Pokemon Shine Diamond

[EmeraldSky]

@Scytherwolf; @Soups;

Episode 9: Not on MY Watch, Ya Don't!


"Let's see...Fantasy Stage due to enchant Jubilife as well as the Contest..." Dawn mused as she paged through an issue of Shinou Today she had picked up at the Jubilife Pokemon Center. "Coordinator profiles...Poketch v. 2.0 rolls out today?"

"What is a Poketch?" Ash asked as the three friended rounded a corner onto one of Jubilife's main streets. "Is it like a PokeNav?"

Brock watched as a large video billboard started displaying an animated Poketch commercial. "Here we are..." Dawn mused as she arrived in the magazine's technology section. "Yes, it is a PokeNav that you wear like a watch. Since most every trainer in Shinou has one, I need to get one too!"

"Wait for us!" Ash protested as he hurried to catch up to Dawn.

---------

"What?" Dawn gasped in disbelief at the sign on the electronics shop's front window. "Currently sold out? After we came all this way, too..."

"New shipments won't arrive till Monday, as per the Pokebook page." Ash reported.

"Isn't there another store that has them?" Dawn pleaded as the group made their way down the street. "Does Pearlstone have them?"

"Nope--sold out." Brock reported.

"What about the Leppa store?"

"Sold out." Ash reported.

"You'd be better off getting a universally compatible Poketch." Brock cautioned. "If you get one from Leppa, you have to use Leppa branded stuff if it ever breaks."

"Good point." Dawn admitted. She thought for a moment. "What about Wonderaid, Apexi, or Corenite?"

"Nope, nope, and nope." Ash reported as he showed Dawn the Corenite page that displayed "We are currently sold out" under the Poketch 2.0.

"Not even Orinoco has it?" Dawn pleaded in desperation. "Orinoco has almost everything!"

Brock winced when he brought up Orinoco and searched for "poketch 2.0". "Hate to say it, but yes, even Orinoco is sold out."

"NOW where am I gonna find a Poketch?" Dawn screamed in frustration.

"We can try to find somewhere that has it over lunch." Brock suggested.

"How can you think of food in a time like this?" Dawn snapped.

She was snapped from her anger and frustration by the bleeps and bloops of an arcade. "Okay--you talked me into it." she grinned as she saw the menu of the snack bar inside. "Let's go get lunch, then vent my frustration a little."

---------

"Mm...that chili cheese dog was great!" Dawn smiled as the group departed the arcade snack bar some time later. "Now, what to play first..."

A machine with speakers and lights near the snack bar got her attention. "Dancing Star?"

"Not just Dancing Star, but Dancing Star Ace, the newest mix that combines a lot of past songs into one mix. Of course, there's some new stuff too." Ash replied as he jumped aboard the left dancing pad for player one and inserted two coins.

"No charge to join in!" the machine assured Dawn.

"Go for it, Dawn!" Brock coaxed. "I can give you a few tips."

"Okay..." Dawn hesitantly stepped aboard the right pad and inserted two coins.

"Now--each pad has its own game, so what Ash is doing on his won't affect you." Brock explained. "It's best to start on Light mode, although some songs will have a Beginner mode available too."

Once Dawn had selected Light mode, she was impressed by the massive song list. "Whoa..."

"In picking a song, how hard they are are measured in feet." Brock explained. "If you're starting out, one or two feet should be okay, three or even four if you're feeling confident."

"Okay..." Dawn replied as she perused the song list, grateful there was no time limit in picking a song.

"When you have a song picked, you'll see a line of blinking arrows at the top of the screen." Brock explained. As the song plays, you'll see differently colored arrows rising up to meet the blinking arrows. When the colored arrows reach the line of blinking arrows, touch the corresponding arrow on the pad with your foot. It might seem natural to return your feet to the middle of the pad; but this will slow you down once you go on to harder songs. You will not lose points for stepping when there is no arrow, you only lose points for missing an arrow."

"I think I get it..." Dawn replied as she landed on the song "Hero". "I'll try this one first."

"Good choice." Brock smiled as he watched the song begin on both screens--Ash playing Standard mode, and Dawn playing on Light mode...

---------

A-la-di-da-da, you are my hero.... Dawn sang as she danced down the street some time later. <i>A-la-de-da-da, ohhhh...[/i]

She was snapped from her song by a large crowd gathered around a trio of clowns. "Poketches! They're giving away Poketches!" she cried as she watched people hurry off with large cards.

After working her way through the crowd, Dawn asked one of the clowns "May I please have a Poketch?"

"Sure! If you guys can find all the other clowns and answer all their trivia questions to complete a stamp card, you'll all get one!" the clown replied as he gave Dawn a large card with seven locations for jewel shaped stamps.

"Remember that they could be anywhere in the city, but they won't be in a building." the second clown cautioned as he gave a family a stamp card.

"Here's your first question..." the third clown began. "What component of herbal medicine can also start a cooking fire?"

"Charcoal!" Dawn smiled.

"That's correct!" the clown smiled as he made a red stamp on the first space. "Now, go find the others!"

---------

After weaving down the main drag, the group arrived in the city park. "There he is!" Ash spotted a clown near the park square, waving and doing simple magic tricks to get people's attention.

"You found me!" the clown smiled as the group approached. "Riddle me this...which Pokemon is sometimes known to throw two Iron Balls to intimidate opponents?"

"It's obviously a Fighting type..." Dawn mused. "Lucario, perhaps?"

"Nah, probably one of the Machop family..." Ash mused.

"Good idea!" Brock agreed before telling the clown "We're gonna take a wild guess and say Machamp."

"Your wild guess is correct!" the clown announced.

"I never would've thought of that..." Dawn confessed as the clown stamped their card.

---------

"Clown ahoy!" Dawn pointed out a third clown near the Jubilife TV plaza.

"Put on your thinking caps, then!" the clown giggled. "What ability originated in the Trading Card Game before being confirmed as a real life ability?"

Dawn looked over at Ash. "I have no idea...care to wager a guess, Ash?"

"I know what it is!" Ash cried. "I'm gonna guess Poison Point."

"Good guess, because that's correct!" the clown announced as Ash handed over the card to receive a yellow stamp.

---------

"You'd think the questions would be easier..." Dawn mused as the group hurried down a street overlooking a large building with a large spinning globe statue. "What's that place?"

"According to my guidebook, that is the Global Trading Station, or GTS for short." Brock explained as the group approached the building. "People come from all over the world to trade and battle Pokemon."

"There's a clown!" Ash interrupted, pointing out a clown in the GTS plaza dancing to the music from the outdoor intercoms.

"Nice work finding me!" the clown giggled. "Here's your question--what are the ranks of Contests named for?"

"Poke Balls!" Dawn confidently answered.

"You're absolutely correct!" the clown replied as she gave the group their fourth stamp.

---------

As the group returned to the town square, Ash found a clown dancing to the music coming from a shop. "There!"

"Get ready, cause here's your next question!" the clown giggled. "What Nintendo accessory was originally meant to read Trading Card Game cards?"

"Ooh, that's a toughie..." Even Brock was stumped.

"Wasn't that the e-Reader?" Ash wondered.

"Yes!" the clown smiled as she accepted the group's card. "You're so close to a Poketch--only two more stamps to go!"

"Thanks!" Dawn called.

----------

The group arrived by the Trainer's School to find a clown playing with the younger students. "You found me!" he grinned as the group approached. "Here's your question. Which group of Legendary Pokemon were the mascots for the Neo Revelation expansion of the Trading Card Game?"

"No clue--never played the TCG." Dawn sighed.

"The Legendary Beasts!" Ash grinned.

Dawn gasped in awe. "How'd you know?" she asked as Brock gave the clown their card to stamp.

"Both Brock and me like playing the TCG." Ash explained.

"We can teach you how to play, if you like." Brock mused before checking his map of the city. "Okay...we've hit all the major landmarks in town except for the Contest Hall..."

"The last clown has to be there!" Dawn suggested as she lead the way down the street.

---------

As the group approached the Contest Plaza; Dawn spotted the the seventh clown passing out Poketches to those with completed cards. "There!"

"You're almost done!" the clown smiled as she inspected the group's card. "Here's your last question...what is Bronzor is able to do, even though it can't technically learn the move?"

"Hm..." Dawn thought for a moment as Ash showed her a picture of a Bronzor on the Pokedex. "Teleportation, maybe?"

"That's absolutely correct!" the clown called as she gave the group their final stamp with a flourish. "And with that, you've got yourselves the brand new Poketch 2.0!"

But as the clown tied on the watch-like device to Dawn, the group was unaware of two shadows in the bushes watching them...

To Be Continued...