." Lita waved hello. "and Mizu." Mizu waved, then retrieved our toolbox, which she had set down on the ground when we arrived.

"Shock is lost somewhere in the cave." Flicker explained. "The last time I saw him, he was on the sixth basement..."

"The sixth basement..." I made a mental note of Shock's possible location, then put my X-ray glasses back on. "All right...we'll check there first!"

"Good luck!" Coil called after us as we disappeared into the cave...

TO BE CONTINUED....  

[Karuta64]

File #10: The Maze of Darkness (part 1)

Thunderwave Cave, B1


As we stepped inside Thunderwave Cave, we all noticed that it was dark...VERY dark. I was the only one with any means to see what was in the dark; but the X-ray glasses made everything look like tiny dots. There were some blue dots in various locations, but there were even more red dots moving everywhere around the floor. Our current position, I assumed, was notated by yellow dots, with the dot representing me flashing. There we some smaller blue blips in some rooms, but I didn't really know what those were.

"Goodness, it's dark in here!" Lita complained as she groped in the blackness. "I can't see anything!"

"And I can't make sense of my glasses." I added. We both glanced at Mizu for help.

Mizu strolled over to where I was standing and lightly touched a stick to my tail, making it ignite. After giving the torch to Lita, she stepped in front of me. Despite being a little unnerved at being able to also look inside Mizu's body, I listened as she explained. "The red dots are all wild Pokemon on this floor, and the blue dots are stuff we can pick up."

"Okay..." I stammered, motioning for Mizu to go on.

"The Pokemon we need to rescue will be notated like Lita and me--yellow dots." Mizu continued. "and the stairs to the next floor will look like a blue target"

"Got it!" I replied as I led my friends into the main chamber. The first thing I saw was an apple on the ground and various passages leading in all directions After looking the apple over and presuming it was fresh, I plopped it in the toolbox and started down a passage to the right. But before we could enter the next room, I felt a stinging sensation on my back. I whirled around and yelped with surprise when I saw a Rattata in our path--and it was not too happy to see us.

"Look out!" Lita called as the Rattata whipped its tail on my body, making me stumble backwards into Mizu. Lita, meanwhile, just hurled herself into the Rattata as a counterattack, knocking it unconscious.

"Nice tackle..." I groaned as I attempted to untangle myself from Mizu and brush myself off.

"Thanks...everyone does know how to Tackle as their basic move, but as we grow stronger, we'll gain new powers." Lita explained as we lined ourselves back up again to continue into the cave. Once we were all in line again, we were about to start on our way when I saw a flash of purple out of the corner of my eye. Without any warning, I suddenly found myself being thrown clear across the room as another Rattata began to claw at Lita and Mizu. While they were holding their own against the Rattata's small sharp teeth and pointy claws, the force of the sudden blow made me see double for a moment as I eased myself up again.

Lita saw me stumbling back and grabbed an Oran Berry from the toolbox. "Sammi, catch!" With that, she heaved the tiny blue berry in my direction.

I tried to run and catch the berry, but it bounced off my leg and cracked open at my feet, making its juice seep inside my body. Strangely enough, I felt stronger than before after absorbing it! It gave me enough strength to charge at an unsuspecting Poochyena that was coming to join the fight.

Once we had knocked out both Pokemon, I immediately grabbed the spoils: some coins.

"For a minute there, I thought you were a goner!" Mizu said as she ran to help Lita collect the coins.

"I thought I'd lost the Berry untill I somehow absorbed its juice!" I replied as we all lined up and started down the passage again. We arrived in another large and open room, but what got my attention was a set of tiny rocky steps in the very top left corner of the room leading downwards. I motioned for my friends to follow as I started to climb downwards...

Thunderwave Cave, B2

We arrived in another open room with three exits; but what interested me was a small seed with a flame pattern lying on the ground by one of the south exits. "What's that?"

Mizu brought the seed over and studied the flame pattern on its husk. "This is a Blast Seed...eat it to shoot a small fireball."

"Cool." I replied as Mizu tucked the Blast Seed in the toolbox. "I want to try that!' With that, I almost dragged Lita and Mizu to one of the south exits, then took a right in the next room, until I noted a Poochyena snoozing not far from where we had finally entered.

"Here's your chance, Sammi." Mizu whispered as she handed the Blast Seed to me.

I carefully cracked open the seed and popped it into my mouth. It tasted a little like a peanut at first, but I was not prepared for the sudden rush of heat that welled up inside my mouth! In desperation, I unleashed the blast at the Poochyena, knocking him out.

"You okay?" Lita asked as I coughed and sputtered a bit from the hot surprise.

"I had no idea it was going to do that!" I protested as I drew some water from a nearby puddle and drank it. The drink instantly soothed my still burning mouth.

"You get used to it the more times you eat Blast Seeds." Mizu assured me as we continued on our way into a room with a single north exit. After grabbing an Apple that lay nearby, I saw a familiar form approaching: a Rattata!

"CHU!!!" Lita growled, surprising the Rattata as it entered, buying me time to scratch it in the belly. As it fell unconscious, I grabbed the Blast Seed it had dropped and deposited it in the toolbox. I also saw Lita glowing yellow for a few seconds--what was happening to her?

Finally, she ran back to join us. "Yeah! I learned a new power!"

"Really?" I was impressed.

"Yes...I felt the power named Paralysis Wave awaken within me...that explains why I was glowing." Lita explained. "When you'll learn a new power, you'll glow too!

I thought back to when I had encountered Team Kage a few days before...was the Glowing Ember I had used one of my innate powers or a new power about to awaken? I pondered this as we headed down the stairs in the next room...

To Be Continued...  

[Karuta64]

File #11: The Maze of Darkness (part 2)


Thunderwave Cave, B3F

As we headed down onto the next floor, we arrived in a room with two exits--one going north, and one going west. Lita's natural instinct was to head north first, so we followed her through a narrow passageway. The large open room we arrived in had a lot of items on the ground according to my X-ray glasses.

Lita grabbed three tiny rocks lying on the ground by my feet, but before Mizu could pick up an Oran Berry lying nearby, a Rattata snatched it away! I could hear her cries of "Come back here!" and "Give that back!" echoing through the room as she grappled with the Rattata, who had no intent of giving the berry back.

The tug of war went on for a good while, until I saw Mizu startting to tire. I crept up behind the Rattata and gave it a hard scratch on the back. Mizu caught the Oran Berry as the Rattata fell to the floor with a plop, defeated.

"Good shot, Sammi!" Lita gave me a pat on the back. "For a minute there, I thought we were going to have to keep fighting for that Berry!"

"Don't mention it." I replied as I tossed an apple into the toolbox.

The last item turned out to be another Blast Seed--and a Rattata was guarding it! Before I could approach, it barreled into me, sending me onto the floor with a plop. As I woozily stood up, I felt something hit me--an Oran Berry! Just like before, the berry cracked open at the point of impact, allowing the juice to be absorbed into my body. With this newfound strength flowing through me, I charged into the Rattata, making it drop the seed as it fell. With the Rattata out of the way, I slipped the Blast Seed into the toolbox before leading everyone through a western passageway.

"Um..." Mizu started. "In case you were wondering who threw the Oran Berry..."

An awkward silence followed as Mizu wondered how to phrase her sentence. "In case you were wondering who threw you the Oran Berry earlier...that was me."

"It was?" I was surprised--so far, Lita had been the one throwing me items, so why had Mizu thrown me one earlier?

"Yeah...I wanted to return the favor for you helping me get that other Oran Berry back from the other Rattata." Mizu explained.

"Well, that was very nice of y--" I started when Lita interrupted. "We've seen so many Rattatas in here that I forget which one that had the Oran Berry!"

"I think it was Rattata #24." I replied, playing along with Lita. She laughed a little before she interjected "I don't get it."

"It's a running joke in a popular human movie..." I explained. "The joke is that the opponent you just defeated or item you just found was the same one you fought back in the 24th part."

It took a minute for Lita and Mizu to grasp the connection, but once the lightbulbs had gone off in their minds, they burst out laughing. They were still giggling over it as we shared an apple together and trooped down to the next floor...

Thunderwave Cave, B4

"Remember--" Lita started, before she saw me struggling to keep balanced! "Sammi!" She hurried over and caught me just before I hit the floor.

"What happened?" Mizu was by Lita's side in a heartbeat.

"Sammi tripped on some Gravelerocks and was about to fall." Lita explained as she deposited three more tiny rocks in the toolbox.

So that was that hard thing I stubbed my toe on.. I thought as I brushed myself off and eased my X-ray glasses back on. "You were saying, Lita?" I asked.

"Oh...be sure and eat something when you start to feel hungry." Lita cautioned. "If you don't, you'll grow weaker and weaker until you faint!" I swallowed hard at the thought of fainting--could I actually die if that happened?

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of something metallic rolling in our direction. I wasn't sure what it was it first--it sounded too heavy to be a Poke Ball. Not only that, but Poke Balls didn't exist in this world. I finally turned around to see a Voltorb rolling towards an unsuspecting Mizu. "Look out!" I called.

"Huh?" Muzu turned to look and screamed as the Voltorb began to spark intently--a Charge attack!

"Yah!" I cried as my claws dug into the metallic shell of the Voltorb, making it short-circuit. At the same time, Mizu started to glow blue for a second. When the aura had faded, I asked. "What new power did you learn?"

Mizu was about to answer when she noticed an Elekid sneaking up behind me. "BUBBLING SPRAY!" she called as she blew some bubbles into the Elekid's face. That bought me time to scratch it in the belly; knocking it out.

Suddenly, I felt warm as a red aura surrounded me for a few seconds. It was as if I could feel a new power rising within me! "Guys! I learned a new power too!"

"Oh?" Mizu was interested. "I learned Bubbling Spray..."

"Well, I learned Glowing Ember--for real!" I added, giddy with excitement. If we kept fighting and growing stronger, even better powers would probably awaken inside of us!

"Cool...maybe the first time you used it against Team Kage, it surfaced from your anger." Lita said.

"It's not uncommon for a power to temporarily awaken before it is actually learned..." Mizu added. "One circumstance would be due to emotions, like Sammi did..." She let that hang as we trooped down the stairs...

To Be Continued....  

[Karuta64]

File #13: The Maze of Darkness (part 3)



Thunderwave Cave, B5F


Mizu paused to light another torch as we entered the fifth floor of the cave. "We're almost there...Shock should be someplace on the next floor."

"Great." I replied. I was tired of tromping through this spooky old cave; but I also had the duty to find and rescue this lost Magnemite. It would not look good on our resumes if we retreated now.

"This is nothing compared to the dungeons Team Pluto goes through every day." Lita cautioned. "99 floors of Pokemon, mazes and traps!"

"Ni-n-n-n-....I'm not worthy!" I yelped.

"That's not all..." Lita continued. "The traps are much worse...they can splatter mud all over you..."

I winced at this. Getting dirty in a dungeon with no sources of water didn't sound very fun.

"Some of them spray sleeping gas..." Lita continued, all the while approaching me menancingly. Now I was shuddering--What if I never woke up from the gas induced coma?

"Lita..." Mizu warned. She was not amused by Lita's attempts to scare me. "Stop scaring Sammi, please!"

"But can't I tell her about the--" Lita started.

"DON'T TELL ME!!!!!!" I screeched, making my voice echo through the chamber we had entered.

Mizu sighed, embarrassed by my yelp. "Come on...the stairs are over here." With that, she led us into the southern exit and down the stairs in the next room.

Thunderwave Cave, B6F

We arrived in a large open room with a stream running through it; and the first thing I noticed was a lone Magnemite looking at himself in the water. His lone eye was half drooped as a tear fell from it. Every so often, he would release a very tiny spark before releasing another tear.

"Shock?" I called to the crying Magnemite.

The Magnemite perked up at the sound of his name and hovered over to me. "Are you...the rescuers my brothers sent?" he tensely asked.

"Yes." I replied. "They're on the surface, and worried sick about you!"

Shock was elated to the point of sending out a celebratory shockwave, making the three of us dive for cover. "Wonderful! Someone finally came to save me!" he cried joyfully.

"Come on then." Lita said, motioning for Shock, Mizu, and I to join her in a circle. "I'm going to use our rescue badge to get you out of here."

Once we had all circled around Lita, she held our Rescue Badge in the air, making it glow with a faint white aura. "Pokemon Rescue....Ruby Flash!" she called. This made the ruby on our badge glow with a bright red light, which consumed us and warped us outside.

We arrived on the surface seconds later, where Flicker and Coil were waiting. Shock flew over to his brothers, and the three of them spun on the grass in a moment of jubilation.

After all three of them had calmed down a little, Flicker hovered over to me. "Thank you so much for finding our brother!" he said as he offered some coins to us. "It's not much, but take 500 credits as thanks."

"And this Reviver Seed!" Coil gave Lita a seed with a heart emblem on it.

"And this berry I found in the cave." Shock added, adding a Rawst Berry to our toolbox.

"Thank you for the coins and gifts..." I replied. "But just seeing the three of you happy is the best payment of all!" We all laughed, said our goodbyes, and headed for home, our first mission completed.

We all went to bed that night exhausted, but happy. For most of the night, I dreamt about the three Magnemite Bros. playing together. Judging from how they had spun and whirled about, they were probably very close, and rarely, if ever, fought over anything.

But suddenly, a hazy green feeling started my next dream. I was confused--what was this dream going to be about?

The haze was very thick, but I could make out a white form off in the distance. I couldn't tell who or what it was, but it seemed to be thinking very hard about something.

I was about to approach it and ask who it was when a loud ringing jolted me awake! I rubbed my eyes as Lita hopped from bed and trooped downstairs. Mizu was also awake, since my still sleepy eyes could see her turning off the ringing alarm clock. I just brushed off the dream for now--if it happened again, I'd ask Lita about it...

END OF FILE  

[Karuta64]

File #14: Just Peachy!



Despite my odd dream the night before, breakfast passed without incident. In fact, Lita didn't even ask about what had happened--she probably had just chalked up my tossing and turning as attempts to getting comfortable.

After we had eaten, Mizu was the first to speak. "Lita...did you know that today marks the first day of the Flower Festival?"

"It is?" Lita asked, turning to look at the calandar--or what I thought was a calendar-- hanging on the wall by the front door. "So it is!"

"Wait...what's the Flower Festival?" I asked.

"It's the festival commorating the spring." Lita explained. "A lot of Grass Pokemon come of age during that time."

"The best party's in town!" Mizu continued. "Want to come with us?"

"Well..." I was a little unsure. I didn't know what to expect, since I had never really been to a festival in this world before.

"Come on, please?" Lita begged.

"Okay..." I nervously smiled. "Besides, what could happen at a party in this world?"

"So what are parties like in your world, Sammi?" Mizu asked as we set out on the road to town.

I tried to think of a holiday my new friends would understand. Pokemon Master Day, September 10, was out of the question--I'd have to spend the whole walk telling them about who Master Ash was. Christmas and Easter were out, too--I was worried they wouldn't understand the deeper meanings behind them. After debating between several other holidays and festivals, decided that birthdays would be the best place to begin. "Well, we hold a celebration when someone turns a year older...their birthday."

"Is it a big deal, or what?" Lita asked.

"Some families make a big spectacle of it, while others just hold private parties with families and friends." I explained. "The person turning a year older gets a special cake with candles, and everyone sings a song called "Happy Birthday to You". Once the song's over, the person blows the candles out in hopes their special birthday wish comes true."

"How many candles do they put on the cake?" Mizu was now interested.

"One for each year the person has lived." I replied. "My last one had ten candles on it."

"What happens then?" Lita was now listening intently.

"Usually there's gifts for the person having the birthday, and they get opened after the cake is eaten."

"WOW!!!!" Mizu was excited at the thought of presents. "Maybe if you stay long enough, you can hold a birthday party for me!"

I smiled, partly flattered both by Mizu's giddiness and the festive decor looming overhead as we approached town. "I'll see what I can do..."

Mizu shoved a calendar in my face, which had one date circled on the third page down from the current month. "It's the seventh day of the month of the Phoenix."

I assumed that Mizu ment Moltres when she mentioned "the Phoenix", so the month of the Phoenix would equal July on the human calendar. The current month, the month of the Forest, would probably equal April. It was so amazing; this world had its own calendar very much like ours!

No sooner had we walked into town, did I notice a dropped calendar similar to the one Mizu owned. I started to thumb through it, oblivious to the games, performances, and festivities going on around me. The months of the year here were eerily familiar--the month of the Time Keeper; Dialga, was first, next was the month of the Lover, Luvdisc. The month of Thunder follwed, followed by the month of the Forest. They all corresponded to January, February, March, and April, respectively.

My fascination with the calendar made me bump into a tree. As I rubbed my head in pain, a Chikorita peeked out from a branch. "Everything okay down there?"

"Yes..." I replied back, albeit still in pain.

The Chikorita climbed down from the tree and massaged my wound. "There we go..."

"Thank you...um..." I stammered, unsure what my helper was named.

"Name's Peach." the Chikorita replied. "My friends and I watch over the festival from the trees...if someone needs our help, they knock on the trunk and down we come!"

"Interesting...." I replied.

"It gets pretty lonely up there." Peach continued. "and boring, too...you don't get to take part in the festivities or anything!"

"How awful! But why do you do it?" Lita interjected.

"I wanted to do it to help, but many times no one comes seeking our help." Peach sighed. "I wish there were some way I could actively help someone instead of waiting for them to come to me."

"You could join a Rescue Team!" Lita offered, flashing our badge before Peach.

Peach seemed surprised by our badge. "How is a Rescue Team any different than waiting in the tree?"

"Instead of waiting for someone to come to you, you come to them!" I explained.

A thoughtful look came over Peach's face--she was clearly weighing the pros and cons of joining us in her mind. We just stood on the outskirts of the square, waiting for Peach to make her decision.

Finally, it came: "I'm kissing this tree goodbye! Waiting for someone to help sounds boring compared to rescuing them!"

"Then welcome!" Lita produced a spare bandanna and tied it around Peach's neck. "Welcome to Team Ruby, Peach!"

"Team Ruby, huh? Has a ring to it." Peach laughed before falling in behind me to partake in the festival...

END OF FILE