New Scene(Previously_On_Trigamon) { … }
New Scene(@Temporal = Evening)
In one of the pokémon center’s back rooms, Benjy is watching Celebi, who is sleeping peacefully in a tiny bed in a shoebox.
Narrator: I have an announcement to make. We have a "Clare" that is going to be showing up in this episode. Please don’t get confused between this "Clare" and the "Clair" that runs the Blackthorn Gym in the Jhoto region.
Celebi licks it’s lips without opening it’s eyes, then turns over. Footsteps can be heard from behind Benjy. Benjy suddenly turns around and QST.camera simultaneously zooms out as Coal enters the room.
Coal: I swear, I’ve never seen such incompetence.
Benjy: Did they…
Coal: May finally got up the courage to ask for a lawyer, so they’re not going to run any more "tests."
Coal does air quotes as he says "tests."
Coal: How is Celebi doing?
Benjy: They’ve stopped pronouncing her dead.
Coal: I see… Well you can visit May now.
Benjy: How is she?
Coal: There’s nothing wrong with her, and there probably never was.
Benjy lets out a long sigh of relief.
Coal: I’ve just never seen this kind of incompetence.
Benjy: Well, they were probably just unfamiliar with Celebi as a species–
Coal: That’s Brock’s theory. Personally, I think Grace should have been the one that got hospitalized.
Benjy: Why?
Coal: You haven’t been out of this room?
Benjy: Just to the restroom around the corner.
Coal: She needed a nebulizer treatment.
As Coal says this, Grace’s Medicham pokes it’s head around the corner, wearing some kind of white medical headband. Celebi shifts again in her sleep.
Coal: It’s been quite a day. That Horton guy is still in the psych area.
Coal lets out a long sigh.
Coal: I’ll watch Celebi for you. You should go see May.
Benjy: I’ll take Celebi with me, thanks.
Coal nods, and Benjy slowly picks up the shoebox and walks out of the room and down the hall back to the main area. The movement of Benjy walking appears to wake Celebi up, and it stands up and grabs onto the front of the box, seeming to enjoy the ride.
As Benjy enters the main area, he sees Grace sitting on the couch looking woozy. A nebulizer machine, now turned off, sits on a small table with wheels nearby her. She waves weakly to him as he walks by. Suddenly the doors to the pokémon center open, and Drew enters the building.
Drew: What, you’re going to go congratulate her too?
Benjy turns towards Drew, not sure what to say.
Drew: Sheesh, it’s not like I’m going to stand in your way. By all means, shower your girlfriend with adoration for all I care, but get this–
The Millennium Gameboy Advance starts to glow.
Yami Benjy: What are you talking about? She’s not my girlfriend.
Drew: You lost to her on purpose, didn’t you? I think that should be sufficient to declare the two of you–
Yami Benjy: Were you even watching the battle?
Drew: Of course I was!
Yami Benjy: I somehow doubt that. If you had actually watched the battle, you would have seen…
Drew: You intentionally being a wuss?
Yami Benjy: I lost to May today for the same reason you lost to me back in Slateport.
Drew turns away from Yami Benjy and starts to walk towards the pokémon center’s door.
Drew: Look, I can’t wait to hear what you think that is, but you see, I have–
Yami Benjy: Type advantage.
Drew: Come again?
Yami Benjy: Celebi is a grass and psychic type.
Celebi looks up as Yami Benjy says it’s name.
Drew: And you chose it because it has the four-times bug weakness, right? So your girlfriend could–
Yami Benjy: She’s not my girlfriend.
Drew: Your crush then, whatev–
Yami Benjy: She’s not–
Drew: Then why did you choose Celebi anyway?! Why didn’t you use Pixielite like back in Slateport!
Yami Benjy: Pixielite…
Yami Benjy takes a long sigh.
Yami Benjy: Drew. I wasn’t expecting to battle May…
Drew: So your saying you’re stupid?
Yami Benjy: Not compared to you, no.
The Millennium Gameboy Advance suddenly glows, and Benjy takes a deep breath.
Benjy: Pixielite didn’t really like the contest last time, so we went with someone else. I didn’t have much time to think it over that way. How come you always use Roselia?
Drew suddenly turns bright red.
Drew: I don’t care about your stupid type advantage! If you care, then you should have used Pixielite!
Benjy: I told you, it didn’t want to. A leader gets people to do things that they don’t want to do. I’m not a leader.
Benjy takes a deep breath.
Benjy: I’m just their friend.
Drew stares at Benjy hard.
Drew: So is this what happens when someone takes my advice? Does this mean that she’s actually…
Coal: Drew.
Drew: But that doesn’t make sense! I have a ribbon! I have–
Coal: Drew!
Drew finally looks up at Coal.
Coal: We need to talk.
Drew: Who’s we?!
Coal: Us.
Drew: I don’t know who you are–
Coal: I’m sorry about your sister.
Drew freezes up, staring at Coal.
Coal: Come on.
Coal beckons to Drew, who looks around at Benjy, then walks towards Coal as he exists the Pokémon center.
Yami Benjy: Sister?
Benjy: Let’s not get involved.
QST.camera now shifts to show Max viewing this exchange from around the corner of the hallway. Benjy watches Coal and Drew exit. Benjy then walks around the corner to where Max is and starts down the hallway. Despite his abrupt appearance..
Max: Do you think he knows something we don’t?
Benjy: I’m sure he knows lots of things we don’t.
Benjy and Max walk down the hallway. Benjy starts to approach a door, but Max corrects him pointing out the door to the room that May is in:
Max: May’s over here.
Benjy nods, and follows Max over to May’s door where light can be seen coming from under it. Benjy knocks twice, and Ash opens the door from the inside.
Ash: There you are. (quiet)
Pikachu: Kapi!
On Benjy’s shoulder, Celebi eyes May nervously.
Benjy: I heard… Well, I heard all sorts of things. What happened?
Max: Shhh… Brock is sleeping. (whisper)
<Semi-Quiet Voices>
May: Benjy, where were you?
At this point Celebi disappears into Benjy’s shirt, and Benjy squirms to get it out while responding:
Benjy: Celebi was recovering, so I didn’t want to leave it.
Benjy now starts to put a little more effort in getting Celebi out of his shirt, and Celebi puts a little more effort into not being caught.
Benjy: You won the contest right?
Max: By the skin of her teeth.
May: Max…!
Ash: More like by the bump on your head.
May sighs.
May: That doesn’t leave this room by the way!
Max: I think it’s too late for that.
Ash: Yeah, the whole contest hall saw you pass out.
May: As long as Mom and Dad didn’t see it…
Max: I don’t think it was televised. Was it?
Benjy: Probably not. It was a low leveled contest after all. But what happened.
Max: Grace’s Medicham was holding a focus band and the contest was down to the wire. Both Beautifly and Medicham were lying on the ground exhausted, what could possibly happen next?
May: Max–
Max: May hyperventilated and passed out, the vibrations from the impact were just enough to cause Medicham to bump it’s head, landing the decisive KO!
The Millennium Gameboy Advance starts to glow softly, and projects a hologram of another Benjy, causing Ash and Max to both jump.
Yami Benjy: By what Drew said, I thought you landed on Medicham.
May: Drew saw–
Max: Aren’t you more curious about what’s this other Benjy is doing?
Benjy: It’s just a projection.
Yami Benjy: A holographic avatar for talking to you directly.
Ash: And why don’t you do this all the time?
Yami Benjy: I forgot, it tends to startle some people.
Yami Benjy looks about the room, with his gaze falling on the ribbon on the table beside May.
Yami Benjy: As I said, I thought you actually fell on Medicham. But still, congratulations.
Ash: Now that would have been funny.
Yami Benjy: And then they put you in the hospital because…
Max: She hit her head.
Yami Benjy: And how much is this going to cost us?
Ash, May, and Max gaze at Yami Benjy’s projection curiously.
Ash: It doesn’t cost anything to use the hospital…
Max: Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense. What happens if someone can’t afford medical treatment?
Yami Benjy sighs, and the projection fades.
Benjy: So how come Brock’s asleep?
Ash: He said he had a lot of excitement today and needed a nap.
Benjy rubs his chin thoughtfully.
Benjy: Hmm…
</Semi-Quiet Voices>
New Scene()
Drew walks after Coal down the streets of Fallarbor town. The streets aren’t brightly lit, but the light is enough to see by.
Drew: Hey, you need to answer me eventually. How do you know about–
Coal: Because I used to date her.
Drew stops walking after Coal, but Coal doesn’t turn around.
Drew: What?
Coal: I don’t want to repeat myself. It was not something I have fond memories of.
Drew stares as Coal continues in silence.
Coal: I thought you had other questions.
Drew: I do.
Coal takes a couple more steps.
Drew: But that doesn’t mean I’m going to ask them.
Coal now stops walking.
Coal: I have to admit, I did not see that coming.
Drew: I will ask you this though, why did you bring me here.
Coal: I wanted to take a walk to cool my head.
Drew: No, I mean why did you come *here?* Look ahead of you.
Coal peers into the darkness.
Coal: I still don’t know what you mean?
Drew: Up ahead’s a Graveyard.
Coal: To be honest I was walking around randomly.
Refresh Scene()
Coal and Drew approach the gate to the graveyard, while crickets chirp all around them.
Drew: Do you believe in fate?
Coal shakes his head.
Drew: Then I don’t understand how you’d last two minutes with her.
Coal: If you’re crazy enough, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
Coal now steps through the gate into the graveyard, and Drew follows nervously.
Coal: Of course, that’s only if you take things beyond their logical conclusions.
Drew: Hmph.
Coal: Which is no challenge at all for a delusional yandere. But it leaves me with a worrisome question.
Drew: For me?
Coal: Yeah. Do you know where she got the notion that pokémon are weapons?
Drew: I don’t know.
Coal: You don’t know if you know?
Drew: I don’t know how she came up with it. Why don’t you go ask her yourself?
Coal: Because I need a straight answer.
Drew: And so you’ve come to me?
Coal: Who else?
Drew doesn’t respond.
Coal: I’m fully aware of your family situation.
Drew doesn’t respond to this comment either.
Coal: I wonder though, if we were to find out tomorrow that Clare was right, would that knowledge change how you treat Roselia?
Drew shudders slightly.
Drew: Why do you want to know where it came from?
Coal: Why do you think?
Drew seems more curious now.
Drew: I really don’t know.
Coal: I want to prove it that pokémon are what we think they are.
Drew: But why? We already know it’s true!
Coal nods.
Coal: But I want to prove that Clare’s tomorrow will never come. No, more accurately that it can’t ever come.
Drew: But you already know!
Coal: But… I don’t know why I know.
Drew: And why do you think I might know anything?
Coal: Because you know your sister. Don’t get me wrong, you’re not the only person I’ve spoken to.
Drew: Why not ask Professor Oak?
Coal: People have asked him. I’ve watched interviews with him where he’s been asked, and he always dodges the question. Elm of Jhoto always defers to Oak on that topic. It seems like it would be an easy question to answer for someone who studies pokémon professionally.
Drew: You aren’t beginning to suspect…
Coal walks over to a water trough and picks up a bucket nearby, and fills it with water from the trough, then proceeds to sniff the air.
Coal: No. Pokémon have been my friends from the time I was little. Three or four I think. Never could I picture them as anything other than that. It’s for them that I need to prove it. But I think you could have figured that out on your own.
Drew: Yeah.
Coal sniffs the air again, then approaches a nearby tombstone and gently pours the water all over it.
Drew: What are you doing?
Coal: Since we’re here I might as well.
Drew watches Coal confusedly as Coal goes over to the trough and fills the bucket again with water, then walks to the next grave over and pours it over the headstone.
Drew: Do you know them?
Coal shakes his head.
Drew: Then why are you–
Coal: Because theres no one else to do it.
Drew: But–
Coal: Someone has to.
Drew: How do you know that–
Coal: By the smell. Someone has to pay them the proper respects. Even if it’s just some random teenager who can’t sleep.
Drew: I don’t understand…
Coal: Do you know what happens when we die?
Drew: Are you asking if I believe in an afterlife?
Coal: The afterlife is irrelevant. Once the body has decomposed, memories remain in those who are still alive. It’s only once we’re forgotten that we’re truly gone.
Drew watches as Coal pours water all over another grave.
Coal: Memories allow us to exist in multiple places at once. They define most of who we are, excluding a biological core.
Coal: Last year in the Hoenn league I lost to a trainer named Xenon.
Drew: You were in the league?
Coal: Number two. I still can’t forgive him.
Drew: Why are you telling me this?
Coal: Because it’s important for you to know. He won because he was willing to pay a cost that I wasn’t willing to pay.
Drew: Mm?
Coal: To obtain victory in a simple tournament, it cost him the lives of two of his supposed friends. I don’t know if they voluntarily laid down their lives, or if he just pushed them too hard…
Drew: But that means you–
Coal: It took everything I had just to keep my friends safe. Forget winning. Even Team Rocket cares about their pokémon, although they say they don’t, they’re lying through their teeth.
Drew takes a step back from Coal nervously.
Coal: I didn’t know his pokémon were dead until it was too late.
Coal shutters.
Coal: I’ve never seen another trainer like him and I hope I never do. Forget about fighting a war. It was like he was playing a video game–
Drew: You’re kidding me!
Coal: I wish.
Drew: And why are you telling me anyway?
Coal: Because when someone like that wins the pokémon league, people wonder.
Drew: …if Clare was right.
Coal: And I wonder what did he do to get his pokémon to revere him as a god. That’s why I have to prove Clare wrong. It’s to put my mind at ease, if nothing else.
Drew and Coal now both fall silent for 10 seconds (real time).
Drew: And what if–
Coal: I’m still working on a plan. But there has to be a reason why Professor Oak keeps preaching when no one thinks of Pokémon as tools anyway. As the saying goes, "Methinks doth protests too much." None of the professionals will touch that issue with a ten-foot pole. Which is why it comes down to people like us.
New Scene(@Temporal = Night)
Ash and company (minus Coal) are sleeping in the room where May is lying in the hospital bed. Brock is sleeping sitting upright in the chair, while Ash and Max are lying against the wall. Benjy is lying down on the floor. Something moves in the back of Benjy’s shirt and Celebi emerges, shaking slightly, and flies around nervously. As it does, Pikachu’s ears perk up.
Celebi: Bii-bii.
Pikachu: Chu-chu-pika.
Celebi appears to understand, and flies over to the sink and lands in it. Pikachu turns away (along with QST.camera) respectfully as the sound of liquid on metal can be heard. QST.camera now turns to Benjy and zooms in on him, moving into his dreams:
New Scene(Benjy’s Dream)
Benjy finds himself face-flat on soft pink ‘earth’. He gets slowly to his feet, to see a strange man before him.
Benjy: Hello?
???: Tzoiaka (Tzoy-ah-kah)
Benjy: English please? I can’t understand you.
???: Zofot lagza meeken hurex noref yarakoo? (Zoe-foat log-zah mee-ken hoo-rex yah-rah-koo)
Benjy: Yes, I have forgotten.
???: Meda ble loros? (Meh-dah bleh, low-roas)
Benjy: Wait. Why am I saying random responses?
???: Zogo, que mir lezek. Yakamia tooxoo norf ozara. (Zoe-go, quay meer leh-zeck. Yah-kah-mee-ah too-ksoo norf, oh-zar-ah)
The Millennium Gameboy Advance suddenly appears around Benjy’s neck and starts rapidly pulsing with light. Benjy grasps the Millennium Gameboy Advance tightly, and then suddenly wakes up, looking around him curiously, although nothing is out of the ordinary.
New Scene(@Temporal = Morning)
Ash, May, Max, Brock, and Benjy are walking down the hallway of the pokémon center back to the lobby area.
Nurse Joy: Clare! Your Foodle is loose again!!
The group turns the corner to where a small dog-like creature is staring under the couch-bench, wagging it’s tail and barking rapidly.
Ash: What’s that?
Ash takes out his pokédex and points it at the creature.
Ash’s Pokédex: Information on this creature is only available in premium mode. This pokédex is currently in standard mode. An upgrade to premium mode can be obtained free with a subscription to Professor Oak’s pokémon services.
Brock: I think that’s it’s way of telling you it’s broken.
May: Let me try mine–
Before May can take out her pokédex, the dog-creature notices Ash and company (minus Coal who isn’t with them) and rushes at them, barking constantly. Pikachu emits several sparks, as this creature gets close, causing it to turn tail and rush under the couch bench on the other side of the pokémon center
Nurse Joy: Clare!!
Suddenly the automatic doors to the pokémon center open and a girl with yellow-orange hair walks in.
Nurse Joy: Your Foodle got loose again, if this happens a–
Clare: Shut it spark–breath. I know you’re all wound up and ready to go on a long rant how I shouldn’t be doing this, that, or the other thing. Now take that rant and shove it up your shiny metal (bleep).
Ash and company look on in shock, and Grace crashes to the floor laughing. Clare whirls around, and puts a make believe phone to her ear.
Clare: Hello loony bin? This is Clare, I’ve found another for– You think this is funny don’t you! Don’t you!!
Grace just laughs harder.
Nurse Joy: You shouldn’t make fun of–
Clare: Oh shut up, (bleep).
May turns to Brock, confused.
May: What does that word mean? (whisper)
Brock: Uhh, I don’t know. (whisper)
Clare: We’re going.
Clare storms out of the pokémon center, and Foodle follows her, only briefly stopping to urinate on the floor by the door. Ash and company stand staring at the spot, utterly horrified.
Ash: Who was that?
QST.camera shifts to Nurse Joy, who is gathering supplies from under the pokémon center’s counter.
Nurse Joy: One of the coordinators from last night. Please excuse me, I have to clean this up quickly or else it will start to reak.
Nurse Joy quickly darts from behind the counter carrying a bundle of cleaning supplies.
New Scene()
Ash and company are standing outside the pokémon center which is temporarily closed for cleaning. In the window, Nurse Joy can be seen cleaning the floor where Clare’s Foodle marked it’s territory. May looks through her bag nervously.
May: Where’s my ribbon?
Ash: Your ribbon?
Max: Did you leave it on your nightstand?
May suddenly looks panicked, and turns back towards the pokémon center, but then hesitates upon seeing the sign over the door.
May: Oh no–
Brock: May, Celebi has it.
May approaches Celebi and asks for the ribbon, but Celebi refuses. Max protests, telling Celebi that the ribbon belongs to his sister, but Celebi still refuses.
Max: It means a lot to her!
Celebi: Bi! Bi!
Celebi shakes it’s head rapidly, and flies of May’s reach, as the she (May) jumps to get it.
Max: Benjy…
Benjy: Celebi! It’s not ours!
Celebi shakes it’s head again.
May: Now what?
Benjy: Hmm…
Benjy puts his backpack on the ground, and rummages through it, pulling out his ribbon from Slateport.
Benjy: Celebi!
This catches Celebi’s attention.
Ash: You can have the one he’s holding instead. The one you have belongs to someone else.
Suddenly, faster than anyone can see, the ribbon in Benjy’s hand is whisked away, leaving the entire group dumbstruck. Celebi, still holding May’s ribbon, looks for a second like it’s about to cry. Then, without warning, something smashes into Celebi from the side, swiping the ribbon that it’s holding, all the while moving too fast to be seen.
QST.camera split-screens four ways on Ash, May, Max, and Brock, as Benjy rushes to catch Celebi in a center diamond of the screen.
Benjy: Celebi!
Celebi seems stunned, but not too badly hurt, and QST.camera comes out of split-screen. As Benjy holds Celebi in his hands, his pocket sparks, and Pixielite flies out of it’s ball, sparking angrily.
Ash: What just happened?
Brock: I don’t know… It’s like they were just stolen out of our hands, but how.
Pixielite suddenly sees something, and flies off towards the street, sparking.
New Scene()
Clare holds up her hand, and a creature that looks like a larger version of Pixielite, about three feet long excluding it’s tail, drops both ribbons into her hand.
Clare: And now that’s rectified. But I’m still feeling bitter. I need some revenge.
Revert Scene()
Ash and company (minus Coal) are standing on the street corner, with Pixielite still sparking angrily, looking and scanning for something.
Max: It says in the pokénav that unlike badges, ribbons can only be re-issued if we can confirm that they were destroyed.
May: But that means–
Pixielite lets out a giant spark, startling Ash and company, and then zips off down the sidewalk.
Benjy: Pixielite!
Benjy starts to chase after Pixielite.
Ash: I think it found the ribbon thief!
Max: Sure it did, Sherlock.
Max looks up to see that Ash, May, and Brock have already run after Benjy and Pixielite, and darts off after them.
Max: No one appreciates my sarcasm…
QST.camera zips ahead to where Benjy is chasing after Pixielite. Around Benjy’s neck, the Millennium Gameboy Advance suddenly glows.
Yami Benjy: I don’t know if we can actually catch them. Whatever stole the ribbons has got to be the fastest thing in the world.
Benjy: We probably can, Pixielite is pretty fast too.
Yami Benjy: Benjy! It’s taking all I have just to go this speed! If they’re–
Benjy: Well, you’ll be less likely to succeed if you don’t try.
Yami Benjy: Then why did you abandon the search for the Flames of Lorin?
Yami Benjy begins breathing heavily.
Benjy: Where’d you get that idea?
Yami Benjy: Uh…
QST.camera moves out as Pixielite takes a shortcut over the corner of a block. (In the following diagram, the light gray is sidewalk, the dark gray is the street, and the green represents houses and such. Pixielite is the purple star, Clare is the red star, Yami Benjy is the orange star, and Brock is the blue star.
QST.camera now shifts to Clare’s location, as she turns around to see Pixielite shoot out from over the house on the corner, sparking. Pixielite then discharges a gigantic ball of yellow lightning, which as it shoots at Clare, takes the shape of a giant phoenix.
Clare grits her teeth.
Clare: Novalite!
Pixielite dives at Clare, crashing into an invisible barrier about three feet from her head, which sends the electricity flying away from her in the direction that Pixielite had come from, straight for Yami Benjy, and everyone else following him. Yami Benjy comes screeching to a halt and the Millennium Gameboy Advance suddenly glows, simultaneously emitting a barrier to block the electric charge. Ash, May, and Brock arrive behind him as the charge dissipates and the barrier fades, revealing Pixielite flying above Benjy, defensively.
Clare is watching Benjy, who appears nearly out of breath, the larger Pixielite creature flying above her.
Brock: Is she the one who took the ribbons?
Ash: Pixielite appears to think so.
May grabs Beautifly’s poké ball from her belt, and Benjy pulls Bayleef’s ball out of his pocket. May starts to run after, but a car drives around the street and around the corner, cutting her off temporarily. During this time, Clare doesn’t move, prompting May to rush towards her, followed by Ash and Benjy. Clare waits until May is about fifteen feet away.
May: Give back my ribbon!
Clare: Mirror force.
At about six feet from Clare, May crashes into an invisible barrier, and is thrown backwards onto her back.
Ash: May!
May stares at Clare angrily as Brock and Max hurry towards them. Clare stares back smugly.
May: Y-you stole our ribbons!
Clare: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Ash and Brock look at each other nervously.
Ash: Did Pixielite target the wrong person?
Brock: It’s hard to tell… But we can’t just attack people unless we know…
Clare: I’ll be seeing y–
Yami Benjy: Wait!
The Millennium Gameboy Advance is glowing powerfully, around Benjy’s neck.
Yami Benjy: Let me see your ribbon case.
Clare: Ooh, you’re a feisty one.
Yami Benjy starts walking towards Clare.
Brock: Benjy, we can’t just–
Yami Benjy: I can tell without fail when people are lying.
This causes Clare to raise her eyebrows.
Clare: Then tell me what I know.
Yami Benjy walks straight into an invisible barrier, which throws him backwards like it did May, except that Yami Benjy lands on his feet due to this lower speed upon contact with the barrier.
May: Beautifly, use silver w–
Yami Benjy: It’s a mirror force.
Beautifly emerges from it’s poké ball, but doesn’t attack.
Yami Benjy: It’ll just throw it back at us.
(Yami Benjy now addresses Clare)
Yami Benjy: Why did you steal them?
Clare: I didn’t steal anything.
Yami Benjy: You stole our ribbons.
Clare: No I didn’t!
Yami Benjy: Yes you did!
Clare: No I didn’t!
Yami Benjy: Yes you did!
Clare: No I didn’t!
Yami Benjy: Yes you did!
Clare: No I didn’t!
Yami Benjy: Yes you did!
Clare: No I didn’t!
Yami Benjy: No you didn’t!
Clare: Yes I did!
Ash, May, Max, and Brock all look at Clare nervously.
Yami Benjy: Why?
Clare: I didn’t steal anything. I don’t know what you’re–
Max: They were in your pocket.
Max’s glasses glisten as he holds up Benjy’s and May’s ribbons. QST.camera split-screens for a half-second (real time) to show the expressions of Ash, May, Brock, and Yami Benjy.
Clare: Thunderbolt.
Without warning, Clare’s Pixielite-like creature drops a thunderbolt on Max, knocking him to the ground.
Clare: I’ll take these back now, you thief.
Max: …It’s got May’s name on it…
Clare: That’s because it was issued in error. Now let go–
Clare bends down to take the ribbon out of Max’s hands, but on discovering that he’s not willing to let go, lets go herself.
Clare: Thunder.
Clare’s Pixielite-like creature shoots electricity at Max, but something blocks it, absorbing the attack. As the glow from the static fades, Pixielite becomes visible, and shoots the electricity back at Clare, who jumps backwards, allowing May and Brock to rush to Max’s aid as Clare swats at Pixielite.
May: What do you think you’re doing?
Clare: I confiscated those because you don’t deserve them. They’re not yours. (Calm and condescending)
Brock: And just who are you exactly…?
Clare: I don’t have time for this. But if you want, we can do it the old fashioned way.
Brock: And that is–
Drew’s Voice: Shadow ball now!
Clare: Sparkbreaker.
Clare snaps her fingers and her Clare’s Novalite suddenly shoots out such a large amount of electricity, more than Pixielite can absorb, and enough to obscure QST.camera for a few seconds, during which time Pixielite lets out a screech and a shadow ball explodes off the charge harmlessly.
As the blast fades, Clare and her Novalite are no where to be seen, just Ash and company (minus Coal) lying on the ground with the remains of both ribbons. Pixielite has taken massive damage, but still has enough energy to fly around as footsteps can be heard. Seconds later Drew and Roselia walk onto the screen as QST.camera switches to an overhead view.
Drew: And this is why I told them to drop out…
Roselia starts to use aromatherapy without Drew telling it to.
New Scene()
Ash and company have all regrouped in the building where they were registered for the contest. The clerk looks over May’s ribbon and then Benjy’s ribbon while Drew sits at the edge of the room on a chair, swinging his feet.
Ash: Will we have to go back to Slateport to get it re-issued?
The clerk shakes her head.
Clerk: I can do that here, since you have the original ribbon, and since I can verify that it was issued to you in the first place. If you didn’t have the original, then I would have to send you to Slateport.
Max: That makes more sense than what the pokénav said.
The clerk now pulls out a new ribbon for May, and then takes this new ribbon and the two destroyed ribbons in the back room with her, as QST.camera turns towards Drew.
Drew: I knew this would happen, and they’re lucky they got off as easy as they did. I guess that Pixielite drained most of the charge.
QST.camera now switches back to Ash and company.
Ash: Cosmo wanted to see us again?
Coal: I was talking to him this morning when Clare jumped you.
Coal sighs.
Coal: That lady ’s always up to no good. Meanwhile Cosmo wants to tell you something so he can focus exclusively on the Millennium Comet.
Now the clerk comes out of the back of the building with two ribbons. She hands the blue one to Benjy and the green one to May.
May: What’s the star for? It wasn’t on the original…
May points to a star on the ribbon’s tag.
Clerk: That just means it was re-issued. There’s a policy of adding a star every time we have to replace it.
The clerk looks at May, who suddenly seems nervous.
Clerk: It’s still a completely valid ribbon.
May: It just doesn’t… Feel right…
Clerk: It’s not uncommon for ribbons of coordinators in the grand festival to have two or three starts on them.
May nods nervously, and begins to pull out her ribbon case.
Clerk: Hold on, that’s the old model. Use these.
The Clerk reaches under the counter and pulls out six ribbon cases, which she presents to each member of Ash and company. Ash explains that he doesn’t partake in contests, but the Clerk insists, saying that they have way too many of the cases.
Clerk: Now you don’t have to be careful. These are for all practical purposes indestructible. You can even drop them in lava.
Brock: Molten lava?
Clerk: Yup, and your ribbons will be just fine.
Ash and Max take theirs, followed by Brock, who wonders out loud if it might have some other use, which makes the clerk laugh.
Clerk: You can use it as a Time Capsule, haha.
Coal now takes his.
Coal: And now we have to go, I told Cosmo that we’d be there by noon.
New Scene()
QST.camera zooms in onto a building that says "Function-Junction Diner" on the corner of two streets. (Although a tree is partially obscuring the sign).
#School_House_Rock_Reference
QST.camera slowly moves in through the window to a large booth where Professor Cosmo and Grace are sitting with Ash and company. Grace is laughing hysterically, and Max nudges May nervously.
Max: Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to tell her that Benjy was from another planet.
Professor Cosmo: So I should apologize to you kids…
Ash and company look up, although Grace is still laughing.
Brock: Sorry? About what?
Professor Cosmo: I shouldn’t have sent you down the path to search for the Flames of Lorin. I’ve been preoccupied with the Millennium Comet lately, and it’s been a nightmare dealing with all of the people to whom it has religious connotation.
May: But I don’t see what that has to do with the Flames of Lorin…
Professor Cosmo: It’s highly unlikely that you’ll find it; and there are better options available to you. I’ve been talking to that librarian friend of yours, and what you need is a dimensional engineer. Given the structure of the super-continuum, getting you home should be trivial. Well, maybe not trivial, but doable.
Benjy: Yeah, Lily mentioned something about that.
Professor Cosmo: The trouble is, most dimensional engineers are either insane, or we’ve locked them up to prevent them from doing extremely dangerous things.
Benjy: Or?
Professor Cosmo: Right, or, not zor.
Professor Cosmo chuckles.
Professor Cosmo: That wouldn’t have made any sense.
Narrator: Hold it right there.
QST::meta.frozen = true;
Narrator: That’s better. Those last few lines probably made no sense to you. I know they didn’t to Benjy.
Narrator: This is because just as American English differs from British English, Fenyran English is also slightly different from any English dialect spoken on Earth, although it’s close enough that Benjy can understand what’s going on ninety-nine percent of the time.
Narrator: Keep watching for words that are spoken on Fenyra that don’t have the meaning they do on Earth, there are a handful. The first of these is "zor", spelled Z-O-R or X-O-R. All it means is what in English is called the "exclusive or". On Fenyra, the word "or" always means inclusive, which is why Benjy is confused. Because or can have both meanings on Earth, and Benjy interpreted the word "or" to have a meaning it doesn’t have here on Fenyra.
Narrator: Finally, before I go, there’s also another word which might cause you some confusion. A "Serenade" does not mean a sweet song. Quite the opposite actually, it’s a kind of weapon that effects a wide area.
QST::meta.frozen = false;
Grace is too involved in whatever she previously thought funny to notice this exchange.
Ash: Do you know any dimensional engineers?
Professor Cosmo shakes his head.
Professor Cosmo: Professor Birch might, but I don’t. Although I did manage to look up some more information on the Flames.
May: But I thought you said it wasn’t worth using them.
Professor Cosmo: It’s stuff that’s just good to know.
Professor Cosmo places a manilla folder on the table, and slides it to Benjy.
Professor Cosmo: All sorts of people have sought out the flames for various reasons. But mainly, I wanted to tell you about a report I saw that said that Guthix used them, which contradicts the theory that they’ve been lost for five hundred millennia.
Max: But isn’t that good news?
Professor Cosmo: No. It’s very bad news. If that’s true, then Guthix is almost certainly protecting them somehow. If Guthix is protecting them, then they’re going to be inaccessible. They’ve been trying to break Guthix’s edicts for two thousand years, and still nothing.
Professor Cosmo sighs.
Professor Cosmo: Sorry…
The Millennium Gameboy Advance starts to shine.
Yami Benjy: There’s no need to apologize. We all had a feeling chasing after this thing was going to prove futile.
Professor Cosmo: On another note, the Millennium Comet will soon be visible and I need to start observing it. There’s so many myths around it which are obviously religious propaganda, and I need to dispel them once and for all.
Grace has now stopped laughing.
Grace: What kind of myths?
Professor Cosmo: I have a list somewhere. Most of them you’ll recognize as blatant Saradominist propaganda. There’s going to be a party to celebrate it on route 114 if you’re really that interested in the myths.
Max: A party?
Cosmo nods, chuckling to himself.
Professor Cosmo: Just keep in mind that what you hear is very unlikely to be true.
At this point, the waiter arrives with food on a tray.
Professor Cosmo: And it looks like lunch is here.
Refresh Scene()
The group is now busy eating.
Grace: So is that your first ribbon?
May nods.
May: How many do you have?
Grace: Lets see.
Grace bends down to pull her ribbon case out of her backpack. She places it on the table and opens it up.
Grace: Yesterday made three.
May: But I won yesterday!
Coal: There was another contest after yours.
May: Oh…
Professor Cosmo: Yeah, they’ve really been squeezing them together for some reason. There are supposed to be three today, and another tomorrow.
Brock: That is really squeezing them in–
Brock is cut off as a jingle comes over the loudspeaker.
Intercom: ♫It’s Function Junction, what’s your Disfunction?♫
Intercom: We have a message for the owner of a pink convertible: whomever you are, your lights are on. Also, congratulations to Nitz, party of four, you’ve won first prize in our raffle, you can pick it up at the front desk.
Intercom: ♫It’s Function Junction, what’s your Disfunction?♫
Brock expresses surprise that a raffle was going, but Professor Cosmo explains that the prize is only a coupon for 10% off a meal, leaving Max disappointed. Next to him, Pikachu reaches for the ketchup and dumps it all over his (Pikachu’s) food. Suddenly, there comes a crash, and a scream from the kitchen. This is followed by an explosion which shakes the entire diner.
Grace: What was that?!
Coal stands up.
Coal: I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Without warning, Coal leaps over Brock, who quickly starts to get up, then darts down the hall. Brock gets up, and as everyone begins to file out of the booth, something growls at them. The seven of them look around for a moment, until QST.camera focuses on a pair of fangs barred underneath a table. The seven of them see this, and Professor Cosmo looks terrified.
Max: What’s that?
Ash quickly pulls out his pokédex and points it at the dog-like creature.
Ash’s Pokédex: Information on this creature is only available in premium mode. This pokédex is currently in standard mode. An upgrade to premium mode can be obtained free with a subscription to Professor Oak’s pokémon services.
Ash: What?
May: Lookout!
The dog like creature leaps at Ash.
Grace: Ledian, star hammer!
Ledian spins out of it’s great ball and a hammer made of light materializes in it’s upper hands. With this, Ledian whacks the dog-creature in mid-air, knocking it backwards through the air onto the table of an empty booth.
Ash: I don’t understand it. Why isn’t my pokédex working?
Professor Cosmo: It’ll do that whenever you try to scan something that’s not a pokémon.
Ash: Does that mean I need premium mode?
Professor Cosmo: Premium mode’s a scam–
Professor Cosmo is cut off as the dog-creature, which is now flailing upside-down begins to glow white.
Grace: What’s happening?
Yami Benjy: Foodle is metamorphosing into Foodlina.
Ash: Foodle?
Foodlina now has stopped glowing and has rolled onto it’s feet.
Yami Benjy: I’ll handle this–Bayleef!
Bayleef leaps from it’s poké ball, letting out a battle cry.
Foodlina: Woof! Frowl!
With this Foodlina begins charging a beam of energy.
Yami Benjy: You guys see what’s up with Coal! Bayleef, magical leaf!
Bayleef attacks Foodlina with a barrage of magical leaves that knock Foodlina off of it’s feet, causing it’s energy beam to discharge into a painting on the wall, which explodes. Ash, Brock, and Grace now run off after Coal, while Bayleef growls at Foodlina.
Professor Cosmo: It’s wearing a collar…
Yami Benjy: Yeah. It obviously belongs to somebody.
Yami Benjy: Somebody who may or may not be that Clare girl…
May: My turn! Beautifly, silver wind!
May throws Beautifly’s poké ball, and Beautifly emerges in a bolt of light, and blasts silver wind at Foodlina. Foodlina whimpers taken by surprise, then immediately starts to suck up silver wind, much to May and Beautifly’s horror, before unleashing it back on everyone, doing moderate damage to Bayleef, but not anyone else. Bayleef lets out another battle cry, and without waiting for instructions, fires a giant barrage of razor leaves at Foodlina, which do heavy damage.
Girl’s voice: Stop it!
#Note { This girl’s voice is *extremely* cutesy }
Suddenly, the leaves are blown away from Foodlina by a gust of wind, scattering them all over the restaurant, leaving a girl that looks exactly like Clare, except with bright red hair behind them. What looks like a giant Pixielite flies by her head.
Girl: Don’t you dare hurt Snuggles! Who do you think you are?!
Professor Cosmo: Your Foodlina attacked us!
Girl: Foodlina…?
Yami Benjy: Your Foodle metamorphosed.
This comment surprises the girl who immediately looks at Foodlina.
Girl: Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? No, who’s a good girl?
The girl buries her face in Foodlina, who doesn’t seem to be enjoying it.
Yami Benjy: What’s your name.
The girl winks at Yami Benjy.
Girl → Nunya: Nunya.
May: That’s an odd name.
Nunya bows slightly.
Nunya: Thank you, it’s Gielinorian. Got to go now, catch you later okay?
Nunya winks at Yami Benjy.
Professor Cosmo: Hold it Nunya, do you know anything about that explosion just now?
Nunya shakes her head.
Nunya: N-m. It must have been one of the coordinators that lost yesterday.
Max: That’s what Coal said.
Nunya: This Coal must be really smart then. Tell him Nunya said hi, will you?
Max: He’s just in the other–
Nunya: Oh look at the time! I really have to go. Text me!
Nunya winks at Yami Benjy again, and then darts out of the building.
Refresh Scene()
Ash and company with Grace and Professor Cosmo are standing outside on the lawn looking on as paramedics lift one of the chefs into the ambulance.
Coal: I don’t know anyone named Nunya…
May and Max look at each other curiously.
Coal: So that’s your message to me, huh. I don’t get it, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you. And I’m guessing that was the work of just a single flake of D5.
Ash: So it’s a scam…
Professor Cosmo: To put it simply, they don’t have data on many of the non-pokémon, so it’s not worth it. If you really need information, then get an P-synch device. They’re one hundred times more powerful than your pokédex.
Ash nods. Grace now asks everyone if they’re heading to Mauville, but Brock replies that they just came from there, which seems to make Grace a tiny bit disappointed.
New Scene(@Temporal = Afternoon)
Ash and company wave goodbye to Professor Cosmo, his daughter, and Grace as they leave Fallarbor for Lavaridge. Grace also waves as she heads towards Mauville. As the Ash and company start to walk, the others quickly disappear over a hill.
May: You know, it’s weird leaving in the middle of the day.
Brock: Well there’s no where to sleep tonight, with the center in its current condition anyway.
Max is looking down at his Pokénav.
Max: We could visit the fossil maniac that lives nearby.
Coal: N-no…
Ash: Something wrong?
Coal: Well, lets see. My last visit went like this:
Cutscene(<Flashback>) {
A younger Coal of roughly Benjy’s height approaches a house by a cliff, Feraligatr behind him. Seeing the door open, Coal pokes his head in.
Coal: Hello?
Feraligatr pokes its head in after Coal, curiously.
Voice_from_inside: Duuude… Got any fossils?
QST.camera synchronizes with Coal’s vision as he turns to see the fossil maniac holding a claw fossil, lovingly petting it.
Coal: Um, no. I actually came to ask you about…
Fossil Maniac: Oh, yeah, Fossils huh. They’re really old. I mean really old. Even older than, you know, old people.
Coal: Uh, that’s not what I meant.
QST.camera now desynchronizes from Coal’s field of vision as he and Feraligatr enter the room.
Coal: No, I mean more specifically. About the resurrection process.
Fossil Maniac: Yeah, it’s a wreck, isn’t it… Sorry ‘bout that man–
Coal: No. Resurrection! The machine that turns fossils into pokémon–
Fossil Maniac: I’ll never allow that to happen to my fossils! Never! You can’t make me! They can’t make me!
Feraligatr: Ferl? (whisper) [QST.appearOnScreen(Is he sober?)]
Coal: I can’t tell. (whisper)
The Fossil Maniac continues to freak out as Coal and Feraligatr watch, hugging his fossils tightly.
Fossil Maniac: Are you with *them*?
Coal: Who’s them?
Fossil Maniac: The government!
Coal shakes his head.
Fossil Maniac: Big oil!
Coal shakes his head again.
Coal: N-no, I’m just–
Fossil Maniac: With the m-mole people?
}
Coal: And… it went downhill from there.
Max: Really? Because that doesn’t seem possible.
Coal chuckles, then turns to glance at Ash and May, whom are both staring at Benjy.
Benjy: Guarded by Guthix… Guarded by Guthix… Guthix in the game is strong enough, but in real life… Of course, I probably should be more concerned with what caused the explosion at the diner. We still don’t know why…
Yami Benjy: Or who…
Benjy: I think it’s safe to assume that it was the same person who stole our ribbons…
May: Hey Benjy, are you okay?
Benjy suddenly snaps out of his daydream, looking around at the others.
Benjy: I’m fine.
Max: Because you seem awfully spacey.
Ash voices his agreement too.
Benjy: I’m thinking. We have no idea why there was the explosion at the diner, and that bothers me.
Coal: I told you, ex-girlfriend.
Ash: You think that was her, too?
Brock: But there was no motivation.
Coal: I told you: ex-girlfriend. That one was probably targeted at yours truly.
May: Was it a messy break-up?
Coal: Do you know what a yandere is? It’s just her way of saying, "hello".
QST.camera scans over Ash and company who are utterly flabbergasted.
Max: Y’all got issues…
#OKCupid_Reference
Coal: In all seriousness though, she is one of the strangest people I’ve met. But the contest circuit draws in all sorts of people who are a bit eccentric to say the least. We’ll see more of her, I’m sure.
Coal roles his eyes.
…///To Be Continued///…