POKEMON A.R.

			  ------------------------
			  The Hidden Nation Series
			  ------------------------

			      Walkin' Trouble

				 (PROLOUGE)

				   PART 2


	Life's getting interesting for Tyler isn't it? Hopefully, this
stroke of luck won't go sour on him.

=========================================================================


Ms. Harmon's office, Sunny Town Orphanage
-----------------------------------------

	"So I'm a genius?" Tyler asked as he petted Poliwag.

	Ms. Harmon only nodded as she began looking over the test scores
on the clipboard she held. "It seems so," she said, "at least it would
explain the wit."

	Not one week ago Tyler had taken a general equivalency test, or
G.E.D. for short. The test evaluated whether someone could graduate from
high school, and its test parts were usually taken in hour and a half
long implements for the 6 or so parts.

	Tyler, however, had done it in an hour and had made in the top
10th percentile of the entire Democratic Republic, warranting a visit
from the city's board of education. After evaluating Tyler, however, they
allowed the score to stand and, in fact, allowed Tyler to totally bypass
high school... and he's only 11!

	Poliwag began to croak/purr as Tyler held him closer, somewhat
unsure of what he'd do now, knowing he was *different*.

	"So now what?" Tyler asked with a cleansing sigh.

	Ms. Harmon too sighed. "Tyler," she began, "I..." she sighed
again.

	Tyler put up front and tried to smile reassuringly. "Go on, no
biggie. We BOTH know I'm strange."

	"I know that you know that it's unlikely anyone will adopt you."
she said as kindly as she could, "You're eleven years old and it's almost
impossible to find anyone who'd be willing to take in someone that old."

	"I knew that." Tyler said, still smiling, "I figured that since I
was six. I didn't mind... I mean, I figured it was ok. I mean, I just
started to look at the good stuff in life, you know? I figured I was
lucky cus I was in such a nice place while other kids weren't so lucky.
Ya know, with the war and all?"

	"You're very brave for your age." Ms. Harmon said.

	"No..." Tyler said, semi-disgusted at himself for not being able
to live up to the standards he set with such a compliment, "Guys like
Lt. Surge, now *that's* brave. He and his Raichu held off an entire
battalion by themselves while his reinforcements came up. Me... I'm just
a kid no one wants."

	"Listen, Tyler." Ms. Harmon said, "you have an opportunity here.
That certificate gives you a chance to have a good life as nearly
anything, and I want to offer you an opportunity. I can allow you to work
odd jobs, tax free, and save up for when you leave the orphanage. Just
think about how much you can have when you're done! I can have it put in
an account for you in the bank and earn some interest; that or buy bonds.
You can even take some classes at a community college on the government's
tab and then transfer with those credits to a full university with some
of you money and some government grants. And then-"

	"Hey, Ms. H!" Tyler said, "Slowup! I don't wanna do anything
except raise pokŽmon and, well..."

	"Yes?" Ms. Harmon said, looking at the boy with interest as he was
now speaking up.

	"I..." he started nervously, "I wanna start a gym using bug
pokŽmon. I mean, I like Poliwag here and I'll keep it till I die but
I've been reading up on bug pokŽmon and I REALLY wanna master them. I
know it's not glamorous or that there's any major pay but it's all I
ever wanted."

	"That's fine." Ms. Harmon said, "In fact, you're lucky. You'll
have an excellent chance of becoming a gym leader if you can start saving
now. PokŽmon Technical just opened it's doors to the public, and in a few
years of hard saving you could go there. Just think! Once you're in the
PokŽmon League you'll have an excellent chance of starting up a gym."

	"Sounds like a plan." Tyler replied, feeling a little better.

	"Now that you've graduated, you'll have some free time you
would've used during lessons." Ms. Harmon said, "Now, I don't mind you
going out to work and by me signing a few forms the city won't care
either. However, even though it's obvious what you want to do I couldn't
in good conscious just let you do this without something to fall back on.
Instead of the lessons you would have taken, I'm going to enroll you in 6
credits of community college. Six credits is usually just a couple
classes, and even those'll meet just twice a week. I'll schedule them for
the same day and one after another, that way you'll have plenty of time
to work odd jobs. Or..."

	"OR?...'OR' what?" Tyler asked.

	"You could always pokŽbattle." she said, "I normally wouldn't
encourage it but if you win you can make a lot of money quickly. And if
you lose, you're taught that you won't always be the greatest and you
still get something out of it. And either way, you'll learn valuable
pokŽmon techniques for deciding on which attacks to teach your pokŽmon."

	"So when do I start classes?" Tyler asked.

	"Three weeks." Ms. Harmon said, "And as I said, the city will fit
the bill."

	"Ok then." Tyler said, "So I have the next three weeks off?"

	"Technically..." Ms. Harmon said, wondering what the boy was up
to.

	"OkthankyouverymuchMs.Hbyenow!" Tyler said as he carried Poliwag
off in a blur of speed.

	Ms. Harmon just didn't know what she was going to do with Tyler.
She decided, however, to arrange everything now and worry about that
later.


				* * *


Outskirts of Downtown, Commercial District
-------------------------------------------


	"So?" the man asked, "Back again?"

	When given the blessing to pursue employment opportunities, Tyler's
first thought had been to hit the places he'd gotten money in the summer.
Still, summer was done and, for the most past, the odd jobs Tyler was once
able to do were now gone... at least most of them. Nearly discouraged,
Tyler had made his way to the one place he was SURE they'd have something
for him to do.

Now, however, with this cold reception by Karl, the stock-boy/
cashier/just-about-everything-but-the-manager, Tyler was wondering if this
last hope of his was a washout too.

	Tyler shuffled one foot to the other. "Yes sir." he began,
answering the clerk as respectively as possible, "Is there ANYTHING I
could do for you today?

	The PokŽmon Pet store loomed over Tyler. 4 stories high, it's
height as a center for pokŽmon and pokŽmon accessories was second only to
the mall in Celadon city. The sun cascaded over the building, almost
blinding Tyler. He looked back to Karl, partly to escape the sun light,
mostly to get ANY little odd job his higher-ups had given him that he
couldn't possibly have the time or energy to do.

	"Well..." Karl began, "it's been kinda busy since that storm sank
the last freighter bound here..."

	Tyler immediately became more animated. "I STILL can't believe
they turned them back because they might've damaged that stupid bridge."
Tyler said, semi-angry as he recalled the news report from two nights
past, "People could've died!"

	"WELL-UH..." Karl said, sweatdropping, "The point is, without
those new items, prices on the name brands have risen even higher and
as a result, we've had a higher demand for our store's cheaper, generic
brands. The demand is so big that we're almost out, so we need to
place an order for more supplies so we can make more; but the place is
in lesser downtown. I'd phone but they only take orders *this* big in
person and I have to stay at the store. If you'd just run this paper down
there and tell them to deliver it here and helped me make up some of our
stuff, there'd be 1000 yen and some free things out of the store for you."

	"And since when did you get so rich?" Tyler joked, "Or are you
sneaking supplies?"

	"My manager knows what you're doing for me." he said, almost as
if he thought Tyler should've known, "She never cared, and with this lost
bunch of supplies we're kinda messed up. I mean, we have insurance and
the stuff is getting replaced, but that won't be for weeks. She figured
we needed the help so she figured to give you a break if you came by...
that and the fact you're a lot cheaper than a *real* worker to pay doesn't
hurt."

	"Well... thanks..." Tyler said, an annoyed sweatdrop on his head,
"I think."

	"So," Karl said, semi-annoyed with Tyler's immaturity, "do you
want the work or not?"

	Tyler sighed and took the paper. "I'll be back." he said, "Come'on
Poliwag!"

	Karl's annoyance turned into amazement as he Poliwag begin to
hurriedly shuffle behind Tyler.

	"HEY!" said Karl as Tyler ran down the sidewalk of the highly
packed metropolis, "How'd you get that Poliwag to walk... and so fast!"

	Tyler turned back a second but still continued to run. "I put a
set of athletic chains on it's legs. You know... the ones the football
players in the NFL use. In a few days it was walking fine!"

	Karl thought a minute as Tyler and Poliwag made their way
downtown. 'PokŽmon leg chains'? Something to talk to the manager about
when she got back with the client.


				* * *


	After an arduous hour long journey to and from the supply
office, (of which was so horrifyingly tough because of the traffic Tyler
and Poliwag mutually agreed to never speak of it again) Tyler and Poliwag
got back to the Pet shop just as Karl had loaded all the supplies into
the back from where the service had dropped them off.

	"Wow," Tyler said, "they beat us back here... Now that's fast."

	"Pooolyyy..." said the water pokŽmon.

	"Come on Tyler," Karl said, wiping some sweat from his forehead,
we got more work to do.

	Then came yet ANOTHER hour of hard work, this time of giving Karl
various bags of ingredients and helping him mix vitamin cocktails and such
together, being EXTRA careful to keep the amounts constant as to not get
some poor pokŽmon ill. After mixing, testing, packing, sorting, and
shelving everything, Tyler began to clean up the horrific mess and put the
various ingredients and freshly cleaned utensils back into the storeroom
for when they'd be needed to yet again help to replenish the shelves.

	As he came back out to see Karl about his WELL EARNED pay, he
heard Karl, a woman and another man talking.

	"And there's been no word?" the man asked.

	"I'm sorry sir," the woman, whom Tyler identified as the manager
by her 'tacky' store outfit, "We can't give you those items. The
freighter sank and-"

	"BUT THOSE WERE PRICELESS!" the man said, "I'm... sorry. It's
just that those were Rare Candies... Getting *one* is trouble, getting
an entire trunk full..."

	Tyler stopped. He'd heard of Rare Candies. They were supposed to
allow a pokŽmon to raise by a level. Trainers usually either used them
for advancing a pokŽmon they wanted to naturally evolve, pump up a tough
pokŽmon, or save to trade to trainers whom needed them for the previous
two reasons.

	The conversation went on, and Tyler, losing interest, finished
some last minute details of his work.

	Karl met him to the side when he noticed him shuffling anxiously.
"I'm sorry," he told him, "but the manager's kinda busy. She's handling a
client right now. Listen, could you come back in a few hours?"

	"Fine." Tyler said, tired of waiting around while grown-up
conversation (which suspiciously sounded like childish whining, save for
the use of bigger words) and intending to get in some rest after all the
lugging he did.

	He headed out the back way and began to walk through the
semi-busy streets, with Poliwag shuffling steadily behind him. He lost
himself in thought as he stared at the HUGE skyscrapers, multiple plazas,
and little parking space. After some time of allowing his mind to go in
and out of oblivion, he found himself walking along the bay. He looked
out over the water, the glow of the sun making the water turn into a
shimmering, rose colored pool. He made his way until he reached a part
without any fencing and, after helping Poliwag, made his way to an
overhang with an excellent view of the bridgework.

	He stood silent awhile before he did or said anything. Finally,
he acknowledged Poliwag. "I wonder sometimes." he said.

	Poliwag looked up at him. "Poly?" it asked.

	"I'm so weird." he said, his voice devoid of emotion, "I don't
think like other people, I'm told that I'm smarter, than I'm special...
but no one wants me. That just doesn't add up."

	"Poly..." the little pokŽmon said, rubbing up against Tyler's leg
reassuringly.

	Tyler was quiet a moment as he looked out over the water, until
he exploded with emotion, as if the emotions he'd denied the past few
moments came back all at once.

	"IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" he yelled, kicking a rock over the ledge he
stood on into the water with his opposite foot. He seethed, listening as
he heard it land with a 'thunk'.

	"Waitaminute." he said, his deep emotional soul searching
forgotten, "Water doesn't go 'thunk'... I mean, it does as ice, but it's
still early fall."

	"Poly?" the little blue pokŽmon asked from the ledge as Tyler
climbed down to look.

	When the little water pokŽmon FINALLY made it down after him, it
saw Tyler, down on his knees, clasping his hands together, with stars for
eyes, and going: "Whoooo!"

	"Poly?" the pokŽmon asked, amazed at his trainer's change of
emotion.

	"What's this you ask?" Tyler said all happy, "Why, it's what the
playwrights call Deus Ex Martina! The answer to our problems! Faster than
you can say cheap plot convenience we're in the money!!!"

	"Poly." the blue tadpole pokŽmon replied.

	"Oh really?" Tyler said, now himself again, "This is the trunk of
that guys Rare Candies... and over there are crates full of Carbos,
Protein, Iron, and Calcium; each giving pokŽmon permanent power-ups in
speed, attack, defense, and special respectively. Plus, there are
*crates* of ultraballs, the best type of pokŽball there is! And the best
part is, other than some water damage to the casings, they're in tip-top
condition! And it's ours, all ours! HAHAHAHA!"

	"Poooly?" the pokŽmon asked.

	"Of course it's all ours!" Tyler said, "Don't you know about
salvage laws?... oh, yah... as a pokŽmon even reading may be difficult...
OK, you see, when a ship sinks all the stuff onboard for all legal
purposes, no longer exists. It's considered lost since, 9 times outta 10,
water ruins the stuff. BUT, in most cases, the government doesn't want
that garbage down there in the water like that. SO, to get rid of stuff
that might hamper the sunken ship becoming a fishy paradise, the
government says anything a diver pulls up is theirs so that people will
WANT to bring it back up! Or, in this case, we found stuff that washed
up on PUBLIC property. Since we're members of the public, this stuff is
ours!"

	"Po-ly-wag?" the tadpole pokŽmon asked as it went to stand next
to Tyler.

	"OF COURSE I'm sure it works that way." Tyler said, "Of course...
you're right in that that guy seemed to need this stuff real bad. And
besides, using these things is just plain cheating. I *GUESS* we could
call the store and tell the guy to come and get this junk..."

	"POLY!" the tadpole pokŽmon said loudly and happily.

	"Oh sure, you're happy," Tyler said unhappily, deciding to make
the call, "*I'm* the one out of millions of yen in retail power-ups."


				* * *


15 minutes later, at the Sunny Town bay area
--------------------------------------------

	"OH THANK YOU!" the man from the PokŽ Petshop said, hugging Tyler.

	"I'm being sexually harassed!" Tyler tried to yell as a joke,
only to be smothered by the man's gratitude.

	"Hmmm," Karl said, examining Tyler's find, "the containers are
all undamaged, except for the ink on the labels being all distorted just
like he said... but you can still figure out what they are easily."

	"So?" the manager said, "no one would buy any supplement for
their pokŽmon with this kind of label, intact or not... not full price
anyway."

	"So what do we do with it?" Karl said.

	"What do you mean we?" she said, agitated, "The kid found it,
it's his problem. What I'm going to do is give Mr. Braxton here a lift
back to his place and tell him when his next shipment of rare candies
arrives."

	"But he already has it!" Karl said.

	"So he bought some salvage," the manager said, "that's his
business. We had replacement insurance on all those items and the
insurance company *WILL* pay up."

	Tyler had been released from the hug and was now on cloud nine.
When he'd called Karl and told him what he'd found the previously
sunken goods, he'd expected to be ensured a job at the shop for at
least the rest of the fall. Instead, he was getting to keep the
millions of yen worth of retail goods that were sure to be used to help
raise his pokŽmon to unknown heights of talent. Sure, he felt the rare
candies and guard spec's and such were cheating, using a level booster
and one battle attack/defense boosters just wasn't a good indication of
the training it took to do such things, despite the fact they were fully
sanctioned by the PokŽmon League. But carbos and stuff, those were just
vitamins, how was getting better nutrition cheating?

	Mr. Braxton interrupted his thoughts. "Well young man," he
said "you've earned yourself a reward-"

	"Well, I mean..." Tyler said, not wanting to really push his luck,
"How about helping me lug this stuff to the pokŽcenter and helping me
store it via the P.C. storage system?"

	"Of course," he said, making a quick call on his cell phone, "but
I was thinking of something different."


				* * *


PokŽ Petstore, 45 minutes later
-------------------------------

	The items had all been moved via movers to the PokŽcenter and
placed in a storage P.C. (kindly donated to Tyler for use by
Mr. Braxton). After the movers had moved it out Mr. Braxton had taken
Tyler back to the PokŽ Petshop and began talking to Karl and the
manager over some minor details concerning the find.

	As they did, Tyler got bored and walked over to a side area in
the shop where the pokŽmon were held for sale... and dang there were a
lot of them! He looked at the selection of Rattatas, Pidgeys,
Charmanders, some Nidoran males, and-

	Over in a corner, several cages with "reduced for quick sale"
tags on stood silent. Tyler walked near one. Detecting no movement,
he got closer.

	"Hello?" he asked. Tyler looked at the- PSYDUCK!!!

	"AHHH!" Tyler yelled falling back, the yell catching him
completely off guard.

	"What is it?!" Karl yelled, running in, "Is it the Primeape again?"

	Tyler got up and onto his feet as Karl turned on the light.

	"Psy?" the pokŽmon in the cage said, looking around.

	A platypus type pokŽmon stared at Karl and Tyler, a vacant
expression on it's face as it held it's head with it's hands.

	Tyler got up and noticed the cage holding the duck-type pokŽmon
wasn't alone. When he got up enough nerve, he noticed not only a Psyduck
but a Pidgey, a bird like pokŽmon; and a Squirtle, a turtle like water
pokŽmon.

	All 3 looked at Tyler desperately with large eyes.

	"What's their story?" asked Tyler as Mr. Braxton and the manager
walked into the room to find out the cause of the yell.

	"Those are some returns," the manager said, "their owners were
disappointed with their low power levels and they returned them. Most
people don't want returned pokŽmon... not even when they're over 60% off.

	"Well, that just plain ol' sucks." Tyler said.

	"I have to agree with the young man," Mr. Braxton said, "such
handling of pokŽmon would NEVER be condoned by the PokŽmon Fanclub."

"Whatever," she said, obviously annoyed with today's events and
the mounting amount of adversity she was receiving, "your entitled to your
opinion, but keep your Hawk conservative wish-wash in perspective. We
have to move on and the sale of pokŽmon is progress. Like the government
keeps saying: PokŽmon are our future; so just how do we make a future if
we can't earn a living? I mean, if a trainer can pay for a pokŽmon, they
should be able to pay for food and such; we're really only helping
pokŽmon find good homes if you think about it."

	"But pokŽmon aren't about making a profit!" Tyler said in
frustration, this manager's talk reminding him of Jacen's attitude.

	"Humanity has to get out of our traditions, and lets face it,
the whole idea of pokŽmon being our equals is just old thinking with
little to no basis in reality." the manager said, annoyed but now on the
metaphorical soapbox, "If we kept our old ways up, I'd be washing clothes
and doing chores for some guy while his kids I'd be forced to have would
whine all day with no chance of me voting or working or anything. It's
all about choice... if we capture pokŽmon in the wild, don't we have the
choice to make money off of them? They're just animals after all."

	"It seems so cruel though." Tyler said, "And treating the pokŽmon
differently now sounds almost Soc-Fed to me."

	"Hey! Now don't get me wrong!" she said, "The Social-Fed's "new"
ways of handling things makes me sick... but I think if you keep your
head stuck in the past forever we'll never get anywhere. That's all."

	In theory, it made sense to Tyler. He'd heard about woman's
suffrage and agreed the idea of women being inferior to men was dumb
stereotyping and that his thoughts of Jackii being forced to being some
guy's property got him ticked and had someone not spoken up back then
and said: "Hey, it's wrong!" the problem would never have gotten fixed.

	But after seeing how all the pokŽmon in the shop (especially
those in the reduced section) reacted at the Manger's ideas on pokŽmon
intelligence... (from sad whining to silent, emotionless shivers) he was
beginning to think what choice did the *pokŽmon* have in all this? Tyler
came to the conclusion that ANY new idea should be thought out before
mindlessly handing yourself over to them, no matter how GOOD they sounded
to a person. Otherwise, innocents like the pokŽmon might suffer.

	As he looked at the pokŽmon looking depressed in their cages
Tyler was beginning to feel sick to his stomach with guilt.

	"Hey," he said, "these reduced guys over here... what happens to
them if they aren't sold?"

	"Oh," she said, "if they aren't sold we release them back into
the wild."

	Tyler perked up. It sounded ok to him. If no one could appreciate
these pokŽmon, they got to go home--

	He looked at the 'reduced' pokŽmon-- a Psyduck, Pidgey, and a
Squirtle-- as they cringed at the idea of going back into the wild. He
then recalled wild pokŽmon seemed to HATE their tamed counterparts. That
fact alone would make such a life a living hell for any 'retired'
pokŽmon. But even at that...

	Tyler, an orphan himself, seemed to understand where the pokŽmon
were coming from. He could all to easily imagine not being wanted... and
all he had to do was recall Jacen's treatment of Poliwag to get and idea
of how these 'returns' had been treated: Disappointments to their
trainers, and unsold 'merchandise' to this fine example of 'new ideas'
standing here. To them, pokŽmon were little better than slaves... no,
worse. You paid for a slave most of the time... you could pokŽbattle
and catch a pokŽmon anytime and after that all the pokŽmon could do was
pray it had a good trainer who'd treat it right.

	"How much." Tyler stated, pulling himself from thought.

	"Oh!" the manager said, suddenly happy, "Our standard--"

	"I mean," Tyler said, "for the returned pokŽmon."

	At that, Mr. Braxton stared at Tyler and the Pidgey, Squirtle,
and Psyduck all tried to look their best... which wasn't very good,
seeing as they all looked rather sickly due to being in cages too long.

	The manager sighed... put then perked up, obviously consolidating
herself with the profit she would get from the sale. "At 60% reduced
price from 5,500 yen plus a 800 yen markdown as an added bonus, you may
purchase one of these *bargain* pokŽmon at the low price of only 2,500
yen each."

	Tyler's heart raced. He'd spent 500 yen to buy Poliwag from his
"trainer"... but with the 1,000 yen he was getting for his work AND the
4,000 he had he could buy 2 of them which he quickly exclaimed.

	"Then pick two out." the manager said, ready to handle the
purchase.

	Tyler's problem was, of course, there were *3* there and he
couldn't leave one behind... not after what he'd heard the manager say
about them.

	Tyler looked around helplessly, first at the pokŽmon who seemed to
know the score and were looking at Tyler with VERY large, sad eyes. He
noticed the Squirtle shake his head, sitting back in it's cage, pointing
at the other two, indication Tyler should pick them.

	"I... I guess I'll take--" Tyler began.

	"I'll take all three." Mr. Braxton said from the side.

	Tyler stood speechless as Mr. Braxton seemed to take almost
complete charge. With the manager so eager for a quick buck, Mr. Braxton
had managed, in no time flat, to order the 3 pokŽmon, pokŽballs to carry
them in, a pokŽbelt, 2 books on raising bird and water pokŽmon, a back
pack, a level scanner, and HM's 3 and 5.

	As Mr. Braxton paid for it all, Tyler felt giddy sort of. On the
one hand, the pokŽmon were being bought by someone who at least CARED for
pokŽmon... Tyler was glad even. But it sucked that *he* hadn't been the
one who'd--

	"Tyler," Mr. Braxton called, "come get these things, will you?
I'm pretty sure no one will care if you wear this stuff out of the
store."

	"What?" Tyler said, not getting it.

	"Your reward my boy, of course." Mr. Braxton said, "I promised
you one, did I not?"

	The 3 pokŽmon, despite their condition, all cheered at Tyler's
good fortune and jumped onto Tyler, hugging him as Poliwag, overwhelmed
by it's master's kindness and good fortune, too jumped into the hug...
at least until Karl, Mr. Braxton, and the Manager all sweat dropped and
Tyler began to get blue in the face due to the fact the hugs were keeping
him from getting air.

	"Come on you 3." Mr. Braxton said, calling the 3 into their
pokŽballs. He attached them to the pokŽbelt and handed it to Tyler, after
which he recalled Poliwag and put his ball onto the belt also. Tyler took
the books, scanner, and the HM's, putting them into the back pack, as
Mr. Braxton paid for everything.

	"Thanks for shopping Wall-Shop, the world's largest supplier of
pokŽmon goods." Karl said, "We'll call you when we have replacements for
your rare candies Mr. Braxton.

	Mr. Braxton only nodded as he and Tyler went outside into the
shop's parking lot.

	"Thanks." Tyler said, almost ready to cry, "For this, I mean."

	"My boy, no thanks are necessary." he said sternly, "You showed
me what despicable business practices these people do, and now I shall be
able to alert the other members of the PokŽmon Fanclub so we can get
these monstrous places shut down. The *NERVE* of that woman!... As for
the items, they're your reward, as I promised... but I would ask one more
thing of you."

	"Ya?" Tyler asked, willing to help the gentleman out.

	"Please say you'll join the PokŽmon Fanclub." he said, "We could
use more JR members like you."

	"If everyone's like you, sure, no problem." Tyler said, "But if
it's not too much trouble, do you mind giving me a lift home? I'll be
late if I try it on foot."

	After signing the membership papers on the top of the car's
trunk, Tyler was driven back to the orphanage in just enough time to get
in, wash, and grab supper. When he told Ms. Harmon about what had
happened, she could hardly believe it... but the pokŽballs and other
equipment were useful evidence in changing her mind.

	"You're one lucky child Tyler." she said, looking over his new
found wealth, "Fate seems to like you."

	Tyler had some not too nice things to say about fate in relation
to the raw deal a lot of people AND pokŽmon got in life... but he kept
his mouth shut and decided to just be thankful Ms. Harmon had no problems
with his new pokŽmon or his membership to the PokŽmon Fanclub.


				* * *


	"PSY!" Psyduck said, munching on more sardines (which Tyler
figured was good for Psyduck and for the poor orphan who wouldn't have to
eat them).

	As Tyler watched the pokŽmon eat, he was amazed at how much they
ate and then sickened as he thought about it.

	"Did they feed you there?" Tyler asked, more in seriousness than
as a joke.

	Psyduck and Pidgey just ate, and Squirtle gave a nod from side to
side as he munched some rice balls.

	"Oh my heaven..." Tyler said, not having thought it was possible
to get angrier at the store manager, but finding he was nonetheless,
"Listen guys--"

	"PIDGEY!" Pidgey suddenly squawked.

	"Uh..." Tyler said, "Guys and gal maybe?"

	Pidgey settle in to listen as Psyduck and Squirtle now paid more
attention.

	"Well," Tyler said, "I just wanna say NO ONE will treat you that
way ANYMORE, ya here? I'm your trainer now and from now on it's three
square meals a day and no more cages."

	"I like this guy." Squirtle told his friends in pokŽlanguage, "A
bit emotional though."

	"He knows what they were doing to us." Pidgey said, shivering,
"And he's sorry for us but doesn't know how to show it."

	"He's doin' OK so far!" Psyduck said, swallowing another sardine.

	Psyduck's companions only sighed at his table manners... but,
seeing as he hadn't eaten well in awhile, kept quiet.

	"Hey, listen," Tyler said, "on behalf of humanity I apologize and
I just wanna say not all humans are dorks."

	Squirtle wiped his face and patted Tyler on the shoulder.
"Squirtle, Squirt!" he said.

	"Well, as long as you're cool now." Tyler said, glad they were
OK, "Listen, I'll be back SOON... till then, try not to eat so much
you'll get sick, OK?"

	"Yah, like we aren't half starved or anything." Pidgey said in
pokŽlanguage,

	When Tyler left the three resumed eating until, bothered by
events, Pidgey talked to Squirtle.

	"What was with the deal back at the shop of horrors?" Pidgey
asked.

	"What deal bird-lady?" he said, stopping his meal to answer.

	"With saying to take us and not you?" she asked, "Normally, any
pokŽmon would've begged to be taken-"

	"I hated it there, if that's what you mean. I just wanted the
kid out," Squirtle said, pointing to Psyduck, "and I figured our new
master here would only take one water pokŽmon."

	"Then why point at me?" Pidgey said.

	"In case he did want two water types." Squirtle said.

	"I don't need your help." Pidgey said.

	"In that situation we ALL needed help." Squirtle said.

	"True." Pidgey said.


				* * *


	From then until Tyler got them for bed, the three newest pokŽmon
of Tyler's bunch ate and breathed, doing little beyond that. And when
they did rest that night, they were amazed to find three baskets with
blankets ready for them to sleep in. After a warm 'goodnight' from Tyler,
they slept, for the first time since they'd been taken into captivity, in
something other than a cage or a pokŽball.

	As soon as Pidgey, Poliwag, and Psyduck had all fallen asleep,
Squirtle stretched (an experience he hadn't been able to do awhile) and
laid down, looking at Tyler from in-between the beds from the floor and
then at Psyduck and Pidgey who were soundly asleep instead of pining away
in some cage, knowing death was better than the Petstore.

	"Well kid," Squirtle said quietly to himself as he looked at
Tyler, who was also asleep, "you got potential. When I get better and a
little less starved, we'll work on you some."

	Squirtle laid down to an uneasy rest, nightmares of his recent
past in the Petstore plaguing a near perfect night's sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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PokŽmon is copyright 1995/1996/1998 Nintendo/Creature/Gamefreak

Jackii Wipple and Tyler Trawets are internet creative property of Stewart
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